Most community-level post-game reviews are either too long (a two-hour video session no one absorbs) or too vague (a half-time speech with no specific action). The elite version is short, structured, and ends with a list.
Why most reviews fail
Three failure modes show up at community level:
The 20-minute structure
Five minutes per phase, five minutes for the action list. That's the whole thing. Coaches at elite level often spend longer prepping the data, but the team-facing review is short by design.
Step 1 — Territory (5 min)
Start with where the game was played. Three numbers tell the story:
Step 2 — Contest (5 min)
Three numbers:
Step 3 — Offence (5 min)
Three numbers:
Step 4 — Action list (5 min)
This is the most important step, and the one most reviews skip. Three buckets:
How Powercoach short-circuits the data step
Most of the time spent on a community-level review is the data-gathering — pulling stats together, watching the vision, finding the moments. Powercoach automates this part:
Common questions from community coaches
After the game, where should I start my review?
Territory. It frames everything else. If you didn't control where the game was played, no other phase analysis matters — that's the first thing to fix.
What's the most important stat to look at first?
Magic Margin vs actual score. It tells you whether the result reflected the performance or whether you over- or under-performed. The framing of the entire review depends on this answer.
How do I link what I saw to what actually happened?
Pick the moments where your eye and the data agree, not where they disagree. Show those moments to the players — that's how the lesson sticks.
How do I keep a review simple instead of overwhelming the players?
Use the 20-minute structure and end with a list of three to five action items. Anything that doesn't make the list doesn't get said.
What's the best way to use Powercoach to guide our next training focus?
Look at the phase you under-performed in. Each phase maps to specific drills — for example, contest losses in defensive 50 map to stoppage-exit drills. The phase tells you what to train.
What should I look at to understand whether our game plan actually worked?
Magic Margin and chain length together. If Magic Margin says you controlled the game and chain length says your offence was clean, your plan worked — even if the scoreboard didn't reward it that day. If either is off, the plan needs adjustment.
That's the series
Six modules, one objective: helping you watch AFL games the way elite coaches do. The frame, the live cues, the data loop, the adjustment categories, the momentum signals, and the review structure. None of it is complicated. All of it takes practice.
Pick one module to focus on this weekend. Run the freeze-frame technique, or commit to the 20-minute review, or just spend the first quarter watching the system instead of the ball. One change is enough.
Why most reviews fail
Three failure modes show up at community level:
- The narration review: Walking through every quarter chronologically. Players tune out by the second quarter; nothing actionable comes out.
- The vibe review: "We weren't intense enough." True or not, no one knows what to train next week.
- The kitchen-sink review: Twelve issues, none prioritised. Players walk out remembering none of them.
The 20-minute structure
Five minutes per phase, five minutes for the action list. That's the whole thing. Coaches at elite level often spend longer prepping the data, but the team-facing review is short by design.
Step 1 — Territory (5 min)
Start with where the game was played. Three numbers tell the story:
- Inside 50s — for and against.
- Time in forward half.
- Intercept map — where on the ground we generated turnovers.
Step 2 — Contest (5 min)
Three numbers:
- Stoppage win % — and where on the ground.
- Clearance type — clean exits vs hack-and-hope.
- Ground-ball wins — at and around the contest.
Step 3 — Offence (5 min)
Three numbers:
- Chain length — how many disposals between possession and outcome.
- Score per inside 50 — were our entries quality?
- Connection path — did we score from set-ups, intercepts, or stoppages?
Step 4 — Action list (5 min)
This is the most important step, and the one most reviews skip. Three buckets:
- What to train next week: One or two specific drills tied to a phase you under-performed in. Not "tackle harder" — something like "stoppage exits to the wing side, three-on-three drill, ten reps."
- Which players need role clarity: Anyone whose role didn't match what the game demanded. Not "play better" — a specific role conversation.
- What structural issues to fix: Any positional pattern that hurt us — wing height, stoppage shape, forward spacing. These get rehearsed at training, not just spoken about.
How Powercoach short-circuits the data step
Most of the time spent on a community-level review is the data-gathering — pulling stats together, watching the vision, finding the moments. Powercoach automates this part:
- Chain data, conversion maps, stoppage trends, and intercept patterns are populated automatically.
- Magic Margin vs actual score tells you whether you "played well and lost" or "got out-hustled" — which changes the entire review framing.
- Quarter-by-quarter breakdowns let you isolate the moment the game turned, without scrubbing through video.
Common questions from community coaches
After the game, where should I start my review?
Territory. It frames everything else. If you didn't control where the game was played, no other phase analysis matters — that's the first thing to fix.
What's the most important stat to look at first?
Magic Margin vs actual score. It tells you whether the result reflected the performance or whether you over- or under-performed. The framing of the entire review depends on this answer.
How do I link what I saw to what actually happened?
Pick the moments where your eye and the data agree, not where they disagree. Show those moments to the players — that's how the lesson sticks.
How do I keep a review simple instead of overwhelming the players?
Use the 20-minute structure and end with a list of three to five action items. Anything that doesn't make the list doesn't get said.
What's the best way to use Powercoach to guide our next training focus?
Look at the phase you under-performed in. Each phase maps to specific drills — for example, contest losses in defensive 50 map to stoppage-exit drills. The phase tells you what to train.
What should I look at to understand whether our game plan actually worked?
Magic Margin and chain length together. If Magic Margin says you controlled the game and chain length says your offence was clean, your plan worked — even if the scoreboard didn't reward it that day. If either is off, the plan needs adjustment.
That's the series
Six modules, one objective: helping you watch AFL games the way elite coaches do. The frame, the live cues, the data loop, the adjustment categories, the momentum signals, and the review structure. None of it is complicated. All of it takes practice.
Pick one module to focus on this weekend. Run the freeze-frame technique, or commit to the 20-minute review, or just spend the first quarter watching the system instead of the ball. One change is enough.
