Opinion Collingwood Almanac 2016

[Knightmare]

Hey KM,
To what do you attribute the Bulldogs premiership this year?

They don't seem to have star KPF or KPD. Their ruck is very mediocre, and their midfield is great without being absolutely exceptional. They don't seem to have a position that allows them to win a game based on it, maybe midfield, but if that's the case, why are we so much worse this year? Is it because they have a greater balance of inside/outside midfielders? Is there a trend of less and less reliance on KPF and thus less value of KPD? Maybe Moore playing as the sole KPF is enough as the games are becoming faster and more importance is placed on the stamina of midfielders.

I expect AFL clubs, fans, media people etc will read a lot into the Western Bulldogs play style, personal types and superiorities by position etc and over-analyse things.

Great coaching, leadership, culture, locker room chemistry and players playing for their coach and one another is why I feel Western Bulldogs won.

With Western Bulldogs it's a lot of those intangibles. They've got talent, but as the 7th placed finisher with the 7th best percentage, if not for these intangibles, they wouldn't have defied logic as a still young and developing team with injuries to key players to have gone all the way.

You only had to listen to the player interviews, club stories etc during the week to pick up how powerful of an impact all this has had.

I feel this over any balance or quality of players by type is why ultimately they could do what going into the finals would have been the unthinkable.

The lesson I feel that can be taken out of it and applied is simply that you need a great coach, great leadership and a strong culture where there is that love - players for players - coaches and players.

--
The sheer power of stories I have heard out of WBD has been big.

Hearing about Bevo's first speech to the group - talking about being an emotional person, wearing his heart on his sleeve. From all reports he captured the players and everyone within the club from that moment. Then seeing an act from Bevo like giving his premiership medal to Bob Murphy. That just speaks to what they're all about. And it's the power in those moments and seeing those things they're about that makes all the difference.

 

[Scodog10]

I expect AFL clubs, fans, media people etc will read a lot into the Western Bulldogs play style, personal types and superiorities by position etc and over-analyse things.

Great coaching, leadership, culture, locker room chemistry and players playing for their coach and one another is why I feel Western Bulldogs won.

With Western Bulldogs it's a lot of those intangibles. They've got talent, but as the 7th placed finisher with the 7th best percentage, if not for these intangibles, they wouldn't have defied logic as a still young and developing team with injuries to key players to have gone all the way.

You only had to listen to the player interviews, club stories etc during the week to pick up how powerful of an impact all this has had.

I feel this over any balance or quality of players by type is why ultimately they could do what going into the finals would have been the unthinkable.

The lesson I feel that can be taken out of it and applied is simply that you need a great coach, great leadership and a strong culture where there is that love - players for players - coaches and players.

--
The reason I've come to this view is the sheer power of stories I have heard out of WBD.

Hearing about Bevo's first speech to the group - talking about being an emotional person, wearing his heart on his sleeve. From all reports he captured the players and everyone within the club from that moment. Then seeing an act from Bevo like giving his premiership medal to Bob Murphy. That just speaks to what they're all about. And it's the power in those moments and seeing those things they're about that makes all the difference.

It's very different to the culture we've established internally.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...e/news-story/4bbbd7771565a8dca37ecba9dd1c7acb

Herald Sun football writer Sam Edmund wrote an article in June about Cloke’s problems. One Collingwood official, who did not want to be named, said: “When Bucks came in he started to ruffle the feathers because he said you need a system, you need structure, you need terminologies. He’s literally created a school and these blokes go to school now

I think our last hope for emulating that sort of buy in is whirlwind Gubby. Unfortunately I think it might be too late.

 

[Stripes B and W]

That's the key in a nutshell Scodog10. You need the structure and process, you need the chemistry and emotion with the intangibles. Its a mix, its how you emphasise things for different individuals. It can never be a one size fits all for 45 odd fellows ranging in age from 18 to 32 or so, backgrounds, education levels, desire levels etc etc. Sure game plan, team rules, season and match day objective and individual roles are clear almost unwavering and need acceptance and buy in. The path individuals take to get there must allow for that essential difference in each person that makes up the entity that is the playing arm of the Club within the framework of agreed team, Club and Code rules.

