Coach Alastair Clarkson - NMFC Senior Coach - Coaching & Football Discussion

[Shermanator]

Bolded bit - me too. I’d like to still think that.
A 6-7 goal loss to Hawthorn yesterday I would’ve kind of accepted. Given where the two teams began the year, I wouldn’t have been happy, but I wouldn’t have been overly worried about it.

How do you reconcile the Noble-era bullshit of yesterday and the round prior?

How do you see hope given that this year is as bad as any since 2018?

The three problems we have are personnel - we need decent depth across the board, fitness - to run out games and belief in winning.

The first halves of Freo, Collingwood and West Coast were scintillating but we stopped like we we’re shot in the arse..

If we fix the personnel and fitness then (hopefully) the belief should follow.

 

[Loose_Cannon]

The three problems we have are personnel - we need decent depth across the board, fitness - to run out games and belief in winning.

The first halves of Freo, Collingwood and West Coast were scintillating but we stopped like we we’re shot in the arse..

If we fix the personnel and fitness then (hopefully) the belief should follow.

The second and third quite often go hand in hand.

How up and about did the team seem across the board in that first game against WCE? Why did everyone, to a man, seem to crack in harder and more importantly, run defensively harder, than they had all year? And why did the work rate and intensity seem to drop off in almost every game when the other team even got a small run on? My answer (from 1000 miles away) is the same for both: mental.

While I think fitness levels could be improved, the bigger issue is between the ears.

 

[amaz199]

Todd Viney, Alastair Clarkson, Xavier Clarke, Jed Adcock

Jed Adcock

Age

39

Ht

183cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

D/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.4

4star

K

10.3

4star

HB

7.1

4star

M

4.5

4star

T

3.6

5star

MG

214.0

3star

No current season stats available

D

8.8

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

4.2

4star

M

2.0

3star

T

2.2

4star

, Damian Monkhorst, Michael Barlow, Leigh Adams

Leigh Adams

Age

36

Ht

176cm

Wt

79kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.0

4star

K

8.9

3star

HB

9.1

5star

M

3.6

4star

T

3.5

5star

G

0.7

4star

No current season stats available

D

12.2

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

6.8

5star

M

2.2

3star

T

4.2

5star

G

0.4

3star

, Tom Lynch, Emma Kearney, Adam Marcon

Adam Marcon

Age

32

Ht

180cm

Wt

80kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.0

5star

K

11.5

4star

HB

7.5

5star

M

6.5

5star

T

2.5

4star

CL

1.5

4star

No current season stats available

D

19.0

5star

K

11.5

4star

HB

7.5

5star

M

6.5

5star

T

2.5

4star

CL

1.5

4star

etc.

If our players cannot take advantage of a coaching line that good, they are the problem.

They need to say it to themselves and individually take responsibility. Stop sacking the coaches and look at what the players can do that's in their control. They are not pulling their weight.

Not good enough.

 

[zoomba23]

The second and third quite often go hand in hand.

How up and about did the team seem across the board in that first game against WCE? Why did everyone, to a man, seem to crack in harder and more importantly, run defensively harder, than they had all year? And why did the work rate and intensity seem to drop off in almost every game when the other team even got a small run on? My answer (from 1000 miles away) is the same for both: mental.

While I think fitness levels could be improved, the bigger issue is between the ears.

They don't try to turn things around themselves. If the opposition is switched on from the beginning, it's not worth the effort to try and catch them.

If the opposition stumble a bit, they decide it's worth a try. By some miracle they might even try and stick with that level of effort for the whole four quarters.

If the opposition stumble, then turn it on, it's not worth the effort. Better to just go into their shells and accept defeat, rather than risk exhaustion and fight tooth and nail the way Collingwood or Geelong do.

Softest team in the league. But you can't even call them front runners because once they get a lead, they panic. It's like a nightmarish game of roulette where they lose no matter the outcome. In all of our wins it's taken an unlikely combination of factors to get us across the line. Absolutely inexcusable. Victims, losers.

They should, with the exception of three players, be shaken by the collar and told to pull their ****ing heads in and use the power they have as professional male athletes. Of course, they'd sook about that too, but it's what they ****ing need to learn

 

[utility]

Softest team in the league.

That's because the club is woke. Poor culture. Needs an administration and board clean out.

Will either get flamed or have the post deleted for saying it, but...

 

[Ruckle]

Todd Viney, Alastair Clarkson, Xavier Clarke, Jed Adcock, Damian Monkhorst, Michael Barlow, Leigh Adams, Tom Lynch, Emma Kearney, Adam Marcon etc.

If our players cannot take advantage of a coaching line that good, they are the problem.

