Port's plan to snap elastic band

Sydney Swans champion Adam Goodes is one of the best at taking advantage of the sling shot attack. Source: News Limited

NOT since David slayed Goliath has a slingshot been used with such telling effect.

The Sydney Swans method of moving the ball from defence to attack helped them win a premiership and will again be at the forefront of Port Adelaide's planning for today's game at AAMI Stadium.

But what exactly is the slingshot? How do you set it up? And more importantly for the Power, how do you defend against it?

Teams have been developing ways to move the ball from attack to defence after packing their backlines since the flood first became prevalent in the early 2000s.

Most sides used a slow-moving, chip-around style to allow their forwards to run back into position and reset the forward line.

But this made attacking hard because the opposition also had plenty of time to set up its defence whether it be with an extra man back, a press or a rolling zone.

So the Swans, blessed with players with both elite speed and endurance, devised a new strategy.

Port assistant Alan Richardson has studied the Swans closely and describes the slingshot as a "play that sees the ball move incredibly quickly from the back to the front after there are a lot of numbers in a team's backline''.

"The pulling back of the slingshot is your forwards and your midfielders getting back to help the defence, and then once you've regained possession, there's the release,'' Richardson said.

"Their focus and initial intent is all about defence but once they regain possession because they've created enormous space in their own front half they're looking to move the ball incredibly quickly into that space.

"Players like Adam Goodes, Ben McGlynn, Daniel Hanneberry, Lewis Jetta etc have the ability to work really hard into that space that's been created.

"They're running forward either on a really aggressive 45-degree angle to the opposite side of the ground, or if you come out the front of the stoppage they're just heading straight towards goal to almost create the football equivalent of the alley-oop.''

Melbourne journalist Rohan Connolly seems to have been the first to coin the phrase, describing the Swans defence in the 2010 semi-final against the Western Bulldogs as ``like a slingshot back into attack''.

But it was not until Jetta's famous run down the wing in last year's Grand Final that the term entered the average fan's consciousness.

Exasperated Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson described how the ploy had allowed the Swans to overcome a 61-43 discrepancy in inside 50s and still win.

"That's the way Sydney play. They quite often lose that inside-50 battle,'' Clarkson said. ``They like to play that slingshot footy and get it out the back and it's been a part of their play that's been consistent throughout the course of the season.

"It's very difficult to defend against. They're the premier side in the competition this year because they've been able to do that consistently with the playing group.''

Like any successful tactic, the slingshot has been copied by other teams this season.

"Sydney are the team people focus on because of the Jetta plays and the way they scored in the Grand Final particularly, but Geelong also do it pretty well,'' Richardson said.

"When we've had Chad Wingard, Jake Neade, Angus Monfries and Justin Westhoff that combination forward of the ball we're able to get some reasonably strong running.

"Kane Mitchell has done that type of running in his short time with us as well.

Unfortunately for the Swans' rivals there is no foolproof defensive counter to the play. Teams have instructed their defence to hold their shape and not get sucked up the ground but the Swans are experts at overlapping handball.

Richardson said there were two keys stopping the play at the source and simply working as hard as your opponent.

"The focus is making sure there's enormous pressure on the ball when they do regain possession because if you stop it there it won't happen,'' Richardson said.

"It's just incredible concentration and workrate to defend it. Making sure you're always aggressively goal-side of your direct opponent, being prepared to roll the sleeves up and work as hard as they do.''

Richardson said Geelong, Fremantle and Collingwood had shown an ability to defend the slingshot.

"All the teams that are pretty good defensively,'' he said.

"And we think when our guys are up and going we defend it pretty well. We're ranked pretty highly in defending that rebound to inside 50 play.''

The Power will need to be today.

FOOTY BUZZWORDS

Slingshot: Style of play where a team packs into its defence to force a turnover before exploding forward into vacant space.

Plus One: A defender without a direct opponent

Caravan: A defender who follows his opponent around, never taking front position or running forward.

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