I reckon a few people willl find this interesting:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23631669-19742,00.htmlGENERAL Cluster rides again. Tomorrow the MCG will host a perverse clash of tactics and philosophies because both teams want to own the same piece of turf.
General Cluster - Alastair Clarkson - likes to destroy teams on the wings and Mick Malthouse likes to ensure victory by hugging the wings when he goes forward, far more than anyone else in the league.
The battleground is obvious, the result not so.
Clarko's cluster is pivotal in Hawthorn's drive for success. Described by Terry Wallace as revolutionary, it takes a 15-man zone to a new level, morphing from one phase to another to ensure the opposition plays the game on Hawthorn's terms.
Phase 1 begins at opposition kick-ins, where the cluster is a pyramid-like formation that guards the corridor, but invites the opposition to kick wide to empty space.
But as soon as they do that, the cluster quickly morphs into Phase 2, which is more of a grid formation.
The primary objective is to cause a stoppage or a turnover as close to Hawthorn's goal as possible, thus protecting the Hawks' defensive end.
The grid moves from side to side depending on where the ball is and closes in on the wings once a team commits to one side.
You take on the grid in the corridor at your own peril.
The cluster has reversed the trend of pushing back to get the ball off the opposition.
The raw numbers tell you it has been an outstanding success, with Hawthorn conceding the fewest entries into their defensive 50 since records were taken.
After six rounds, the Hawks are conceding an average of 41.7 inside 50s a match, five fewer than any other team and two fewer than the Swans in 2005, who won a premiership based on defence at levels never seen before.
Hawthorn's opponents get the ball into their forward 50 in an unbroken chain of possession from just 20 per cent of kick-ins.
Geelong, by comparison, concedes an inside 50 from 33 per cent of kick-ins. Melbourne is running at 56 per cent, and Essendon 52 per cent.
Further *****ysis of the numbers tells you why the cluster approach is so important, and also where the Hawks' achilles heel lies.
Once inside the defensive 50 Hawthorn is at its most vulnerable, with opponents kicking goals 30 per cent of the time.
This figure is by far the worst of any of the teams in the top eight and only marginally better than the winless Demons, who concede goals from 30.7 per cent of opposition forward 50 entries.
If the cluster fails, so too will the Hawks.
The cluster lives on gang tackling and tomorrow Collingwood players lured into the cluster will be attacked from all angles - front, back and sides. Once inside the grid, few survive.
In 2006, Hawthorn was the worst tackling side in the competition. Last year the Hawks ranked 15th. This year they are second, but the general won't be happy until they top the rankings.
For the cluster to work, three defenders must leave their men in the back half to become part of the grid, a complete break from the man-on-man defence that has been part of footy since the start of time.
The cluster is a continuation of Clarkson's lateral thinking and his willingness to try advanced strategies of attack - such as Buddy's Box, introduced last year - and defence, such as the cluster, in his push for success.
Today, the general's opposition is different to anyone else the Hawks will play. The Magpies move the ball quickly by long kicks, much more than by handball.
The cluster is under the microscope to see if it can cope with a quick, long-kicking team.
Last week, Terry Wallace started the game by trying to handball through the cluster up the corridor.
It was a disaster and the Tigers only found themselves in the match through persistence and moving the ball quickly around the cluster's perimeter before it had a chance to realign itself.
The worrying signs for the general is that over the past two weeks there have been a couple of deep cracks opening up behind the cluster; the Hawks have conceded a competition-high 40 per cent of forward 50 entries turning into goals, which makes it paramount that it holds firm.
Against Brisbane in Round 5, the Lions scored 17.16 from 48 entries, and last week the Tigers kicked 15 goals from 33 entries.
This suggests they formed a weak spot in high-scoring areas in front of goals, despite getting it there on very few occasions.
Trent Croad's return last week bolstered the Hawks' big-man capacity, but the man who tomorrow stands between victory and defeat for both teams could be Anthony Rocca.
Whether he was injured or dropped last week has been debated, but tomorrow it's largely irrelevant.
What is important is that his marking and goalkicking are capable of inflicting the season's first defeat on the general, if the ball gets into the Collingwood forward line often enough.
Every team will be trying to get the ball behind the cluster as quickly as possible to isolate Hawthorn defenders deep in dangerous spots.
Expect Collingwood to get the ball back into play fast and get tall targets Josh Fraser, Travis Cloke and Cameron Wood to provide targets for long kicks to the wings in an effort to get around the defensive grid.
Nothing inspires Malthouse more than a battle of wit and strategy.
Making the battle even more intriguing, for the first time this season Collingwood did not publish its training times and could well have had some private sessions to practise counter-cluster drills away from the Lexus Centre.
Hawthorn, meanwhile, has a first-hand knowledge of Mick's thinking, having recruited his right-hand man John Wardrop to the match committee over summer.
Tomorrow you'll get it all, so get there early - but only if you have a strong stomach, because the carnage may be significant.
Tomorrow we find out if the general's new-age defence can cope with Malthouse's old-age attack. Will the cluster be kicked to death?