They need to say it to themselves and individually take responsibility. Stop sacking the coaches and look at what the players can do that's in their control. They are not pulling their weight.

Not good enough.

Out of that list of coaches would Monkhorst be the only one with an actual pass. His prime student arguably the most improved player in the league, though feels alot of that came from X. As for the others. Collectively, allowing the complete non movement, inexcusable standards etc. Heard Tom Lynch is getting canned cuz the club cant believe with our injury run for most of the year that we didnt make VFL finals. If he goes and forward coach survives we might still have some jobs for mates issues? Anyway we are a rabble. Dont see our results or actions pointing to this being a coaching line that is any good. This post probably belongs in the autopsy thread. Sorry all.

 

[zoomba23]

That's because the club is woke. Poor culture. Needs an administration and board clean out.

Will either get flamed or have the post deleted for saying it, but...

View attachment 2091352

Facebook is over there, bro. The only real argument with legs in the 'woke' realm is the fact that the playing group are weak minded and closed off to the idea of fighting against adversity instead of making themselves small, and turn into sooks when anyone points that out to them. Now that wouldn't have happened fifty years ago. Everything else 'woke' is noise. If Jen Watt is shit, it's cos she's incompetent, and it would be the same if she was called Jim

 

[Ligma]

I clarko

 

[Horizons_00]

Have to agree on the presser from Clarko. Wasn’t great and actually made me mad haha

 

[justroyal]

I think next year is the year we can start to really judge. Despite, how much upside his seen, I think the midfield ended the year with a massive F. In what looked like a B+ ending to the season

 

[Black Diamond]

I’m in the small camp who think the list is good but needs time. The “cattle” are still calves.

If there is something wrong with Clarkson (Hawthorn issues related) then I don’t know what to do. Ask him to resign? Support him? Something in between?

Otherwise, stick with him. We will be in Carlton territory otherwise moving on four coaches in 5 years, and at minimum Clarkson is able to deflect enough to let the guys grow up a bit.

 

[ferball]

I’m in the small camp who think the list is good but needs time. The “cattle” are still calves.

If there is something wrong with Clarkson (Hawthorn issues related) then I don’t know what to do. Ask him to resign? Support him? Something in between?

Otherwise, stick with him. We will be in Carlton territory otherwise moving on four coaches in 5 years, and at minimum Clarkson is able to deflect enough to let the guys grow up a bit.

Since the start of 2019 we have had seven changes of coach (altho two were clarko to ratten and back).

 

[roo blitz]

He’s steeped in the past isn’t he?
He’s also obsessed with how great every other team is, and how so many other teams have been terrible at various stages.
I don’t know what he’s trying to do. Sell hope?
Sorry man, if you’re sitting there rubbing your neck, slurring out “ums” and “uhs” after the latest annihilation where you’ve done nothing to inspire the boys, change the course of the game, it’s not hope. It’s excuses.

We’ve got him for another 3 years and I hope he comes good, but it’s not looking likely at this stage. He looks like yesterday’s man with less of a clue than ever. Feel like we should’ve given him a 3 or 4 year deal. Have we gone for stability, or are we just digging ourselves further into a hole?

(Which would be quite an incredible achievement considering we’re already the W.O.A.T)

Great post. I do wonder if he listens to his post match interviews after he has done them. You can almost push the repeat button. Thats not the Clarko of old

 

[roo blitz]

Players are too busy patting themselves on the back telling everyone how good they will be. Well guess what ?. They are just about the worse performing team of all time and have nothing to show for all their efforts besides more losses and limited improvement. Its time to get serious and wake up to themselves

 

[roo blitz]

Right now there are 2 players who can hold their heads up and be classified as really good consistant players Xerri & Sheezel. The rest are just unreliable and inconsistant. And yes that includes Larkey and LDU

 

[Gasometer]

I’m If I can butt in and say something about the Hawthorn experience of Clarko.

His last few years’ coaching at Hawthorn was dreadful - overly defensive and lacking vision. There had to be a compelling reason why a board would sack a multi-premiership coach and actually be prepared to pay him close to a $million for a year to get him away from the club.

It’s also relevant to note that Clarko’s success as a coach coincided precisely with Fagan being at the club and having major influence over Clarkson. As soon as Fagan left to go to Brisbane, Clarko went downhill and our football was awful with some terrible losses despite the fact that we still had a core of premiership players. That’s why he was sacked for a younger untried coach who promised innovation and the ability to have his players adopt a modern gameplan.

Many of us (Hawthorn supporters) were surprised by the beyond-excited attitude at North that Clarko’s arrival was like the second coming of Jesus.