 

[doodles98]

I expect AFL clubs, fans, media people etc will read a lot into the Western Bulldogs play style, personal types and superiorities by position etc and over-analyse things.

Great coaching, leadership, culture, locker room chemistry and players playing for their coach and one another is why I feel Western Bulldogs won.

With Western Bulldogs it's a lot of those intangibles. They've got talent, but as the 7th placed finisher with the 7th best percentage, if not for these intangibles, they wouldn't have defied logic as a still young and developing team with injuries to key players to have gone all the way.

You only had to listen to the player interviews, club stories etc during the week to pick up how powerful of an impact all this has had.

I feel this over any balance or quality of players by type is why ultimately they could do what going into the finals would have been the unthinkable.

The lesson I feel that can be taken out of it and applied is simply that you need a great coach, great leadership and a strong culture where there is that love - players for players - coaches and players.

--
The sheer power of stories I have heard out of WBD has been big.

Hearing about Bevo's first speech to the group - talking about being an emotional person, wearing his heart on his sleeve. From all reports he captured the players and everyone within the club from that moment. Then seeing an act from Bevo like giving his premiership medal to Bob Murphy. That just speaks to what they're all about. And it's the power in those moments and seeing those things they're about that makes all the difference.

Amen..
they are inexperienced, not the most talented or complete list by any means, had injuries like us.. yet there they were. THAT is what good coaches can do!

 

[Robroy22]

And they did it all without Leading Teams....
Great coaches coach.

 

[doodles98]

It's very different to the culture we've established internally.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...e/news-story/4bbbd7771565a8dca37ecba9dd1c7acb



I think our last hope for emulating that sort of buy in is whirlwind Gubby. Unfortunately I think it might be too late.

That article sounds like it's been ripped straight from a combination of jmac70 and mike123 's bigfooty postings on the Clokey matter. Best Jmac doesn't read it though or he might pull another 180 handbrake turn on the issue.

 

[Schraderbrau]

Hey KM,
To what do you attribute the Bulldogs premiership this year?

They don't seem to have star KPF or KPD. Their ruck is very mediocre, and their midfield is great without being absolutely exceptional. They don't seem to have a position that allows them to win a game based on it, maybe midfield, but if that's the case, why are we so much worse this year? Is it because they have a greater balance of inside/outside midfielders? Is there a trend of less and less reliance on KPF and thus less value of KPD? Maybe Moore playing as the sole KPF is enough as the games are becoming faster and more importance is placed on the stamina of midfielders.

I'd like to watch the match again but to me it was depth and running power that distinguished Footscray from the other finalists (bar GWS). Richards, Rohan, McVeigh, Hewitt, Laidler, McGlynn, Mills and Papley had no impact on the game. Footscray had a very even spread with almost everybody making a contribution. The fact Sydney brought Mills and McVeigh in speaks volumes about their lack of depth as does the fact that at least half of the players listed about have no business playing AFL finals, let alone a GF. There's an argument to be made that Buddy's ridiculous contract has compromised their ability to accumulate quality depth that could undermine their chances of winning a premiership in the coming years.

As for run, Sydney were exposed badly twice this finals series by sides with a lot of runners. At half time, when it was apparent that they were not capitalizing enough on their dominance at the stoppages, Footscray were strong favorites to win imo. It's not a coincidence that the two stand out performers of this finals series, GWS and Footscray, exposed Sydney badly in this area.

Like us in 2010, Footscray were lucky that they hit form at the right time of the season what has been a pretty poor year in terms of the relative quality of opposition. I expect next season is probably a two horse race between them and GWS, with GWS as slight favorites.

