The Clarko Game Plan Wins Grand Finals

[Con Gorozidis]

Lyons style means he only has Three years to get the job done before it falls in a heap. He needs a ready made list.
No doubt he will make a speech at the b and f about unfinished business.
If Freo can't win next year they will fall in a heap and hell be gone the following year.

This whol the thread is revisionist navel gazing anyway.
Can someone start a positive thread about what the saints need to do to get back up the top ?
What players we need etc etc.
Forget the coach as a messiah idea.

[maverick]

No what wins gfs this year was playing a shite team

[Spinner]

No argument...best coach in the league.

Where was this thread this time last year?

Such the expert that you are.

Clarko outcoached Lyon yesterday but aslo this year Clarko had the luxury of planning to be in peak form in September.

Clarko is on record that last year they didn't peak in September. Early in h&a 2012 Hawthorn struggled. Last year he said that generally the team had run out of puff just trying to make top 4. This year he was on record that he would take advantage of their fortunate position by deliberately managing his players to peak in September

Doesn't this just contradict all of your arguments? You're not very smart are you - it's entertaining for me though.

[Johnny Member]

Lyon did, precisely what many people predicted he would do.

Build a tight, cohesive unit, that follows his game plan to the letter. And build a game plan that is tight and ferociously defensive.......

.......and that will never win a flag because he simply can't get a team to focus on kicking a winning score when it matters.


Many told you all it would happen. And it happened.

So what's the surprise?

[Sainternist]

A good coach is Al Clarkson. He has done the hard yards with Hawthorn. It wasn't all beer and skittles. Must credit the club as well for persisting with him. I think there's something to be said for persisting with a coach.

I. for one, would like to see Scott Watters rebuild our team and get a taste for finals footy in his tenure as a Saints coach.

[Scollop]

Where was this thread this time last year?

Such the expert that you are.

Clarko outcoached Lyon yesterday but aslo this year Clarko had the luxury of planning to be in peak form in September.

Clarko is on record that last year they didn't peak in September. Early in h&a 2012 Hawthorn struggled. Last year he said that generally the team had run out of puff just trying to make top 4. This year he was on record that he would take advantage of their fortunate position by deliberately managing his players to peak in September

Doesn't this just contradict all of your arguments? You're not very smart are you - it's entertaining for me though.

Which is it? That you can't accept that Lyon was out coached or that you can't understand that Clarko chose to manage his players differently to 2012?

Clarko got his team up when they were 20 pts down at 3 quarter time in the prelim last week. Lyon's team was up to their eyeballs and runing down the Hawks in the GF at 3 quarter time and there was 10pts in it. Entertain us with your spin Spinner

[kosifantutti]

.......and that will never win a flag because he simply can't get a team to focus on kicking a winning score when it matters.

So that's why the ball bounced the wrong way for Milne.

[Scollop]

.......and that will never win a flag because he simply can't get a team to focus on kicking a winning score when it matters.

So that's why the ball bounced the wrong way for Milne.

FFS!!! We're not going to hear that bs all our life are we. Yes bad luck was involved but there a few voices now starting to question whether it's just bad luck or whether there is a pattern emerging.

The Ross Lyon game style so far has meant the teams focus is on defense rather than attack so surely people will understand that in a Grand Final he demands that his team ruthlessly defends and usually there's no free flowing high scoring footy.

It's his choice that his team tries to suffocate the opposition and in a low scoring contest like a Grand Final you are only a goal or two away from defeat.

Please one day can the simpletons of this world come to the realisation that it's no accident that there are low scoring contests under a RL game plan.

[Beekay]

Having guys that kick crunch goals when it's needed helps.

Previously, the Cats had Johnson, Chapman, Ablett, Bartell that didn't miss when it counted.
Yesterday the Hawks had Gunston, and the week before Burgoyne.

Correctomondo.

It seems that most of those players that do step up in those moments have one thing in common: they are intelligent competitors.

Black, Akermanis, Voss, Lappin, Power...

[skeptic]

i wonder how RLs win % compares to Clarko's

[dragit]

i wonder how RLs win % compares to Clarko's

Lyon 64
Clarkson 60

Clarkson's % is brought down from when Hawthorn were struggling early on.

[spert]

How was GT's record for wins compared to RL and AC?

[dragit]

How was GT's record for wins compared to RL and AC?

51

[samoht]

The Hawks had 3 or 4 players in the GF who would be fringe players at St Kilda.
If Carko was coaching Freo he'd have a tailor made plan that works to the strengths of the team - not some prescribed plan.
With the dominant midfield and ruck they should have blown the Hawks out of the water.

