Knowing how to place your car to defend against an oncoming attacker is a crucial skill to learn in Rocket League. Beyond positioning, there are also different methods that are used to give yourself the best possible chance of saving or intercepting the ball. In this blog, I will explain some of these methods and teach you how to react and correctly place yourself for different situations.

Common Defensive Situations

There are a few instances which players will frequently find themselves in. These include the following:

When the other team is on a fast break and you are retreating from the midfield back to your net
When the other team just cleared the ball past you down to your end
An opposing player is bringing the ball up one of your walls
When your teammate committed and missed, leaving you in a 2v1
When an opposing player is dribbling the ball towards your net

An easy way to make sure you don’t get caught up in the play and give up an open net is to watch and see where your teammates are going. This applies primarily to situations 1, 2, and 5. For situation 1 and 2, an easy way to make sure no surprise pinches or clears get out of your reach is to stay around midfield and watch the play going on in the zone. This way you can still get back and defend if the ball is cleared. For situation 5, you have to know if you have any more teammates behind you. If there is someone else in net, then you should challenge the ball. Even if you miss, your pressure will most likely force the attacker to do something with the ball, which opens up an opportunity for the last man back to clear it away from your net.

Back Post Rotations

Back post rotations are an incredibly important part of team play, and they are centered around the back post, or whichever goal post is farthest from the ball. This type of rotation takes place when the ball is in your end and there are attackers shooting the ball around. Depending on whether you are playing 2v2s or 3v3s, back post rotation methods can vary. When playing 2v2s, it is important to remember that you only have one teammate and you should consider how your decisions will affect them.

For instance, say you challenged an attacker who was coming down a wall on your side with the ball. Now the attacker is bringing the ball towards your net with your teammate in goal. A common mistake players make in this situation is driving directly through the area of the play. Doing this will cause confusion and most likely become a double commit by you and your teammate, leaving the net wide open. It also puts your car in an awkward, unfavorable position relative to the ball. The correct action is to instead drive around the play near the back post and allow your teammate to challenge the ball. This way, you will be ready for a save if the ball gets past your teammate.

In 3v3s, it can be a little more complex. For example, you just challenged someone midfield and the attacker got the ball past you. You are driving back to defend. You have one teammate going for the ball momentarily, and your other teammate is grabbing a corner boost on their way back to net. Remember to drive around the play to the back post and towards the net. By this time, your teammate who was originally in net will probably be moving out to challenge the ball. Because you are in net and ready to backup your teammate, your other teammate will be moving to the back post to follow you up as well. On your way back from midfield, if time permits, try to steal the midfield boost. It forces the attackers to go all the way back to their end for a full replenish, relieving some pressure on your defense.

In back post rotations, the main idea is to never cut off your teammates. 9 times out of 10, your teammate will have a better shot/clear than you as long as the rotations are correct.

This video by SubParButInHD does a fantastic job of further explaining back post rotations, as well as other important defensive skills:

Where to Place Yourself in Net

Transitioning from the back post rotations, say you just completed the rotation and you are the last man back in net. In this situation, the attacker has the advantage. However, positioning your car correctly can set you up to react to any shot that is fired on net.

The first and most important step is to place your car near parallel to the goal line. If your car is head-on to the attacker, there is only one direction that you can defend: forward. If your car is parallel to the goal line, however, it allows you to be mobile and react to a shot in any part of the net.

The next step is to place your car near the corner of the net closest to the attacker. If the attacker is coming at an angle from your left side, place your car near the left post facing inwards. Vice versa for the right. Since your car is positioned in the corner facing the rest of the goal line, you will be able to boost and lunge for any shot in the net. Just make sure to not get faked and have the defender go behind you!

Goalkeeping varies from situation to situation, so if you see an opportunity to challenge earlier, go for it! This strategy is just an efficient way to defend shots, so don’t be afraid to try other things too.

Shadowing

Shadowing is one of the most important skills to defend against dribbling in 1v1 situations. It is used when an attacker is dribbling down towards your net, and you are not in net, but rather a bit ahead of them driving in the same direction.

In this situation, the defender realizes what is about to happen, and starts shadowing by aligning himself ahead of the dribbler, but still driving in the same direction as them.

Make sure that you are not driving completely parallel with them, but rather driving at an angle in which you will be able to cut them off before making it to the net.

From here, pretend you are literally their shadow; mimic their movements and react to anything they try to do while slowly getting closer to them.

If the dribbler decides to try to flick the ball past you, you are already in the correct position to aerial after the ball and knock it away from the net or off the backboard.

Make sure you are shadowing from the outside, and not the middle. This forces the attacker to only go in the direction where your car isn’t, eliminating the possibility of going behind you and giving you an easier save.

If you see any small error in the attacker’s dribble, shadowing also lets you pounce on the ball immediately before they have a chance to recover. So if you see any misplay, challenge them!

Conclusion

Correct defensive positioning is a vastly important skill which sets a player up to pull off saves and challenges in a smooth, controlled fashion. To recap:

Watch your teammates: The key to staying in position is knowing where your teammates are. Watch what they do and position yourself accordingly.
Back post rotations: Rotate around the play to the back post and follow up your teammates.
Net positioning: Place your car in the corner closest to the attacker while rotating your car parallel to the goal line.
Shadowing: Stay ahead of the dribbler and drive at an angle to slowly cut them off, reacting to anything they try to do.

These defensive skills are sure to help you improve your Rocket League capabilities in no time!

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