Walyalup have won three games in a row, including two against last year’s grand finalists, heading into Saturday’s clash with Narrm, and Senior Coach Justin Longmuir has given insight into what has clicked in that period.
To Longmuir, Walyalup’s game plan stands up when the players deliver effective pressure, backed up by Walyalup averaging almost 10 per cent more tackles in games they win compared to in losses.
Walyalup have lost four of five games when they’ve had less than 60 tackles, and won both of their games against Sydney and Geelong when they had 72 and 70 tackles.
Overall, they average 65 tackles a game in wins compared to 59 in losses.
Longmuir said this pressure allows Walyalup to be more effective with their ball movement.
“We want to be able to go before the opposition is set,” Longmuir told SEN.
“Quite often that comes off the back of being more aggressive in defence.
“Our pressure the past few weeks has been at a level which allows us to create opportunities to go back at the opposition before they’ve been able to get set. That’s given our forwards a really good look off turnover.”
While there is always a focus on contest and the clearance, Longmuir said it was crucial what happened immediately after the clearance.
In the past three weeks, Walyalup players have been in a better position to win the ball after a stoppage.
Between rounds one and seven, Walyalup lost the post-clearance Ground Ball Get count six times and the post-clearance Contested Possession count five times.
In the past three games, Walyalup have turned these stats around, winning the post-clearance Ground Ball and Contested Possessions in every game.
“We’ve been winning contests ahead of the ball, which we probably didn’t get right at the start of the year,” Longmuir said.
“A lot gets made of contest work, and we’ve definitely picked up all over the ground in that area, especially ahead of the ball.
“When we’re in possession we’ve been able to win more contests and it’s made us more predictable to our forwards.
“Our young forwards have got to work and that’s brought our smaller forwards into the game and allowed them to really harass the opposition or win the ball and hit the scoreboard.
“Some of the things we get right, we feel like the opposition can’t negate, they’re all the things that are within our control and things that we focus on.”
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