Falcons break the code
Garry Hocking cracks code for his players to be AFL ready. Jay Clark reports
AT first, it sounds like alphabetical mumbo-jumbo, but any of Garry Hocking's Geelong Falcons charges knows exactly what he means by ``Attack 2''.
Or ``Defence 1''. And ``Attack 3''.
The former Geelong star has developed a ``code'' that has signalled a new dawn in TAC Cup coaching.
Hocking's methods have helped draft a whopping 22 players in three years, the best of any feeder club, and have ensured the Falcons remain undefeated this season.
Until now, his six-part system has been largely kept secret, even though his players have loved it and the AFL's recruiters have lauded it.
Rather than surround the ball with his best players, as was the old custom, Hocking has broken with tradition.
His tactics are designed almost entirely around players' movements and the decisions they make when they have not got the ball, a la Geelong, Hawthorn and St Kilda.
Importantly, recruiters aren't wowed by athleticism as much as they were five years ago, it's intelligence, or footy IQ, they're after.
And at the Falcons, Hocking is breeding a generation of players with a greater game sense than any previous time.
``Gary Ablett may have 30 possessions but in total he may only have the footy in his hands for about 2 1/2 minutes,'' Hocking said.
``So what the players have to realise, and what we teach here, is how to influence the game when you haven't got it, across the full 120 minutes. That is the difference these days.''
This is where it gets complicated, and what Hocking's Falcons troops have studied -- at training using game vision on one of the seven club laptops -- for the best part of the past two years.
Essentially, Hocking has defined the game for his players into six roles -- Attack 1, Attack 2 and Attack 3 when his team is in possession, and Defence 1, Defence 2 and Defence 3 when the opposition has it.
During every minute of game time, each of his players is accountable to a set of responsibilities that match each ``mode'' he is in, depending on proximity to the ball.
Attack 1 and Defence 1 refer to players in the immediate vicinty, Attack 2 and Defence 2 define players in a position to receive the ball or pressure a ball-carrier while Attack 3 and Defence 3 map out how to get the edge up or down the field.
The specifics revolve around corralling, pressuring and outnumbering the opposition in defence, and maintaining space, releasing the free man and positioning in attack.
What Hocking works on is teaching players to make the best decision depending on their mode, and staying involved for the entire match.
Basically, there is no snooze button.
``It's been amazing,'' he said. ``The boys will come to training on Tuesday and say, did you see Nick Riewoldt block for his mate in Attack 2, or Joel Selwood not over-commit and corral his opponent in Defence 1? It's fantastic.
``Or when I bring a player to the bench, I say, `Do you know why?' Usually they say something like, `Yeah, I should have been in Attack 3 and I wasn't'.
``The boys understand the transition phases of the game and what has to happen off the ball more. They're making better decisions in a broader game sense, and really reading the play a lot better.''
Hocking said changes at the elite level forced his hand.
``You can't just rely on natural ability to win you games,'' he said.
``It is a big step up from here to AFL, the way the modern game is played and we want to halve that step.''
The perfect example is Adelaide's Patrick Dangerfield, who was a ``bull-at-a-gate'' when the ball was in his area, but someone who could get lost in the broader sense of the game, two years ago. Hocking, and Adelaide, have helped change that.
``We spent an enormous amount of time with him on this stuff, and I know Adelaide has, too,'' Hocking said of former Falcon and the 10th pick in the 2007 national draft. ``Now he makes much better decisions.''
Through pre-season, Hocking conducted regular theory lessons to drum it into his players.
And he coaches from the boundary line in the TAC Cup games to talk to his players as they come on and off the ground.
As a player, Hocking was an elite onballer. He won four Cats' best and fairests in his 274 games and finished second in the Brownlow Medal once, and third three times.
Falcons regional manager Michael Turner said Hocking, 40, was primed for an AFL job.
``I am astounded he is not at an AFL club,'' Turner said. ``We are spoilt, because the longer he is here, the better it is for our club.
``Since he arrived we have finished, second, fifth and third, and at the moment we are on top with a team featuring potentiallty the best lot of draftees we have had.''
GEELONG FALCONS' HONOUR ROLL
2008 ROOKIE DRAFT
1: Jordie McKenzie (Melb)
25: Luke Delaney (NM)
29: Tom Simpkin (StK)
2008 NATIONAL DRAFT
14: Ayce Cordy (f/s, WB)
46: Luke Rounds (Coll)
52: Jordan Jones (WC)
56: Ben Bucovaz (Fre)
2007 ROOKIE DRAFT
40: Ed Curnow (Adel)
46: Chris Kangars (Geel)
2007 NATIONAL DRAFT
8: Lachie Henderson (BL)
10: Patrick Dangerfield (Ade)
42: Jack Steven (StK)
60: Adam Donohue (f/s, Geel)
61: Jaxson Barham (f/s, Coll)
63: Guy O'Keefe (WB)
2006 ROOKIE DRAFT
49: Peter Hardy (PA)
2006 NATIONAL DRAFT
5: Travis Boak (Port)
15: Daniel O'Keefe (Syd)
50: Will Schofield (WC)
57: Simon Hogan (Geel)
83: Ryan Williams (PA)
Upgraded Jon Simpkin (Syd)
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS
A player can be in any one of six modes during a match. Each mode outlines a different set of responsibilities and their decision-making options.
ATTACK 1 A player who has the ball or is in a position to get it. What is the best disposal method?
ATTACK 2 The next closest player. Does he block or work to receive?
ATTACK 3 Players upfield. How do they organise and make space?
DEFENCE 1 Players nearest the ball. Do they tackle or corral?
DEFENCE 2 Next closest players. Do they zone, man-up or help at the contest?
DEFENCE 3 Players farthest away. How do they guard space or maintain front position?
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Last Modified on 27/04/2010 12:45