FOCUS 1: Line speed in defence
- No personnel changes required
- All attitude, commitment and effort
- Fundamental baseline of being eligible to play first grade... if you do not move up quickly in the defensive line for 80 minutes you are sent to QCup until you are capable / willing ... Applies to every player on the park. No excuses.
FOCUS 2: Second rowers supporting halves in defensive line
- The most basic and fundamental job of our second rowers should be to support their halves in defence
- Every second rower who wants first grade game time has to prove that they can sit in the pocket of the half on their side of the field and prevent 1-on-1 situations... That's their singular most important KPI and first priority at all times
- Running metres and attacking contributions null and void if you allow a half to be singled out (especially close to the line)
- Have a stats person watching the games recording '1 on 1s allowed' as a stat to judge second rowers
FOCUS 3: Wrapping up the ball in the tackle
- Develop a 3 man system... First man is tasked with initiating contact in whichever way possible to prevent a line break... Second man in automatically goes to lock up the ball... third man in can take legs only if ball is secure. Extremely simple but effective
- Non adherence to your responsibility as a tackler should be counted as an 'ineffective tackle' and counted against the player in question
- Have a stats person watching the games recording 'offloads allowed' as a stat to judge players
FOCUS 4: Quick PTB Speed
- Have a stats person watching the games recording 'slow PTBs' as a stat to judge players, measure individual PTB speeds and use it as a key metric for first grade selection
- Barring injury or playing for penalty, every PTB should be as quick as possible at all stages of the game
- Players should be encouraged to look for quick PTB opportunities FIRST, and opportunity to make metres SECOND... A short run with lightning quick PTB is better for the team than a long slow run with a slow PTB
- Players should be trained to run into contact as low as possible, with weight leaning forward... Increased chance of finding your front quickly or drawing an accidental penalty for high shot
- When called by a playmaker, a player should execute a 'pre-emptive' PTB (Melbourne and Penrith do this all the time)... they don't wait for 'held' to be called before playing the ball.. they initiate contact and then almost immediately play the ball without waiting for the call... usually it coincides with the ball being played right as the ref calls 'held' and it NEVER gets called back. It can't be done all the time, but it should be practiced for us in opportune moments.
FOCUS 5: Attacking shapes from dummy half
- The only focus area which may require additional player resources.
- Focus on moving the ball laterally (directly from the ground) post PTB - without picking it up, taking a few slow steps before passing it on, while picking effective moments to run (on the back of a fast PTB or line break)
- Focus on always making sure the ball is in the playmaker's hands when they want it
Roster Changes (Release or demote):
- Haas (Release)
- Staggs
- Riki
Roster Changes (Sign):
+ Experienced Front Rower
+ ANY Available Hooker
Coaching Changes:
+ Any experienced QLD assistant coaches to oversee strategy and attack (Hannay, Hagan, Henry) with a view to taking over the top job