And how are the names Neale, Suttcliffe, Spurr Deboar go. Its rubbish. Both sides have fringe players. The hawks had the better list unless 90% of the media are wrong and you are right. And I thought the likes of Crowley and Pearce were said to have improved under RL game plan. Again as I have said the RL hates cant lose today because Hawthorn won.

The Hawks do not have the better list - but they do have the better coach.

Apart from the Hawk's fringe players, Clarko has rejuvenated and resurrected players that were more or less written off (Lake, Guerra).
Crowley tagged Mitchell out of the game and Freo dominated the ruck and midfield - yet lost the GF.
RL was quick to blame a couple of his players for not adhering to his system and game plan - his system can never be wrong, can it?

If a team dominates the midfield and loses the GF - you have to look at the game plan.
A positive game plan with a dominating midfield could have resulted in a 10 goal win.

[dragit]

If a team dominates the midfield and loses the GF - you have to look at the game plan.
A positive game plan with a dominating midfield could have resulted in a 10 goal win.

Clearances
Hawthorn 42 Freo 34, yet inside 50's were the same, marks inside 50 - 6 more to freo.

Is that Freo dominating the midfield? Hate to see if they are beaten…

[samoht]

If a team dominates the midfield and loses the GF - you have to look at the game plan.
A positive game plan with a dominating midfield could have resulted in a 10 goal win.

Clearances
Hawthorn 42 Freo 34, yet inside 50's were the same, marks inside 50 - 6 more to freo.

Is that Freo dominating the midfield? Hate to see if they are beaten…

Imagine what would have happened if the Hawks dominated the midfield then.
Mundy and Fyfe had 28 possessions each while Mitchell had 12 possessions.

The loss is an indictment to the game plan (it's almost criminal to lose after dominating the midfield).

[cps]

Just to be clear, could someone explain exactly what the "Clarko Game Plan" is, and how it differs from other coach's game plans.

Cheers,

Chris

[Scollop]

There's a few articles being written in the papers and I liked listening to Leigh Matthews on the replay of the GF and his coments about Clarko maintaining some sort of spine and at least having a KPP staying forward to provide an attacking target and also a KPD (Lake maintaining his position in deep defence)

[dragit]

(it's almost criminal to lose after dominating the midfield).

You don't follow the game very closely… that's okay…

Fremantle have the best list in the comp, no worries.

[SunburySaint]

Just to be clear, could someone explain exactly what the "Clarko Game Plan" is, and how it differs from other coach's game plans.

Cheers,

Chris

it's the one that wins premierships.....

[Life Long Saint]

freo travelled 3 out of 4 weeks

Two out of four...week 1 and week 4
But thanks for playing!

[Cairnsman]

A good coach is Al Clarkson. He has done the hard yards with Hawthorn. It wasn't all beer and skittles. Must credit the club as well for persisting with him. I think there's something to be said for persisting with a coach.

I. for one, would like to see Scott Watters rebuild our team and get a taste for finals footy in his tenure as a Saints coach.

I agree, persistence is the key. SW has proven in two seasons he is not a complete dud and as such he is the right man for the rebuild.

[samoht]

Fremantle have the best list in the comp, no worries.

I think they do - and Freo had the dominant ruck and midfield in the GF... yet kicked 8 goals.

[kosifantutti]

.......and that will never win a flag because he simply can't get a team to focus on kicking a winning score when it matters.

So that's why the ball bounced the wrong way for Milne.

FFS!!! We're not going to hear that bs all our life are we. Yes bad luck was involved but there a few voices now starting to question whether it's just bad luck or whether there is a pattern emerging.

The Ross Lyon game style so far has meant the teams focus is on defense rather than attack so surely people will understand that in a Grand Final he demands that his team ruthlessly defends and usually there's no free flowing high scoring footy.

It's his choice that his team tries to suffocate the opposition and in a low scoring contest like a Grand Final you are only a goal or two away from defeat.

Please one day can the simpletons of this world come to the realisation that it's no accident that there are low scoring contests under a RL game plan.

I can't believe the simpletons that can watch a drawn Grand Final and say that coach's game plan could never win a Grand Final.

[dragit]

A good coach is Al Clarkson. He has done the hard yards with Hawthorn. It wasn't all beer and skittles. Must credit the club as well for persisting with him. I think there's something to be said for persisting with a coach.

I. for one, would like to see Scott Watters rebuild our team and get a taste for finals footy in his tenure as a Saints coach.

I agree, persistence is the key. SW has proven in two seasons he is not a complete dud and as such he is the right man for the rebuild.

I reckon we'd all like to see Watters rebuild and have us playing finals.

I can't see what he has done to prove that he isn't a complete dud yet though… Jury is out for a good while yet.

All I know so far is that he doesn't shy away from things, he loves small forwards and people from WA.