 

[Schraderbrau]

That article sounds like it's been ripped straight from a combination of jmac70 and mike123 's bigfooty postings on the Clokey matter. Best Jmac doesn't read it though or he might pull another 180 handbrake turn on the issue.

+1, shows how quickly things change when it was only 12 months ago that Hawthorn were being lauded for having assistant coaches with a teaching background. It seems that we're now on the way back to the intangible culture explanation.

 

[Knightmare]

I'd like to watch the match again but to me it was depth and running power that distinguished Footscray from the other finalists (bar GWS). Richards, Rohan, McVeigh, Hewitt, Laidler, McGlynn, Mills and Papley had no impact on the game. Footscray had a very even spread with almost everybody making a contribution. The fact Sydney brought Mills and McVeigh in speaks volumes about their lack of depth as does the fact that at least half of the players listed about have no business playing AFL finals, let alone a GF. There's an argument to be made that Buddy's ridiculous contract has compromised their ability to accumulate quality depth that could undermine their chances of winning a premiership in the coming years.

As for run, Sydney were exposed badly twice this finals series by sides with a lot of runners. At half time, when it was apparent that they were not capitalizing enough on their dominance at the stoppages, Footscray were strong favorites to win imo. It's not a coincidence that the two stand out performers of this finals series, GWS and Footscray, exposed Sydney badly in this area.

Like us in 2010, Footscray were lucky that they hit form at the right time of the season what has been a pretty poor year in terms of the relative quality of opposition. I expect next season is probably a two horse race between them and GWS, with GWS as slight favorites.

From a break down the game of the game, I agree with your perspective.

WBD and GWS exposed Sydney on the outside. Sydney are an in close team that dominate you based on their superior midfield and stoppage work. WBD and GWS move the ball quick and do have the run and hurt factor that Sydney find difficult to stop. The Sydney defence held up well, but on the outside they didn't have as much.

I also have a GWS v WBD grand final with GWS winning it - assuming GWS continue to improve their list and the quality of their best 22 over the offseason.
Though Hawthorn I'm not prepaired to count out if they get Tom Mitchell, O'Meara and Vickery over to the team and get Roughead healthy.

 

[TW Sherrin]

I expect AFL clubs, fans, media people etc will read a lot into the Western Bulldogs play style, personal types and superiorities by position etc and over-analyse things.

Great coaching, leadership, culture, locker room chemistry and players playing for their coach and one another is why I feel Western Bulldogs won.

With Western Bulldogs it's a lot of those intangibles. They've got talent, but as the 7th placed finisher with the 7th best percentage, if not for these intangibles, they wouldn't have defied logic as a still young and developing team with injuries to key players to have gone all the way.

You only had to listen to the player interviews, club stories etc during the week to pick up how powerful of an impact all this has had.

I feel this over any balance or quality of players by type is why ultimately they could do what going into the finals would have been the unthinkable.

The lesson I feel that can be taken out of it and applied is simply that you need a great coach, great leadership and a strong culture where there is that love - players for players - coaches and players.

--
The sheer power of stories I have heard out of WBD has been big.

Hearing about Bevo's first speech to the group - talking about being an emotional person, wearing his heart on his sleeve. From all reports he captured the players and everyone within the club from that moment. Then seeing an act from Bevo like giving his premiership medal to Bob Murphy. That just speaks to what they're all about. And it's the power in those moments and seeing those things they're about that makes all the difference.

wasn't giving Murphy his medal the most obvious thing to do? I would have been staggered if he didn't.

On Murphy, its interesting in a team game how he has been put on a pedestal seemingly above the team.

 

[TW Sherrin]

+1, shows how quickly things change when it was only 12 months ago that Hawthorn were being lauded for having assistant coaches with a teaching background. It seems that we're now on the way back to the intangible culture explanation.

beveridges challenge will be when he has to sack or trade some one.

 

[CFC2010]

wasn't giving Murphy his medal the most obvious thing to do? I would have been staggered if he didn't.

On Murphy, its interesting in a team game how he has been put on a pedestal seemingly above the team.

