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Many teams over the years have created dynasties with unique game plans that were too complicated for their rivals. The following are the three most effective game plans from the 2000s to today and my thoughts on which is the best.
Brisbane 2001-2004
The Brisbane game plan really wasn’t complicated, but it was devastatingly effective. The Lions tended to rely on their superstar players in Michael Voss and Jason Akermanis to get the clearance, then spread just wide of the centre square before kicking long and high to champion tall forwards Alastair Lynch, Jonathan Brown and Daniel Bradshaw.
Many teams didn’t orchestrate a third man up, so barely any defenders could defend one-on-one against such brilliant forwards for a whole match. The system was effective in that time but nowadays would be broken down with a third man up strategy.
Geelong 2007-2014
Mark Thompson came up with a near-perfect plan that encompassed hard running, crazy tackling and pressure, dare and use of voice. It is still employed by Chris Scott today.
The Geelong midfielders relied on their teammates calling for the ball in packs. They would handball it to the voice and their marvellous handballing skills would help them to run out of packs, where they would run and handball the ball down the middle in numbers. Geelong’s tall forwards would then open up the forward line, where their players pressured opponents so the opposition could never clear or transition the ball out of defence.
The system works well unless a team like Collingwood in 2010 pressures them into turning over the ball.
Collingwood 2010-2011
Mick Malthouse came up with a system that worked perfectly for hard runners. The plan was that the Pies would spread right out to the boundary and use precise kicks to work their way up the ground. The forwards would lead up and lock the ball inside their forward fifty. They produced the best press footy has seen – known as the box press.
In defence they orchestrated a third man up, who would play spare and, along with running half backs in Heath Shaw, Harry O’Brien and Ben Johnson, they would transition and rebound the ball out of the defensive fifty. They scored constantly through turnovers forced by the full ground press.
The plan could only work for a couple of years because of the heavy toll it took on the body. The plan was partly thwarted by Hawthorn and Geelong in 2011 by their players instantly spreading wide to the boundary.
I rate Collingwood’s plan the most effective because it wasn’t completely thwarted. In the second half of the 2011 preliminary final they prevailed by mixing up their spread. Sometimes they took a chance by cutting through the middle, leaving Hawthorn not sure about instinctively covering the boundary spread.
The plan worked brilliantly in that game but was very hard to reproduce.
Honourable mentions:
• Sydney 2005/2006, 2012
• West Coast 2005/2006
• Essendon 2000/2001
• Collingwood 2002/2003
• Hawthorn 2008, 2012/2013/2014
• Port Adelaide 2004, 2007
• St. Kilda 2009/2010
• Fremantle 2013
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