bondiblue wrote:
Personally, I think the list failed the game plan. Looked great with few injuries, since 2022, but havent been able to keep players on the pitch.
Losing our best runners for the season hurt us really bad: Cottrell, Elijah, Jagga, Cincotta, Walsh, which puts too much pressure on Ollie's energy and stamina ,and on the burst speed saad and williams can provide (when Williams is fit).
If coach is going to be sacked come year's end, or before Round 24, to hasten the choice, that will not be a surprise anyone.
I'm sure we are canvassing coaches as we speak. Longmire is a long shot.
We need a coach to make his mark on the list with Wright's insight from this year, make good decisions on targets.
We know assistants and some development coaches will be gone and replaced.
We need to top up the team with experienced players to fill spots left by Kennedy, Owies, Marchbank, Martin and Cuningham.
Haynes was earmarked as talented depth who could step in when needed, which he did, coz Gov has been awful this year, but we are still 4 short depth players from last year.
I'm hoping we retain out of contract older inexpensive players like Newman, McGovern, Cincotta, Haynes, as depth players to cover for last year's losses, which means we need to replace Newman, McGovern, Cincotta, Haynes with better experienced players. They will come from Picks and FA's. So who do we delist to make way for 4 new players, Dean FS, and maybe Ison as an NGA?
Finally for List manager and coach to consider deeply. We need players who have mongrel, and are unsociable on the field. I'm sick of players "playing" football, like its a game, when we need players who go to war every week. Players who hate to lose.
The list manager and Coach has to be focussed on delivering a flag in the next 2-3 years with our spine of stars. I don't think we will lose players as some think at the end of the year, But we will need to discard a few kids. Don'ty let contracts fool you like the LOB decision did. I have my thoughts on which contractyed players we will release this year, who may still have a year to run on their contract.
I'd like to keep Kemp as depth too. He's of the right age profile we need to build up.
Thanks for both these posts - look forward to hearing from you after the session this afternoon.
I am agnostic about moving a big name player or two beyond TDK.
I get that some of our players have terrible skills. But honestly, I think most of our players are looking much worse than they are either because they (or their teammates up the field) are not doing what’s asked of them in terms of leading, fake leading, kicking to moving players, kicking to space etc which allows much more margin for error…. Like Collingwood where the receiver tends to make the kick look better. And I can’t believe it is a coincidence that so many of our players have terrible skills. And I have seen many who I know have great skills play as if those skills have abandoned them.
So, to me, it is either the game plan or the players’ ability to stick to the game plan.
Things can turn around quickly with the right moves. Many had writtten the Tigers off by 2016 and Hardwick as almost out the door. Only a few rounds earlier last season, the Lions were past it, had missed their window and would have to start again. Not only did they win the flag, but they are forecast to remain in contention for some time, despite losing their no.1 key forward! And the Cats by 2021 were considering their whole game plan - they rethought the whole approach and, as one of the oldest teams in history, won the flag in 2022. What about the Crows last season? Arguably worse and more disappointing than us now. What about the Pies at the beginning of 2022 - most experts had them with one of the worst lists and a long road back. And, again last season, they dropped off the face of the earth. Only to rebound with an updated game plan, and whooshka! (I don’t for a second think that Dan Houston would have solved our problems - more likely, his kicking would have suddenly become rubbish like everyone else…).
But the main point is, things can turn around very very quickly if the right moves are made. And while quality players are crucial, no 1 or 2 players are bigger than the club (Hawks won the flag after Buddy left, Cats won after Ablett left etc…).
I honestly don’t know whether is a Voss problem, a game plan problem, an assistant coach problem, a team culture problem, a Board problem or, most likely some combination. FWIW, I THINK Nathan Buckley probably got closest to it when he spoke about our players’ sense of entitlement… which goes back 20 years and does maintain an explainable line tracking for all of those years. And I think a large part of that is because of our off-field leaders who put them on a pedestal even before they arrive (as do we as fans).
In any event, What we are doing now is clearly not working and hopefully we get the right people in the room to work it out.
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