Queensland has always been considered by the South Australian states as a “development” state in terms of Australian rules football. The impression one gets of southerners is that Queenslanders who take part in our national game are “newbies” when it comes to training. A book was written about the most successful managers in the Australian Football League competition. As I read about the tactics they used, I would say to myself, I use that or have seen it used in Queensland. Our players may still be developing, but our experienced coaches are up there with the best. Our dilemma is that we are in a coaching development role first and foremost, and tactical development also has a bigger development role than is the case in the southern states, where they grow up immersed in Australian rules football.
Below are some ideas that I offer to young coaches who have worked for me for many years.
In a school grand final after half time, I used a “dummy” center forward half, encouraging him to move away from our two talented half forwards to give them room to lead. It worked well, giving the forward half more chances, but the “dummy” forward half had the best game out of him. He was so excited about the opportunity to play as a forward that his confidence grew and he played above his usual level. The grand final, near halftime, turned into an easy win at the end.
Their complete striker is usually a high-marking player. This means that he had a good jump. So often in the last five minutes of a quarter he would ruck it. Because he didn’t have to run as much as normal rucks, his energy was such that he could get past the opposing player and give us the first use of the ball.
Often good players want to play their favorite position. On school and youth teams, this is usually not the best position for the team. It’s important to place your best players where the ball is likely to be most of the time. This means that the team will get more of the ball and the rest of the team will have more opportunities to get the ball. In 1968, in my Queensland state schoolboys team, we had the best winger in the Australian Schoolboys National Championship. But, when the ball reached him, the rival had scored. Knowledgeable Victorian coaches told me after just two games that he was wasted at fullback. He wasn’t having much of an influence on the game. So I moved it to the center of the back with an immediate positive impact. He remained there for the rest of the carnival. (This player went on to play many senior games for Queensland.)
Another similar situation occurred in my school’s grade A team. Here was a player who had won many awards throughout his youth career. His understanding of the game was excellent. So much so that he tried to lure other nearby players into the game by handing them the ball. They weren’t up to it. So I told this player to move the ball with long kicks to the man in the best position to score. This helped the team, not only with a win, but also showed the players how to better use the ball. This player went on to play VFL/AFL with two clubs.
In 1967, when I was 24 years old, I was appointed coach of the Queensland schoolboys team to play in the Australian National Championship in Hobart. In 1966 Victoria beat Queensland by twenty goals. He knew he had to do something to at least make us competitive. So I think having just one ruckman in the center bounces off two rovers. The second rover’s job was to travel to its ruckman. As a result, we were able to win most of the center rebounds.
To make things more confusing for Victoria’s coaching panel, I had up to five players switching on and off the ball as rovers, as well as four switching as ruckmen. Traditionally, his two rovers rested in the front pocket, while his ruck man rested in the other front pocket and the second ruckman or ruck-rover in the center rebound rested in the back pocket marking the opponent’s ruckman. I traded all these players in many different positions.
We lost the game as expected, but only by ten goals. The tactic was something of a victory for me, as the Victorian coach, a man in his fifties, told me later that he and his coaching staff couldn’t understand what he was doing. At this point, it is important to mention that the exchange rule did not exist.