Opinion Commentary & Media VII

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Good vision and comments from Joey. The easiest thing for him to do is chuck in Greenwood/Simpkin/Zurhaar/Sheezel but I wonder whether Clarko is trying to give those three maximum time together in the middle to build some chemistry and learn quicker.
We'll see if he coaches differently against sides more around our level.
 
chubbspeterson said:
Good vision and comments from Joey. The easiest thing for him to do is chuck in Greenwood/Simpkin/Zurhaar/Sheezel but I wonder whether Clarko is trying to give those three maximum time together in the middle to build some chemistry and learn quicker.
We'll see if he coaches differently against sides more around our level.
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He could do both. Try them at the start, if it’s not working, throw Zurhaar or whoever in there.
Have a chat after- alright boys this didn’t work, we’re gonna persist with you but here’s what we need from you etc.
Sheezel is wasted though.
Can we swap him and LDU? Luke makes some play off half back?

I dunno. Deckchairs.costaConcordia.gif
 
Spud11 said:
He could do both. Try them at the start, if it’s not working, throw Zurhaar or whoever in there.
Have a chat after- alright boys this didn’t work, we’re gonna persist with you but here’s what we need from you etc.
Sheezel is wasted though.
Can we swap him and LDU? Luke makes some play off half back?

I dunno. Deckchairs.costaConcordia.gif
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Well it's interesting to me that Ross Lyon hasn't really thrown Jack Sinclair in the middle like he was last year either.
That was his 2nd half move so maybe coaches are valuing the quarter back role more.
 

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chubbspeterson said:
I wonder whether Clarko is trying to give those three maximum time together in the middle to build some chemistry and learn quicker.
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I think that makes sense. Clarko has said it himself a few times that putting his younger blokes in against more experienced and physical players will help them learn more about what they need to be doing off the field to reach the standard of an AFL grade player than they'd ever learn by having somebody nagging at them to do X, Y or Z. When they work out their own shortcomings they'll be willing to put in the hard yards and they'll be asking the coaches how to improve their skills. Over the next couple of seasons as the young brigade develop size and improve on skills, and when they gel as a team is when we can expect to see improvements come. Swapping and changing things around quarter by quarter and week by week isn't going to produce a winning team.
 
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SonofSamsquanch said:
Swapping and changing things around quarter by quarter and week by week isn't going to produce a winning team.
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Different if the team is contending and needs to plug a gap that could make the difference to where they finish on the ladder. In most cases, teams making finals will have the depth that allows for non-performing players and in a lot of cases, even for decent players to be replaced or upgraded for important matches. Often contending teams will rotate players who match up better against particular opponents and they'll have the depth to rest others for recovery purposes. Lower ranked teams lacking depth won't be dropping senior players if they are already fielding the youngest side week in / week out.
 
chubbspeterson said:
Well it's interesting to me that Ross Lyon hasn't really thrown Jack Sinclair in the middle like he was last year either.
That was his 2nd half move so maybe coaches are valuing the quarter back role more.
Click to expand...

I think he's seen enough to know its nor working, we need wins

In saying that LDU seems disinterested and is coasting around lazy as
 



www.theage.com.au
They’re winless and in the doldrums. Who will escape footy’s world of pain faster?
Jon Pierik
7 - 9 minutes

Analysis
Sport
AFL
AFL 2024

Premiership coach Luke Beveridge has insisted “you cannot rebuild in our code”, while premiership great Jonathan Brown and former list manager Chris Pelchen fear for any side rebuilding with the new Tasmanian club – and the list concessions the Devils will have – just around the corner.

But as Hawthorn and North Melbourne – each winless after five rounds – take to Marvel Stadium on Sunday for a cellar-dwelling twilight rumble, the observations of Beveridge, Brown and Pelchen paint a potentially bleak picture for these two proud clubs in the short term.
Gold plated: Harry Sheezel is a man the Kangaroos hope will lead them to their next premiership.

Gold plated: Harry Sheezel is a man the Kangaroos hope will lead them to their next premiership.Credit: Getty Images

The Kangaroos remain mired in a deep rebuild, although the draft selections of the past two seasons provide great hope, despite a final-round win last season meaning they missed the prized selection of Harley Reid. The Hawks, meanwhile, are now well and truly in the pain game, with Pelchen a long-time critic of their decision to take only one top-20 pick in the draft between 2011 and 2018.

