how do we defend?

A summary of our general principles of defence.

GENERAL APPROACH TO DEFENDING

Everyone is a Defender!

When the opposition have the ball there are 3 things an individual can do:

DELAY - Slow them down to give the rest of our team a chance to get set up. We do not want any team to catch us on the counter attack - always try and make it as hard for them as possible - you might not get the ball but you are making them work for it and giving your teammates an opportunity to get in a better position

DENY - Deny them the space they want... if she wants to cut inside you - make her go outside. Again like above we do not make it easy for people - they do not get their first choice and we will try and force them into the worst position possible.

DISPOSSESS - Turn over possession is the goal of defence. This can be executed in 3 ways - Executing a 1v1 tackle - this requires timing and patience,

Interception of a pass - this requires reading the play and positioning yourself in the right place

Forcing an error - if we put them under enough pressure they will make a mistake, they will fumble, hit a wide, or over the sideline.

Intensity & Intent:

This means we have to have an intent and an intensity in our play that puts every opposition player under huge pressure.

We have to become experts in hooking, in blocking and hassling and we must win a very high percentage of the ‘dirty-ball’. This means we need a plan for a ‘dirty-ball’: one player clears the ground; the other takes the possession.

Discipline:

But we must be disciplined in the tackle. A focused intent is what is looked for. Take contact with your hands spread wide & plant your back foot if you can; don’t give the referee a reason to blow you for a free; use your shoulders as tools to knock back your opponent.

Red zone:

We define the ‘red-zone’ as the area around the goal where a ground-pull can score a goal. A defender’s first job is to beat her opposite number. After that it is to help other backs and stop scores.

Around the red-zone

(1) balls should be cleared immediately to the corner flag positions where there is great difficulty in scoring

(2) do not try to pick up a ball in this zone unless you have space to execute

(3) don’t try clear a ball from your hands unless you have space to execute

(4) for a high ball coming in, do not back into the goalkeeper in the red-zone, hold your marker back and trust your goalkeeper to take the high ball

Fitness, willingness to work, selflessness:

Playing this type of game requires high levels of fitness, willingness to work, unselfishness and total commitment. The great thing is that we have these traits in abundance in this panel of players.

General Rules for defenders:

1. Take pride in clean sheets - even in training: every defender needs to work like a dog to stop the opposition getting through on goal; to make sure we have ‘all-hands to the pumps’, filter back to support the back line, give away a free but not a goal. Half-backs and mid-fielders need to really push themselves to get back between the ball and our goal. We need to have that “onion” in front of goal; when one player is beaten, there is another Dublin defender in the way, if she is beaten there is another one there etc.

2. Make it personal: be responsible for your own player first, then look to go forward and attack. Make it a personal competition with your marker. Win every ball between you if you can. If all 15 Dublin players win their personal battle, we will win the game.

3. Move the ball quickly, don’t solo unless you have to find space, soloing slows up the play and allows the opposition defence to adjust and close down space for the Dublin attackers

4. Always be in front, never behind; when you play in front you are first to the ball, your opponent cannot be seen by an outfield player, you are dominating possession; if you come out to a ball in front, the chances are you will win the ball - or a free. First-touch of course is a necessity together with a confidence in yourself and the players around you to cover you.

5. Hook, block, hassle the opposition all over the pitch, from 1 to 15; close them down quickly, hunt in packs to win back possession; force them to make a mistake or to over-carry!

6. Keep the six backs as tight together as possible during the game. Think about what forwards want - they want to see space - if we position ourselves in a manner where it is hard for them to pick passes they are more likely to make errors

7. Trust your keeper, she is a free player so use her. For high balls coming in, don’t back in on top of her; keep your opponent out of the area by pretending to play/batt the ball. Give the keeper time & space.

8. When your keeper wins the ball, protect her by keeping your forward out as much as you can (legally!) and then move to make yourself available for the pass from her

9. In open play, get down low with two hands on the hurl to win the dirty ball & clear the ground, not everyone should get involved in a ruck. Read the direction of the play, move to where you expect the ball to be: one player clears the ground; the other takes the possession. Watch the loose opposition players.

10. Don’t give away senseless frees; be robust in the tackle, use your body and shoulders but not your hurl. Keep your hands out wide to show the ref you’re trying and keep hands away from your opponent’s helmet.