By Connor Schmidtke
The race for a spot in the Division One finals is starting heat up, with six teams all having claims to the final two spots in the final five.
As round eight rolls around this weekend, a game that could have huge ramifications for the finals outlook features Mitcham and Beaconsfield, the current holders of fourth and fifth respectively.
Both sides have played Croydon in recent weeks, with Beaconsfield challenging the Blues at Croydon and Mitcham putting them to the sword the following weekend at Walker Park.
The two ways that Mitcham and Beaconsfield played against Croydon show us the clear differences in their styles, and what this game is going to come down to.
The Importance of Forward Line Pressure
For starters, let’s look at Beaconsfield’s clash with Croydon.
The opening quarter against Croydon was a bit of a bloodbath for the Eagles. They conceded five goals whilst kicking just one of their own, and trailed by 24-points at the quarter time break.
What this image from the game highlights, is the lack of pressure that Beaconsfield put on Croydon in that opening quarter. This screenshot was taken after a stoppage in the middle of the ground, showing four Blues players flooding forward unmanned.
This was a common theme seen in the first quarter from Beaconsfield, who seemed to play a very bruise free style of football. They barely laid a tackle in the opening term and allowed Croydon to slingshot up the ground, leading to easy entries inside 50.
What this meant was that Croydon were able to intercept high up the ground and then move the ball forward easily, utilising the corridor on a number of occasions. They often had passages of play where they racked up five or more uncontested marks as they pushed forward, leading to good looks at goal and explaining their five goal first quarter.
The main area that Beaconsfield failed in during this first quarter onslaught was their forward line pressure in particular.
The Eagles seemed to lack height in their forward half in comparison to Croydon, so their main avenue to goal was when they could bring it to ground. When the ball hit the ground however, they allowed the Blues too much space to weave handball chains together, making it easy for Croydon to exit their defensive half.
This image highlights a clear example. Out of the three Eagles players corralling the ball carrier, none were able to lay a tackle or apply any decent pressure. The ball carrier then found an outlet kick to the near side wing, setting up another chain which lead to an easy entry inside their forward 50.
Beaconsfield’s forward half pressure improved as the game went on and helped get them back in with a chance after half time, but they can’t afford to start the game five goals behind against Mitcham.
This is an area that needs to be strong in every quarter for Beaconsfield if they want to be serious contenders this season.
Mitcham’s Pressure
On the completely opposite side, Mitcham’s pressure against Croydon last week was as good as you will ever see on a football field.
Right from the opening bounce, they cracked in with a very physical brand of football, laying a huge number of tackles and bumps on the Blues.
This image shows the mentality of Mitcham, far different to what Beaconsfield showed in their opening quarter against Croydon.
The Tigers player lays a big tackle on the ball carrier, but notice the five Mitcham players who are swarming the area to help apply that pressure. Even if the first tackle didn’t stick, the Tigers had enough numbers to win that contest either way.
What this pressure did was force Croydon into poor decisions by hand and foot, lowering their disposal efficiency and restricting their ball movement as they headed forward.
Mitcham forced the blues into numerous turnovers in the opening quarter from their unrelenting pressure. These turnovers lead to a number of goals throughout the game, helping the Tigers to their huge 56-point win and restricting Croydon to just three goals for the game.
If Mitcham can replicate this pressure from the beginning against Beaconsfield, they could have the ability to make this a very rough and uncomfortable encounter for the Eagles.
Beaconsfield need to find a way to apply the same pressure of their own, right from the beginning of the game if they want to be in with a chance against the Tigers.
Prediction: Mitcham by 20 points