A good read from Jake Niall, with a lot of content from Weiters and Cook…
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/the ... 5e2ry.htmlQuote:
…What is evident from talking to Weitering, Cook and others within the club not authorised to speak publicly and who talked off the record, is that the club hierarchy’s public affirmation that Voss was safe was a relief, that some players and staff had experienced one sacking or review too many.
“They’d been through it before,” said Cook of the players and staff who’d endured coaching/CEO turnover. “They didn’t want to go through it again.”
Weitering said: “I think if you’re going to do that [sack the coach] ... you’re probably saying to the club, to the supporters, to the players that you’re taking one step forward and two steps back, or three steps back even, and that’s not great if you want success.”
Cook said he and Sayers had underestimated the impact on the players of their public statements supporting Voss staying in his role. Sayers, subsequently engulfed in separate controversy due to his past stewardship of PwC, has said little since that time.
“When that was said to us, to Luke and I, to the board, I think we were a little surprised,” Cook said.
“We probably didn’t fully comprehend how important it was how the players saw the commentary from Luke and I in particular, in the media.
“We thought they were a bit more protected than that. There was obviously some susceptibility there, some sensitivity, okay, and we didn’t pick up on [it].”
Weitering said of the external pressure’s influence: “The less noise there is the better ... I mean, this is a noisy club.”
Weitering credits Cook, Sayers and football boss Brad Lloyd for standing firm in the face of the outside heat. “And then Vossy is the obvious one... a leader of men, very good balance between relationships and understanding you’ve got to get the job done.”…