I posted in the David Teague thread.Apologies for the length of this post, but hopefully it will be seen as considered. I watch every single game regardless of result (that has been hard at times). I do not watch junior footy other than youtube clips so have no idea about those not playing regular footy. I watch 5-9 games per week depending on work/family. I really believe we are at a cross roads. We have the A grade talent on the list to build a real flag contender over the next 3 years. But we need to make some hard decisions. If I was in charge of reviewing the CFC to put in place a 3 year plan for a flag I would approach this offseason as follows:
Coaching Staff
I believe we have too many voices looking at the coaching structure and taking into account budget cuts.
I would setup like this:
Senior Coach - David Teague
Senior Assistant - [insert experienced coach - Choco, Voss etc]
Defence - Amos has done enough to keep this IMO
Midfield - we need a gun retired mid with some edge. Hodge would be ideal. Voss? Stanton should not be retained
Forward - we need a gun retired forward with tactical nous. Sorry Cam Bruce
Strategy & Scouting - looks at opposition teams etc. Need to do our research here
Development - Luke Power deserves more time
That means moving on Stanton, Bruce and Barker. The roles underneath these can be filled based on views of the existing team and what we can afford. I believe we need a dedicated mentor program for each player, where we pair them with a gun player from the last 10 years (any club). Pay said ex-player $10k per year to be available for calls, coffee etc. A voice away from the club. That $400k is a better use of funds than on two assistants.
Playing List
Retire - Kreuzer, Simpson & Betts - thanks guys. Amazing servants to the club. Eddie perhaps as forwards coach
Delist - Lang, Polson, BSOS (depending on internal feedback), Finbar (again subject to internal feedback), Goddard and Moore
Trade - Levi (free agent so sign and trade to Pies for a second or let walk), Kennedy and McGovern
Trade Period
Free Agents - Crouch and Williams. If fail on one of those look at Viney. We have the money. Spend it
Trade for - Graham (pick around 25 - try and get this through trading out a combination of Levi, Kennedy and/or McGovern) and Hatley (second round pick - perhaps from this year. Need to convince him not to go to SA)
2021 Plan
The three tall experiment is over. It makes us too easy to run off and with mobile KPFs like Curnow and McKay they need space. Our third tall is JSOS rotating with Cripps. We need more run.
Forwards:
JSOS McKay Hatley
Fisher Curnow Martin
Midfield:
DeKonning Cripps Crouch
Walsh Setterfield Curnow
Defence:
Newman Jones Plowman
Williams Weitering Docherty
Bench:
Gibbons, Graham, Cunningham and Pittonet
Why the forward line? - McKay and Curnow need space. Fisher and Martin crumb well. JSOS is a good mark for his size so can create mismatches. Hatley is the experiment as you would start him there with a view to working into the midfield. People like Owies, Honey and even Kemp can push for selection.
Why the midfield? - Cripps, Crouch and Walsh can all get 25+ possessions, which helps control play. Setters is growing and Curnow has runs on the board. This would be the first rotation. You can then shift Cripps forward 20% with SOS coming in or even Graham. Gibbons, Cunners, Martin and Hatley also rotate through giving us a good balance of runners and blockers. You then have people like SPS, Dow, Kemp, LOB, Stocker, Newnes etc competing for spots. I would hope very quickly SPS and Dow break into this side. Murphy can earn a spot.
Why the defence - Good mix of pace and run. Perhaps slightly small but if you have your ruck rest down there it would work. People like Kemp, Williamson, Macredie and Marchbank can push for selection.
I believe in playing Pittonet as a second ruck because it means we keep a genuine ruck on the ball every minute. We can use this to stretch teams with great number one rucks but no backup. Having a more mobile forward line allows this.
Obviously it won't all work out this way. We will likely miss Hatley but then a Dow or SPS comes in first up. You could move first rounders for Wines or Kelly (if available). But based on what I think is reasonably attainable, this is how I would run things.
Senior Assistant: Brad Scott, Ross Lyon
Midfield Coach: Scott Burns, Robert Harvey (both could be midfield/senior assistant)
Forward: Not to sure but I noticed Playfair who we let go due to Covid was the swans forward line coach during there premierships