Hopefully for you all it may still work out because a 5 year contract (?) at $1 mill plus a year is serious lucre. But it seems he’s surrounded himself with his own yes men and a very compliant footy department which isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Excellent news this post

 

[Skarrz]

I swear morons who use the word woke are up there with scum supporters. Anything you dislike or disagree with is “woke”, sorry the world isn’t perpetually stuck in the 1980s old white man, get over it.

Us caring about women and making Australian sporting culture more inclusive does not change a second of how our AFLM team play on the field and if you think it does (redacted cause don’t want to be banned but you can fill in the blanks with your 17 brain cells)

 

[RossHenshaw]

Players are too busy patting themselves on the back telling everyone how good they will be. Well guess what ?. They are just about the worse performing team of all time and have nothing to show for all their efforts besides more losses and limited improvement. Its time to get serious and wake up to themselves

But don’t worry, they will still make sure they have a mad Monday to celebrate the great year we’ve had with members cash

 

[DuckYeah]

I swear morons who use the word woke are up there with scum supporters. Anything you dislike or disagree with is “woke”, sorry the world isn’t perpetually stuck in the 1980s old white man, get over it.

Us caring about women and making Australian sporting culture more inclusive does not change a second of how our AFLM team play on the field and if you think it does (redacted cause don’t want to be banned but you can fill in the blanks with your 17 brain cells)

Bolded bit. AFL team. There is no M in it.

 

[viccles]

Right now there are 2 players who can hold their heads up and be classified as really good consistant players Xerri & Sheezel. The rest are just unreliable and inconsistant. And yes that includes Larkey and LDU

Id put Arch and Comben in there

 

[Skarrz]

Bolded bit. AFL team. There is no M in it.

I’m glad that’s what you took away from my post, hardly surprised

 

[roo blitz]

I swear morons who use the word woke are up there with scum supporters. Anything you dislike or disagree with is “woke”, sorry the world isn’t perpetually stuck in the 1980s old white man, get over it.

Us caring about women and making Australian sporting culture more inclusive does not change a second of how our AFLM team play on the field and if you think it does (redacted cause don’t want to be banned but you can fill in the blanks with your 17 brain cells)

Settle down Skarrz, saying woke dosnt make someone a moron. Whether you want to call things woke or not its infected the whole of society for better or worse controlling what people can or cant say for fear of being called out for having views. Even now you are saying we cant use that word. Clarko is muzzled by it. No decent person agrees treating woman badly is acceptable, that racism is acceptable and inclusivity is suppose to work for everyone which is clearly not the case, just look at the Olympics opening ceremony for an example. Anyway we are losing the point of the discussion. Its was about Clarko having his hands tied behind his back and having to change his whole coaching style that has made him a different type of coach that I'm not sure suits him .

 

[roo blitz]

Id put Arch and Comben in there

For effort 100%. They have both shown a fighting spirit unlike many others.

 

[Black Diamond]

Without going in to who is or isn’t woke, our players are certainly happy, and have been for a while.

Since the start of the Scott era, I’d say only Harvey, Goldstein and Cunnington have been both very good players, with a bit of you-know-what in them.

There is a very long list who this board used to love, but who I always felt were comfortable just being ok and could have produced more.

The younger players (post 2010) didn’t like Harvey that much. Maybe he in fact was not a good leader. I am open to that. But I suspect a lot of them just weren’t up for it.

 

[zoomba23]

Without going in to who is or isn’t woke, our players are certainly happy, and have been for a while.

Since the start of the Scott era, I’d say only Harvey, Goldstein and Cunnington have been both very good players, with a bit of you-know-what in them.

There is a very long list who this board used to love, but who I always felt were comfortable just being ok and could have produced more.

The younger players (post 2010) didn’t like Harvey that much. Maybe he in fact was not a good leader. I am open to that. But I suspect a lot of them just weren’t up for it.

If Dal Santo and Brown both noted the gulf in training intensity between North and their other clubs, the proof is in the pudding. We've been behind most other teams training wise for more than a decade.

We did ok in 14-15 with a list that was far better than many admit. We could've been Grand Final calibre. Standards probably held us back.

Agree they're happy with their current situations and agree that it's been going on for a while. I and a few others have identified a couple of blokes currently who show that same fight, but my God, they're few and far between.

Just on Boomer, I'd say both are true. I don't think he was a particularly likeable bloke, or that he was great at leading others, and also I think that others weren't up for the exhaustion and pain that comes from really lifting standards and expectations from the pits.

It's a huge ask right now to reverse all this, given the collective misfortune that's hit the club in other spheres. Hopefully some of them are looking inwards and thinking that this isn't right, but I'm not holding my breath. Frankly, I'm not sure Clarko has it in him right now to push them all to the brink at training and in the way they think about their football. He seems perpetually buggered