Defensive tactics for the young player in Australian rules football

When you are a defender or have to adopt the defensive role in Australian rules football, you have two main roles. The first is to prevent your opponent from getting the ball. You may need to create a stop. The second role is to pick up the ball and send it on the attack towards your goals.

It is important for me to emphasize that each player in the team has both the role of defender and attacker. Hawthorne’s great coach, Allen Jeans, had the following mantra for his team.

If we have the ball, you go into attack mode. If they have the ball or the ball is in dispute, you go into defensive mode.

Below are plenty of ideas on how to get defensive. include

• Always play inside your opponent, ie. Stay between your opponent and the ball.
• When you’re standing next to your opponent when you’re not directly involved in the game, place one hand on your opponent’s chest so you know exactly where you are.
• Then, as the ball approaches your vicinity, use your arm to push off your opponent’s chest to give yourself a push towards the ball.
• When chasing your opponent, always run into your opponent to push him to the limit. This means that he/she is forced to move further away from her goals and kicking goals on the run from the limit is a low percentage shot.
• When running with your opponent towards the ball, hit your opponent two meters from the ball to get in front and closer to the ball;
• When you’re on the mark; stand tall with your hands stretched up, moving them to try to distract the kicker;
• Watch the ball closely for a chance to touch or spoil the kick, when it is on the mark.
• When putting down the ball, point your arms and hands towards the ball. Get ready to win the ball back from the sweltering.
• When messing up a mark, hit towards the boundary and follow the ball to pick it up. If you’re on the front line, hit the ball towards your teammates coming down from the ground.
• As a general rule, always defend towards the limit with your kicks. Never make a short pass on the baseline unless you are not under pressure and your teammate is clear with no opponent nearby.
• Kick to the open side of the field away from the flank where the ball came from.
• Always follow your kick or handball or booty.
• Remembering that wind conditions will move the ball in different ways. Against the wind, the soccer ball will drop suddenly in front of the pack while with the wind it will fly over the pack. In a crosswind, the ball will float above the pack. So position yourself for these conditions.
• Adjust to wet conditions by remembering that the ball will slide on wet grass, stop and stop in a puddle of water, and slip through the hands of a marking player.
• Trading opponents, with the consent of the coach, when you are too big or small or too slow for your opponent.
• Always use both hands to receive the ball.
• Foot maintenance. If you fall, you are out of the contest.
• Recovery is the ability to make a second effort to get a football match.
• Talking and shepherding with your teammates.

Here are plenty of ideas to include in your defensive game. Make a list of the ones you need to add. Prioritize your list and add one at a time to your game plan. You can even ask the trainer what they think is most important for you to develop first.