Why didn't Malthouse give his to Presti?

 

[Knightmare]

wasn't giving Murphy his medal the most obvious thing to do? I would have been staggered if he didn't.

On Murphy, its interesting in a team game how he has been put on a pedestal seemingly above the team.

Has it happened before?

Maybe an AFL historian among us if we have any may be able to let us know if and if so when this may have happened before - where a coach has given a player their premiership medal.

 

[TW Sherrin]

Why didn't Malthouse give his to Presti?

Mick was a shit bloke?

 

[TW Sherrin]

Has it happened before?

Maybe an AFL historian among us if we have any may be able to let us know if and if so when this may have happened before - where a coach has given a player their premiership medal.

don't know.

Beveridge has been portrayed as some kind of living saint so I wasn't surprised.

 

[CFC2010]

Mick was a shit bloke?

Bingo.......refer the psychology thread re our Club.

It would have been the most obvious thing to do wouldn't you think?

 

[TW Sherrin]

Bingo.......refer the psychology thread re our Club.

It would have been the most obvious thing to do wouldn't you think?

no question.

 

[left at home]

Why didn't Malthouse give his to Presti?

had the same thoughts, came to same conclusion

 

[Saintly Viewed]

Has it happened before?

Maybe an AFL historian among us if we have any may be able to let us know if and if so when this may have happened before - where a coach has given a player their premiership medal.

That has not happened as far as I know. Happened in athletics (see below).

Hawthorn brought the 1976 premiership cup to the ailing Peter Crimmins, but that was a goodbye respectful gesture. Crimmins died I believe three days later.
It is nice enough for Murphy to be given a medal but at the end, regardless of gesture, Murphy remains a non premiership player and Luke B remains a premiership coach.
Nice touchy-feely gesture though.

• Best example of "giving a medal" to someone was Emil Zatopek giving one of his Olympic gold medals to Ron Clarke in appreciation of Clarkes incredible running style and career. Clarke ran to break his opponents, only one Olympic bronze medal amongst numerous world records.

 

[Saintly Viewed]

Peter Moore gave his runner up medal to the crowd? No takers?

 

[Anzacday]

Peter Moore gave his runner up medal to the crowd? No takers?

Someone took it.

 

[mike123]

That article sounds like it's been ripped straight from a combination of jmac70 and mike123 's bigfooty postings on the Clokey matter. Best Jmac doesn't read it though or he might pull another 180 handbrake turn on the issue.

Now I wish I could read the rest of it.

 

[Unknown Identity]

While there's talk of intangibles on how the Dogs won the flag, the Beveridge/Player connection is overplayed a little in here as its the perfect segway into Buckley doesn't have the players.. .

They won simply because they are a quality team. They were only 1 game out of top 4. Matched up quite well against who they had to play, GWS was the danger game this finals series as they match Dogs for foot speed and corridor use.

Dogs are so even across the ground and they have no real weaknesses. Lack of a power forward is a perceived weakness but their ball use and ground level ability inside 50 is far more dangerous than a KPF clunking marks.

Matty Boyd when asked on AFL game day about the Beveridge factor/connection he was pretty quick to bat that away and make mention of the chemistry of the playing group, which i firmly believe was the 2nd most contributing factor behind playing ability.

And don't make light of the bye.. personally believe this was a big factor. When you have a top 7 as even as this year any advantage is important and continuity worked in the Dogs favour.

And lastly i have a faint glimmer of hope for 2017 as we pushed the dogs to the brink twice!..

 

[good4footy]

Why didn't Malthouse give his to Presti?

The players were lucky he didn't take theirs.

 

[cleomenes]

The Dogs remind me a great deal of our 2010 team. Young, only a few genuine stars but playing with total intensity. The fall off after 2011 by so many of our players who never developed beyond their level of 2011 may be a harbinger for the dogs too. I can remember posting at tteh time that the intensity that brought us the flag was not sustainable for the long term. Perhaps it nerver is.