Two of this season’s three highest mark tallies by a team in a game have happened in the last fortnight.
Brisbane’s 159 against Fremantle in Round 23 only narrowly edged out St Kilda’s 151 against Richmond in Round 22. Yet for all the similarities in quantity, they were used to achieve different aims in play.
(For the record, number one on this season’s list – Geelong’s 165 v Melbourne in Round 4 – falls into an entirely different category of ‘team playing with its food knowing there’s no danger of it being taken’)
This week’s Notebook entry will look at the difference from how Brisbane used their uncontested marks to how St Kilda used theirs, and how the respective methods ask different questions; both of the team in possession and out of possession.
Normal disclaimer, but in bold this time: This isn’t intended as a punch down session on St Kilda, or Fremantle for that matter, but rather an overview of how the same method (lots of uncontested marks) can be used to achieve different things
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Brisbane’s mark tally – also their second highest in a game this decade if my digging is correct – was achieved with a constant aim to shift Fremantle’s defence around.
As we’ve gone over repeatedly on these pages, the Dockers prefer a slower paced game, with the key emphasis of it being in tight. Although it’s slightly simplistic to look at it this way, they rank 15th in mark differential this season. They’re vulnerable to teams shifting around until they find a weak spot in their defence.
Brisbane, when moving the ball patiently – particularly from their back half – looked to get the ball inside Fremantle’s box defence. To explain what that looks like, it’s time to dust off the old reliable semi-accurate diagram:
With Fremantle looking to keep Brisbane wide, the Lions looked to play into that, moving the ball from one side to the other, and forcing the Dockers defence to shift with them.
Then, if a gap did materialise, it was all about picking the right moment, executing, and then looking to head over the top of the defence to favourable matchups inside forward 50.
This one, joined in progress from a kick in that headed to the far pocket, is a prime example of how it played out live. Once the inboard kick from Brandon Starcevich got Brisbane inside the box defence, it was the cue to start moving:
This screenshot from early in the second quarter illustrates the Fremantle defence, happy to keep Brisbane wide while attempting to own the corridor:
In this case the initial defence works, and Brisbane are forced to go long down the line after a chip-around session amounts to nothing. The difference is once it spills into open play, the Lions are still looking inboard at every opportunity.
Logan Morris finds Will Ashcroft inboard, who then zigzags out to Zac Bailey: two uncontested marks in the second phase leading to a Brisbane shot at goal.
The third clip to highlight Brisbane’s uncontested marks strategy, and maybe the most important of all, is to recognise when you’re presented with a different opportunity.
We’ve gone over how Fremantle’s box defence was ideally set up to force Brisbane wide – slowly – into unthreatening positions. But if there’s a moment where the defence hasn’t snapped into place quickly enough, it offers a chance to use uncontested marks to safely progress up the field.
In the shadows of half time, after a Jarrod Berry intercept mark in defensive 50, Fremantle remain in a cluster close to the ball, offering zero room in the corridor but plenty of easy space out wide.
Instead of rigidly sticking to the base plan, Brisbane realise it’s a chance to shift. A couple of easy kicks out wide, followed by a very good Dayne Zorko kick to a back leading Ryan Lester, and suddenly the Lions are at high half forward.
Hugh McCluggage – who was right next to Berry when the intercept mark was taken – continues running, becomes the inside 50 target, and earns a shot at goal. It’s a superb recognition of taking what the defence gives you and making the most of it.
That’s one way of using uncontested marks. St Kilda’s goals against Richmond the week prior were slightly different.
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For those who have missed it, the last five Notebook entries on The Shinboner, plus…
The 2025 Team Structures Page
Houston’s role, Cameron’s focus, Carlton’s path: Round 22’s Notebook
Melbourne’s list and style assessment: Round 21’s Notebook
Hawthorn’s shift, St Kilda’s list approach: Round 20’s Notebook
Brisbane testing tweaks, a crack in Collingwood’s midfield: Round 18’s Notebook
Essendon’s changes, Adelaide in the air: Round 17’s Notebook
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In the early stages of St Kilda’s ball movement, it’s relatively easy to draw parallels with Brisbane’s efforts against Fremantle. There’s the same attempt to move a defence around and find a soft spot in the opposing zone.
The fork in the road came with the way Richmond were happy to play without the ball, and St Kilda’s response to it. As covered a little bit in the most recent North Melbourne match analysis, the Tigers are more than happy to sit back if need be and wait for sides to wear down. Their shell isn’t always something they’ll come out of unless the opportunity presents – i.e. Carlton slowly melting down in the season opener.
So when Richmond were presented with St Kilda looking to methodically work their way down the ground, they were more than happy to sit back and protect dangerous areas rather than proactively come at the ball carrier, throwing the burden back on Saints to find a way through.
St Kilda, seeing that, had two main options:
1) Dial up their aggressiveness when in possession
2) Stay safety first and move forward incrementally
Their choice was option two. It meant that hand in hand with the ball carrier not taking much of a chance with his disposal, there was also minimal off ball movement to create potential options.
In this clip, increased to 1.5x speed to zip through the point, we see a lot of sideways movement that isn’t at the level to trouble a defence, along with next to nothing happening off the ball to shift Richmond’s defence out of position. Eventually the long kick goes inside 50 to numbers where it’s cut off.
But even though the kick ends in a turnover, it’s still in a position where Richmond have to work out from deep in defence. It’s not the worst thing in the world for St Kilda because they can defend strongly behind it. For the 90 seconds or so after this clip cuts off, the ball bounces around in the Saints’ forward half and they eventually goal.
The safety-first approach when met with Richmond’s defence meant St Kilda were able to progress smoothly out of their own defensive 50. On average, teams normally concede about five scoring shots a game after turnovers from their own rebound 50s.
On this afternoon, the Saints conceded a grand total of … one scoring shot. One behind, for the record.
The benefit of controlling the ball for so long in a safety-first format – St Kilda had possession for nearly eight more minutes than Richmond over the match – is that the team can almost entirely dictate tempo. It’s an excellent theory if a team is theoretically outmatched in a game but still trying to win at all costs.
Meanwhile, the negative of controlling the ball for so long in a safety-first format is the game turns into a low-event encounter and you’re more susceptible to variance deciding the result. For all of St Kilda’s extra time in possession, most of it was in unthreatening areas.
The combined inside 50 count was incredibly low for the conditions (only 84 in total, in range of games during 2020) and almost dead even (43-41 St Kilda’s way).
If Kamdyn McIntosh hadn’t run too far before driving in what turned out to be Richmond’s last chance of the afternoon, the ultimate result could have been far different.
It’s the difference between the way St Kilda used uncontested marks – safety-first, protect, incrementally move forward – and the way Brisbane used uncontested marks – consistently looking for ways through the defence, moving and shifting angles to open up dangerous areas in the ground.
Both have their pros and cons. For instance if Brisbane’s ball use was off, Fremantle would have easily carved them up on turnover going the other way. That the same base strategy – kick and uncontested mark a lot – can be manipulated in a bunch of ways is the fun of the game.
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For those who missed the announcement, the Finals Dossiers will return for 2025.
In the sixth edition of the series, all of the top four teams will be covered, with each post covering a team’s evolution from week to week throughout the year, how they beat you, how you beat them, along with a couple of other tweaks to previous editions that won’t be revealed until the first post drops.
Depending on an individual’s Patreon subscription level, they’ll receive Finals Dossiers access at different times.
Here are all the details on what to expect.
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