Team Analysed:
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Japan show repetition of some staple movements; downfield cutters, sideline resets, & lateral continuation cuts using the Cyclone offence, along with lots of patience and solid fundamentals.
Breaking it down
1. Swing & Lead Pass
Japan field the pull, swinging the disc immediately then looking to continue the swing movement; instead, the handler turns upfield for a leading pass, generating power position
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2. Away to open under
There is a cutter isolated in the lane immediately in front of the disc. She moves deep, then turns under for an easy open side cut. A few seconds later, she hits another cut from the stack to the open side for continuation
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3. Sideline reset
Now stuck on the sideline, Japan look to switch the field. Notice the positioning of the reset handler; hips facing towards the disc, she's in a great position to attack up the line or into the back field. Her movement is mirrored almost exactly by the third handler who receives a continuation pass.
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4. Inside throw to lateral cut
A particular feature of Japanese ultimate is having continuation cuts that move laterally towards the break side from in front of the disc. This is the Cyclone cut, and this is a good example.
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5. Triangle reset
After players get clogged up in front of the disc, a simple way to reset things is for the dump to clear downfield, and another player fills their position.
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6. Away to open under
Pay attention to the player who catches the second pass. She is on the open side of the field, and her defender is a good position to prevent cuts. As the disc swings though, the angles of attack change. She reacts to this by turning underneath for a yard-gaining cut
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7. Sideline reset
Knocking on the door, but Japan show patience and control to move the disc away from the trap sideline, #90 taking time to look at potential scoring options before taking another two throws to get the disc all the way to the far sideline
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8. Inside throw to lateral cut
After swinging, again Japan look for those Cyclone cuts; it's actually the handler from the previous frame, #90, who catches the inside pass. Immediately afterwards, she fakes the around before looking at the inside throw, showing the Cyclone pivoting action
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9. Lateral Cut
Playing defence right at the front of the endzone is one of the toughest spots for any defender, and with this much space, it's only a matter of time before an opening appears. In this instance, after defending a break side cut, the disc is swung to the open side which leaves the defender out of position