2025 Pre-Season chat

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Higgins had real problems following teams rules/instructions both at the Kangaroos and then at the Cattery... not exactly a pin up boy for team-first ethos.
The coaching team gave him a matchday role sitting at the interchange bench, a player who consistently had problems following instructions and rules probably wouldn't get that position, where's your info coming from?
 
Higgins had real problems following teams rules/instructions both at the Kangaroos and then at the Cattery... not exactly a pin up boy for team-first ethos.

That seems to contradict the way his former teammates spoke about him, especially during his time in the Hoops

Listening to teammates following our 22 premiership win, especially from Selwood & Dangerfield was the professionalism of his approach late in the season when he knew he wasn't going to be breaking into the senior team, but he wanted to make sure his teammates were as best prepared as possible for their next opponent


And as mentioned by others, he's now working with the club in a match day role - would think it's unlikely that the club would keep someone around that was deemed to not display a team first ethos
 
That seems to contradict the way his former teammates spoke about him, especially during his time in the Hoops

Listening to teammates following our 22 premiership win, especially from Selwood & Dangerfield was the professionalism of his approach late in the season when he knew he wasn't going to be breaking into the senior team, but he wanted to make sure his teammates were as best prepared as possible for their next opponent


And as mentioned by others, he's now working with the club in a match day role - would think it's unlikely that the club would keep someone around that was deemed to not display a team first ethos

Na we kept him around as a joke, whenever he leaves the room, everyone just laughs at him behind his back.
 

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The coaching team gave him a matchday role sitting at the interchange bench, a player who consistently had problems following instructions and rules probably wouldn't get that position, where's your info coming from?
Matty Knights stated that Higgins was having trouble adapting to how Geelong wanted him to play. Not surprisingly, that never changed.

 
Matty Knights stated that Higgins was having trouble adapting to how Geelong wanted him to play. Not surprisingly, that never changed.

This is your source for the statement you made? This explains how false information proliferates. What you've shared does not explain what you said.
 
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Matty Knights stated that Higgins was having trouble adapting to how Geelong wanted him to play. Not surprisingly, that never changed.


?

How does a player having trouble adapting to a new role at a new team, equate to, "had real problems following team rules/instructions and not a pin up boy for team-first ethos"?


The timing of that post you quoted is also quite interesting as it was the day before our prelim final versus Melbourne, a match that Higgins played which bought his season tally to 18 senior games - within that 18 he started as the sub on 3 occasions

Maybe he wasn't playing the role to the level they would have loved to have seen from him, but he was still doing something right which is he why he continued to be selected throughout the season

Even in 2022 when he played only 5 senior games, that's still more than the 4 VFL games he played that year


Still not getting the "had real problems following team rules/instructions" and "not exactly a pin up boy for team-first ethos" claims, as actions seem to contradict that
 
Matty Knights stated that Higgins was having trouble adapting to how Geelong wanted him to play. Not surprisingly, that never changed.

Talk about making a ridiculous mountain out of a molehill.
 
?

How does a player having trouble adapting to a new role at a new team, equate to, "had real problems following team rules/instructions and not a pin up boy for team-first ethos"?


The timing of that post you quoted is also quite interesting as it was the day before our prelim final versus Melbourne, a match that Higgins played which bought his season tally to 18 senior games - within that 18 he started as the sub on 3 occasions

Maybe he wasn't playing the role to the level they would have loved to have seen from him, but he was still doing something right which is he why he continued to be selected throughout the season

Even in 2022 when he played only 5 senior games, that's still more than the 4 VFL games he played that year


Still not getting the "had real problems following team rules/instructions" and "not exactly a pin up boy for team-first ethos" claims, as actions seem to contradict that
He played to the beat of his own drum and disregarded specific instructions on the role he was to play. Take your own interpretation of that.
 
He played to the beat of his own drum and disregarded specific instructions on the role he was to play. Take your own interpretation of that.

Can you please quote where any teammate or coach of Higgins from North or Geelong, said "He played to the beat of his own drum and disregarded specific instructions on the role he was to play."

So far, there's been nothing to suggest that any of that was an issue with Higgins


No one, regardless of who they are, is going to play 18 senior matches in their first season at their new club of their doing their own thing out on the field & ignoring instructions around their role
 
He played to the beat of his own drum and disregarded specific instructions on the role he was to play. Take your own interpretation of that.

It seems you already have.

It could be something as simple as, his idea of what a half-forward was at North Melbourne might have been wildly different to what a half forward at Geelong was. Maybe he didn't have the right running patterns. Maybe he was still acting as a mid and getting sucked into the stoppage too much. Maybe North's game plan and coaching was so shit, that he wasn't used to the step up/increased running and sprints, required to be successful in the role. At that stage he had Miers and Close, with Menegola at half forward at times...all very strong runners/sprinters.

There are a myriad of reasons, none of which point to lack of professionalism. Logically though, Geelong wouldn't have hired him as a game day coach, nor spoke to his leadership during our flag season, if he was so unprofessional. It kinda invalidates your argument.

As others have said, it's a mountain out of a molehill, and the molehill itself doesn't even seem relevant - given the aforementioned.

Not even worth talking about, IMO.
 
It's pretty exciting how we've managed to put together a group of players coming in to their prime.

If you look at our players by the year they were eligible to be drafted we had a 4 year period from 2012-2015 where we only got 4 role players (O'Connor, Kolo, Mannagh and Atkins). Nowhere near enough to build a team around.

The 2016-2021 draft years are completely different. From there we have:

2016 - Stengle, Zuthrie, J Henry, Close, Bowes

2017 - Miers

2018 - Smith, Mullin

2019 - SDK

2020 - Holmes, O Henry, Neale, Bruhn

2021 - Dempsey, Humphries, Conway, Knevitt

That's 17 players from 6 drafts. If the development continues to be good the rest of this decade should be very exciting.
 

****ing luv this bloke and yes as the chairman and CEO of the Neale fan club I’m doubling down on this bloke making it.
He can be anything - got the right approach, physical and mental.. says the right things and now just has to go to it.
Will never replace Tomma but no one could.. but I’m supremely confident Neale will give the best version of himself to the GFC

Go Catters
 

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