Adelaide's Ben Rutten, North Melbourne's Brady Rawlings and the Western Bulldogs' Brian Lake
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TAKING CHARGE: Players such as (from left) Adelaide’s Ben Rutten, North Melbourne’s Brady Rawlings and the Western Bulldogs’ Brian Lake are defensive leaders for their respective clubs. 62 AFL RECORD visit aflrecord.com.au The emphasis on defence has never been greater. No longer is it solely the responsibility efenceof the doesn’t‘back six’ attract to defend. TheNow whole Rutten team is faced is accountable, with decisions all across the entireattention. ground. A playerPETER is RYAN game, his starting points and positioning rarely applauded for in relation to the ball and his opponents sticking tight to his critical to his contribution to the team. opponent or moving Some days, he may hardly touch the THE toCASE fill dangerous space FOR ball (and DEFENCE his direct opponent may even Dwhile the ball remains 50m away. snag a couple of goals) yet everyone Often, such movement is unseen, on the team and in the coach’s box the average spectator’s eyes tracking will know he has played a good game, the ball. The only roar that a wrong because he made good decisions that defensive decision causes when the limited the opposition’s scoring. ball is far away is likely to come from “There are different ways of the coach’s box. assessing your game,” Rutten says. “It But inside clubs, defence has become is a lot more team-oriented these days the hottest topic. If you can’t get a pass and you can sometimes trace back mark for defensive actions, your career (opposition) scoring to things that won’t last long, as the way the game happen in your forward line, which is played has shifted to one based on a might lead to your man kicking a goal.” total team system, rather than one that The change is not about pain. is reliant on individual performance. North Melbourne’s Brady Rawlings, Demarcation lines are gone: playing as a defender in 2010 after everyone is responsible for defence. years of tagging – and assessing his Richmond coach Damien Hardwick performance on how well he limited even said last week he doesn’t like his direct opponent – says the inter- goalkicking awards. related nature of the game has made To defend well, players – all over the it more enjoyable. “It feels more of ground – need to make the right a team environment,” he says. decisions more often than not, The reasons for the change are and need to be certain their clear. Clubs are learning about and teammates are on song too. implementing aspects of other sports Those good at – zone defences, full-court presses, defending read the play metres gained. Behind-the-goals well, moving into a footage – only available in recent years YOU CERTAINLY space that disrupts the – has become a critical teaching tool. DON’T MEASURE opposition’s forward Players are full-time and spend as MELBOURNE DEFENSIVE COACH movement. The best teams much time being educated in meetings YOUR DEFENCESEAN WELLMAN JUST work in a synchronised about what to do in certain situations ON WHAT YOUR BACK fashion, clicking all the parts as they do out on the track turning that SIX ARE DOING into place without so much as a knowledge into instinct. second’s hesitation. “At our main training session, we As Essendon’s former All-Australian pretty much defend for the whole session defender and Melbourne defensive now as a backline,” Rawlings says. coach Sean Wellman says: “You “In the past, training was about certainly don’t measure your defence getting a certain amount of kicks just on what your back six are doing.” to get the skills and confidence up, but we now train decision-making Decision-making defenders as defenders.” Adelaide’s All-Australian defender Ben Being able to read the play is as Rutten plays on the last line of defence, critical as closing speed and strength wherever that is these days. Often, it and courage. is away from the goalsquare, a space It’s an interesting point relating previously populated by the stay-at- to the biggest shift now underway in home forward who has gone the way football. Whereas most of us recognise of the dodo in recent years. good decision-makers to be those who Not too long ago, Rutten could assess make the right choice with his game on how he fared in one-on-one the ball in their hands, players battles, check to see how many goals his today also need to make good opponent kicked as he left the ground and decisions when they don’t give himself a pass or fail mark. No more. have the ball. AFL RECORD visit aflrecord.com.au 63 THE CASE FOR DEFENCE “When you are in positions to defend, you often have three or four decisions you can make: whether you stay on your man, whether you push up or whether to take another opponent to cover for a teammate,” Rawlings says. If you wonder about the lot of the modern footballer, then you only need to hear why Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade wasn’t happy with his team at quarter-time and half-time of last week’s game against the Kangaroos, despite his team leading by three goals. “Our defensive work off the ball was very poor,” Eade says. “We didn’t man them up quickly enough, we didn’t spread from the contest when they started to handball and we didn’t close their space, so (in) those little things which you don’t get a stat for, I thought we were poor.” The Bulldogs’ improved performance in those areas CAUGHT: Shannon Byrnes, here over recent years explains tackling Hawk Brent Guerra, says why they are second best the Cats’ forwards place an emphasis on applying defensive pressure. in the competition for points conceded. It is not just because the Dogs have Brian Wellman says Melbourne still “You are seeing more guys “If you’re just concentrating Lake, one of the game’s best has plenty of areas to develop running into open goals these on goals, you can find yourself players in the defensive 50 and says the best defensive days. You have to eliminate that chasing the ball, whereas now, (along with Geelong’s teams set the standard. “They (option) and make opponents if you can’t influence or get Matthew Scarlett). are well-organised so their kick set shots from as wide as there, you ask where your man starting points are really possible,” Rutten says. is,” Byrnes says. Choreographed good at stoppages, at kick-ins Reducing these “free” shots “You can’t let them get an easy Teaching defensive structures and in a zone. They are so is a reason why forwards are kick out of the backline so you and habits does not happen well-organised, they seem to be measured on how well they don’t just stream in there hoping overnight. It is a gradual process, in synch with each other.” hamper rebounds from 50. for a crumb. Obviously, you have with measured improvement. Geelong’s Shannon to be there when it is just you, Those who have played together Forward pressure Byrnes, the Cats’ dual but if there is someone for longer have a distinct If opponents can run unrestricted, premiership small already there, advantage when it comes defenders have about as much forward, is you don’t come to learning. time to decide what to do involved in running in Wellman has been the (and then do it) as an opening an in-house after them; you defensive coach at Melbourne batsman might have facing up to competition think about for three seasons. During Australian speedster Shaun Tait. with other your man.” his tenure, the Demons have The quicker a team can make forwards WE PRIDE With this conceded fewer points each the shift from attack to defence based on approach, year, a terrific effort given they the better. Any extra time its the number OURSELVES ON Byrnes has have been one of the poorer midfield and forwards can create of inside-50 THE DEFENSIVE kicked more teams when measuring with pressure helps. tackles they lay. ASPECTSSHANNON BYRNOF EOURS than double the inside 50 differentials. When faced with the ball “We’ve set it number of goals Wellman, a premiership heading in his direction, Rutten’s up because we pride GAME MORE THAN in his past 39 games defender with Essendon in 2000, mind begins to tick: “I’m hoping ourselves on the defensiveKICKING GOALS(59) as he kicked in his first says that much of his teaching teammates up the ground are aspects of our game more than 54 (27), while also being ultra- is related to basic positioning: putting pressure on, causing the kicking goals,” he says. effective on his defensive side. where the ball is, where your ball carrier to stop or prop. Then Byrnes says the emphasis Keeping forwards accountable direct opponent is and where it comes down to percentages.” on defence and pressure has for defensive actions has been you need to be as a defender. Instinctively, Rutten forced a change in mindset from crucial to the top teams’ ability Having options, he says, determines where he would everyone in the forward 50. to strangle sides. provides players with the tools like his opponent to get the Again, it comes down to players Rawlings says the evidence to turn things around if they ball and decide which areas making better decisions without in reviews is irrefutable: if one are being beaten. he can actually defend. the ball.