Pelchen, the man who built the Hawks’ 2008 premiership list and also worked in list management at Port Adelaide and St Kilda, said both teams were dealing with the fallout of past draft and trade missteps.
Related Article
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell during the loss to Gold Coast.

“Between the two lists, I actually think Hawthorn is in the better position to bounce sooner in the sense they have a more even spread of talent. But I think North has got the ability to go further than Hawthorn, if you are talking between now and 2030,” Pelchen said.

“There are a couple of reasons for that. I think the elite talent on North Melbourne’s list, while it’s not great in number, when you are talking about players like [Harry] Sheezel, [Colby] McKercher, [George] Wardlaw, they are all elite talent who are going to form the nucleus of a very, very talented midfield for the next decade.

“Hawthorn has a more even spread of talent that is better than North Melbourne’s right now, but they don’t have the elite juniors that North Melbourne have in those players I have mentioned. In saying that, North Melbourne are still very much in the infancy stage, and they have got a bit more pain to cop yet.”

Hawks coach Sam Mitchell, now in his third season, insists there are “a lot of future premiership players” on the list, but admits it will “take a little bit of time” to galvanise.
Related Article
St Kilda Nick Riewoldt’s famous mark, running with the flight of the ball, against Sydney in round 11, 2004.

Alastair Clarkson, preparing to face the man who once was his apprentice before the former’s tumultuous departure from Waverley, said Sunday’s result was secondary to the bigger picture for the Kangaroos because “it’s all about the exposure to the young guys and where we’re going to be in two or three years’ time”.

The word from Hawthorn over summer was that this was the season when they would be consistently competitive. Yes, they have had their moments this year – they fell five points shy in a thrilling fightback against Collingwood in Adelaide – but there is no hiding from a winless campaign and an average losing margin of 34.6 points to date.

Much has been made of their season-ending finishes – 15th (2020), 14th (2021), 13th (2022) and 16th (2023) – but the truth is they have been on borrowed time since 2017, and the departures soon after of four-time premiership greats Luke Hodge, Jordan Lewis and Mitchell himself.

As one rival club recruiter, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely about another club, pointed out, the Hawks of the early 2010s had a core of Hodge, Mitchell, Lewis, Lance Franklin (until the end of 2013) and Jarryd Roughead to build around. That wasn’t the case in the post-2016 rebuild.

The Kangaroos have had various incarnations of a rebuild, on and off the field, since 2016 when they brutally shed four club veterans, including Brent Harvey and Drew Petrie.
How long will the pain last?

That’s the great unknown, although both sides appear years off from returning to September.

“My concern for Hawthorn is they don’t have the elite midfield forming,” Pelchen said. “I am sure both clubs believe they are on the right track … but I would encourage North and Hawthorn to attack the draft as strongly as possible over the next two years.”
Roo Bailey Scott is tackled by Hawk Jai Newcombe.

Roo Bailey Scott is tackled by Hawk Jai Newcombe.Credit: AFL Photos

The Kangaroos have fielded the league’s youngest side in four of the five rounds they have played. Last week’s average age was only 23.7, but their core is growing. Sheezel, McKercher, Wardlaw, Nick Larkey, Zane Duursma and Luke Davies-Uniacke are among this group, but Cam Zurhaar is a restricted free agent, and may leave.

What they desperately need is help in defence, which should be a priority come the national draft. Dandenong Stingrays key defender Noah Mraz shapes as one option.
Marksman: The Kangaroos need Nick Larkey to continue to deliver if they are to vault up the ladder.

Marksman: The Kangaroos need Nick Larkey to continue to deliver if they are to vault up the ladder.Credit: Getty Images

For the Hawks, last week they were almost identical in average age (24.03) as their opponents, the rising Suns (24.05), but left coaches and supporters bewildered by their 53-point loss, sparking concerns about the quality of their list.

Josh Weddle, Will Day, Josh Ward, Jai Newcombe, Cam Mackenzie, Jack Ginnivan, Nick Watson and Denver Grainger-Barras figure to be key players in their rebuild. What the Hawks need are a high-quality forward and a gun midfielder.
Related Article
The Age will follow young footballers Noah Mraz, Nathan Sulzberger and Levi Ashcroft throughout their AFL draft year.
The challenge ahead

The AFL may point to its equalisation measures of a salary cap and football department cap, but its key pillar – the national draft – is compromised, hence the league’s ongoing competitive balance review. The Kangaroos and Hawks again appear set for bottom-four finishes, but the bidding systems in place for father-sons and academy players means they may not get access to the gold-plated talent they need.

