Break the Lines

Focus

Skills under pressure, Defensive, Contested ball, Decision Making, Run & Carry, Gameplan/Strategy.

Skills

Kicking, Handballing, Tackle, Shepherd.

Purpose

When you're deep in defense, the opposition may attempt to 'flood' or setup the bulk of their players in their forward line, trying to force a long kick to a 50-50 contest. Unless the weather is wet or the quarter is ending and you're playing to preserve a lead, it's worthwhile trying to break the lines by going short with some precise kicks.

Players

20⁺

Ages

13⁺

Balls

Cones

Distance (max)

100m

Opp. tops

Visible opposition strip: 10

Setup
Mark out 3 zones (A - C) with cones. Zone (A) spreads from the top of the 50m arc to the boundary, zone (B) is 35m deep. YELLOW (working out of defence) vs RED; Zone (A) is 6 vs 3, zone (B) is 2 vs 6, zone (C) is 2 vs 1. Players must stay in their zone. Put ruckman in zone (B).
Step 1
A player starts with a kick-in from the goalsquare. YELLOW defenders will outnumber the opposition 6 to 3, so they must chip the ball around and work the ball out of their zone.

Don't be afraid to switch the ball once or even twice to spread the defence, however care must be taken with disposal deep in defence.

Defenders try to turnover the ball and may tackle.
Step 2
YELLOW players in zone (A) should be looking to carry the ball as close to the end-zone line as possible so they can kick OVER zone (B), which is heavily guarded by RED opposition.
Step 3
YELLOW players must find one of their teammates in zone (C), where a 2-on-1 situation exists.
Step 4
To increase the difficulty and make the drill more game-based, half-way through the drill allow players from zone (B) to enter zone (A) once the second yellow player who takes possession has disposed of the ball, or plays on.