Lets get this clear- some points of summation.
Canberra- the word enthusiam comes to mind. So does viscosity and straight, preceded by running. Well I am not sure why I associate the term viscosity with Canberra but I'll deal with the straight running aspect for the moment.
Down in the lime city they scorn the more sophisticated strategies adopted by coaches like Master Sheens and Tricky Ricky in preference for a basic approach, which won't baffle their henchmen forwards. The Raiders gameplan revolves around 2 key objectives: 1. To run straight. 2. To win.
Canberra have instituted a designated-breeding policy to develop the perfect player to bring into fruition this simple gameplan. The scheme has at its heart a minimalistic approach: Players only need two eyes, treetrunk arms to carry the ball and to effect tackles and legs, prefferably strong ones so that they can run and run and run.
Ben Cross is obviously the model protegee. The designers wasted no time in adding in details to his face- for what its worth he may as well have had a steel drum afixed above his shoulders and additional features like a mouth and ears should have been considered redundant.
But he, along with his various emmanations are the ideal troops to carry out the Elliot strategy. They don't have to think but they just have to run straight and hard. It doesn't matter whether they're wearing jersey no11, no 8 or no 20- they all perform exactly the same function; Its a policy of uniformity. But despite the effectiveness of this strategy as it has been used in prior games it could not anticipate the attacking flair of the Tiger pivots- Marshall, Prince, Hodgson, Fulton and Farah.
You see, Wests are a team of pigmies who possess ample skill. They compensate for their lack of size by throwing the ball around and creating room for Fatts, Reick and Richards down the flanks. Their ball movement bambozled the Canberra starch suckers who even tried to emulate the Tigers but with little success. No doubt Elliot gave them a dressing down at halftime and stressed the importance of sticking to the gameplan- going straight. When they finally took heed to their coaches advice you saw the difference it had.
Canberra only need two players who can pass, the rest should learn to ingest the pill and run straight. This tactic needs slight varriation occasionally but against a poor defensive side like the Tigers it can be successful. Its important not to mimic what your opposition are doing; fellas don't think, just act.