Levi Ashcroft shapes as the No.1 pick in this year’s draft, but the father-son product, and brother of Brisbane’s Will, will almost certainly head to the Lions for they will match any bid for him. Any changes to the system will only be introduced in 2025.

A decade ago, the Hawks’ premiership dynasty was helped by the birth of Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, who were given access to the nation’s best talent through generous draft concessions. This meant clubs rebuilding at the time, or stuck in the mid-table mud, were unable to secure the talent they typically had access to.

Now, as Brown, on Fox Footy, and Pelchen pointed out, the Hawks and Kangaroos could become inadvertent victims of the Tasmania Devils, who will enter the league in 2028. The AFL has yet to detail what draft concessions the Devils will have, but the drafts of 2026 and 2027 will have a major Tassie flavour as the AFL will want its 19th club more than competitive from day one.
 
Kangas_11 said:
View attachment 1965743

Geez this board loves to overreact, we already have 9 wins going into round 6 and everyone's acting as if the sky is falling.
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It’s pretty alarming that in the three years we won the spoon, we were only able to pick the player we actually wanted most, once.

With FS/Academy rules, surely the Spooner should be able to pick the best player they want. I can’t believe this idea hasn’t been spoken about.
 

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FootySmartSimpson said:
It’s pretty alarming that in the three years we won the spoon, we were only able to pick the player we actually wanted most, once.

With FS/Academy rules, surely the Spooner should be able to pick the best player they want. I can’t believe this idea hasn’t been spoken about.
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Take your general point but wasn’t it two years? Also I’m pretty sure Sheez was the player we wanted most that year. And JHF was the player we wanted most even though things didn’t work out as they should have.
 
Hearts to hearts said:
Take your general point but wasn’t it two years? Also I’m pretty sure Sheez was the player we wanted most that year. And JHF was the player we wanted most even though things didn’t work out as they should have.
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We took JHF, but it is a real possibility that he was being groomed by Port even before he was drafted.

There are still many that believed Daicos or Darcy were viable number 1 picks but were simply unavailable.

We leveraged this knowledge for picks later in the draft.
 
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FootySmartSimpson said:
We took JHF, but it is real possibility that he was being groomed by Port even before he was drafted.

There are still many that believed Daicos or Darcy were viable number 1 picks but were simply unavailable.

We leveraged this knowledge for for pucks later in the draft.
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We got played by the Fabian Jnr camp.

All the crap about sleeping in the jumper, wanting to go pick 1, loyalty...the biggest red flag in hindsight was the talk he'd read the North Story....who'd believe he can actually read???!!!!

Sent from my SM-A908B using Tapatalk
 
FootySmartSimpson said:
We took JHF, but it is a real possibility that he was being groomed by Port even before he was drafted.

There are still many that believed Daicos or Darcy were viable number 1 picks but were simply unavailable.

We leveraged this knowledge for picks later in the draft.
Click to expand...
There was no doubt Port had already made the plans to get him on their list.

The loyalty spiel was all part of the plan to deter us from trading with Adelaide.

Too many red flags for it to all be a coincidence.

The AFL should have investigated what was paramount to draft tampering.
 
Rod Stroker said:
Copping an absolute whack now on First Crack in the very first seg and rightfully so. Joey questioning our leaders; LMac, Jy, Corr, Tucker.

Everyone going for the same ball to mark or spoil, no manning up.

View attachment 1966447
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Surely if everyone else can see what is happening, Clarkson can. I want to know what he is going to do about it!
 
leighlee13 said:
Surely if everyone else can see what is happening, Clarkson can. I want to know what he is going to do about it!
Click to expand...

Nothing?

I bet he’s reading off a script each week and says the same thing?

And during the week it’ll be smiles at training


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
On the plus side, I think we’ve finally found our level - for this year. We’ve managed it one game earlier than last year in R7 against Melbourne… and Chom didn’t break his body. Having said that, if you include opening round, we’ve bottomed out at the exact same stage. I’ve just revisited our 2022 season. Jeez, no wonder JHF left.
 
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