COACH Dean Bailey says overcoming ‘the press’ remains one of the biggest challenges for teams in 2011.
Speaking at AAMI Park on Thursday, Bailey said his team had worked hard on initiating and combating ‘the press’ during the pre-season, but conceded it was unable to overcome it against Hawthorn last round.
“The teams that press particularly well are the teams that play that half-ground press,” he said.
“We’ve practiced to go over it and around it, because we think that’s where the game’s not only going to be this year, but certainly in the next couple of years.
“We were unable to achieve what we were practicing, partly due to the pressure the Hawks had and we couldn’t get our hands on the footy.
“You can’t do anything unless you’ve won the ball and we need more players to win the footy to make something happen.”
The press is when the ball goes into the attacking side’s forward 50, and their midfielders and forwards set up a structure inside the arc to attack and defend the ball.
The attacking side’s six defenders will press-up high - with usually four around the forward 60 mark, and the other two back around the centre circle, making 16 players inside 60.
This means all players are usually forward of centre.
It is also termed a ‘half-court press’ from basketball.It creates uncertainty and congestion for the opposition, if they win possession and are trying to transfer the ball out of their defensive area.
Meanwhile, Bailey reflected on his side’s third term shocker against Hawthorn last round and spoke of his expectations against Brisbane Lions at the MCG this Sunday.
“We played poorly [last round] and you expect the response from outside and now we need to internally respond in the best way we can, which is on the footy field on Sunday. We expect a greater effort and the proof will be in our actions on Sunday,” he said.
“We deserved the criticism … we’re very much under the microscope like every other club and the criticism that was thrown at us was certainly deserved, in the manner we played the 25 minutes in the third quarter.”
Bailey said the reason for Melbourne’s poor third quarter was due to its reactionary display.
“The basics of the game never change - you’ve got to win the contested possession,” he said.
“We added to the momentum that they had and it was purely because we were giving away free kicks and you’ve got to give them (Hawthorn) credit.
“I thought they were very, very good in the pressure that they brought, but to have that many scores (8.11 to 1.1) tells the story.”
Speaking at AAMI Park on Thursday, Bailey said his team had worked hard on initiating and combating ‘the press’ during the pre-season, but conceded it was unable to overcome it against Hawthorn last round.
“The teams that press particularly well are the teams that play that half-ground press,” he said.
“We’ve practiced to go over it and around it, because we think that’s where the game’s not only going to be this year, but certainly in the next couple of years.
“We were unable to achieve what we were practicing, partly due to the pressure the Hawks had and we couldn’t get our hands on the footy.
“You can’t do anything unless you’ve won the ball and we need more players to win the footy to make something happen.”
The press is when the ball goes into the attacking side’s forward 50, and their midfielders and forwards set up a structure inside the arc to attack and defend the ball.
The attacking side’s six defenders will press-up high - with usually four around the forward 60 mark, and the other two back around the centre circle, making 16 players inside 60.
This means all players are usually forward of centre.
It is also termed a ‘half-court press’ from basketball.It creates uncertainty and congestion for the opposition, if they win possession and are trying to transfer the ball out of their defensive area.
Meanwhile, Bailey reflected on his side’s third term shocker against Hawthorn last round and spoke of his expectations against Brisbane Lions at the MCG this Sunday.
“We played poorly [last round] and you expect the response from outside and now we need to internally respond in the best way we can, which is on the footy field on Sunday. We expect a greater effort and the proof will be in our actions on Sunday,” he said.
“We deserved the criticism … we’re very much under the microscope like every other club and the criticism that was thrown at us was certainly deserved, in the manner we played the 25 minutes in the third quarter.”
Bailey said the reason for Melbourne’s poor third quarter was due to its reactionary display.
“The basics of the game never change - you’ve got to win the contested possession,” he said.
“We added to the momentum that they had and it was purely because we were giving away free kicks and you’ve got to give them (Hawthorn) credit.
“I thought they were very, very good in the pressure that they brought, but to have that many scores (8.11 to 1.1) tells the story.”
