How did Freo emerge from the pack

[NineteenEighty4]

Attitude and teammate-ship are such major factors, often disregarded by people. This is often why certain players are kept on lists for longer than people wish. A coach realises that with the right group, a certain player will grow and flourish in the right environment. .

Pretty much spot on. People underestimate how much the team environment affects performance on the pitch.

I actually dont think the 2010 FFC squad is any stronger that the 2006 FFC squad. The difference though is that certain cancerous elements of the team have been moved along. I dont mean to attack anyone in particular, but you had guys like Peter Bell who were notorious for undermining the coach and complaining directly to the board about the game plan.

I all comes down to personalities. FFC used to have quite a clicky squad. Bell, the Carr Brothers etc all played a prominant role. They have been moved on and all od a sudden there is some real chemistry.

I am not suggesting Richmond has the same problems, but often it only takes 1 or 2 poisonous individuals and it will destroy a teams dynamic.

 

[Belnakor]

I think things started to change after the Health Black thing, when he had the dinner party only for "senior players" - something right out of the Peter Bell play book.It got stomped on pretty hard, but that kind of thing was exactly what happened in the Cuddles era.

 

[NineteenEighty4]

Yeah, thats what I mean by "clicky". Bell was organising events for him and his mates and excluding half the squad.

It filtered through to training as well, where my understanding is that some of the younger players and fringe players did not feel all that welcome.

The interesting thing is that all of those "leaders" (i.e. Bell, Car, Black) have been moved on from the club, and instead they have chosen to keep retired players like McManus and Solomon involved in the club because they have a reputation for building team morale and being inclusive.

Its abit like any job really. Even if you are a gun, if you are working with a bunch of ****s, your performance will slip slightly. It just creates a bad atmosphere.

 

[Bojangles17]

Yeah, thats what I mean by "clicky". Bell was organising events for him and his mates and excluding half the squad.

It filtered through to training as well, where my understanding is that some of the younger players and fringe players did not feel all that welcome.

The interesting thing is that all of those "leaders" (i.e. Bell, Car, Black) have been moved on from the club, and instead they have chosen to keep retired players like McManus and Solomon involved in the club because they have a reputation for building team morale and being inclusive.

Its abit like any job really. Even if you are a gun, if you are working with a bunch of ****s, your performance will slip slightly. It just creates a bad atmosphere.

good point that, and generally a key reason that NEW coaches like to move out the old guard of players when their has been a lack of success

 

[Kapital city TIGER]

good point that, and generally a key reason that NEW coaches like to move out the old guard of players when their has been a lack of success

ooh look a Richmond poster!

 

[E Shed]

I feel like the mate that crashed on the couch and is still here 3 days later.

 

[Bojangles17]

I feel like the mate that crashed on the couch and is still here 3 days later.

lol, that's it, will you guys all **** off now, I have some cleaning up to do and a reputation to uphold around these parts...

 

[Malifice]

here ya go Bo:

certainly some astute picks by our talent scouts in the last two years , particularly targeting of 'mature aged' and 'mature bodied' players - the recruiters went for ready to go footballers over athletes. i've a feeling alot of teams will be going down that path over next few years with GC and GWS coming in.

If that was the case Freo would have picked Rich over Hill surely?

Bet Freo are glad they didn't.

Hill's already on the same level as Rich, and will wind up three times the player.

I don't think Ive ever seen a better kick in my life than Hill.

Give him @ 2 years and @ 15 kilos and he'll be a freak.

 

[theGav56]

This from a poster on our Board.

Fremantle
B: Jay van Berlo, Chris Tarrant, Ryan Crowley
HB: Greg Broughton, Luke McPharlin, Roger Hayden
C: Anthony Morabito, David Mundy, Paul Hasleby
HF: Michael Johnson, Matthew Pavlich, Stephen Hill
F: Des Headland, Chris Mayne, Hayden Ballantyne
Foll: Aaron Sandilands, Michael Barlow, Paul Duffield
I/C: Matthew de Boer, Adam McPhee, Alex Silvagni, Clancee Pearce

Almost half of our team this week have come off the rookie list...that is pretty incredible...

Having that much success from the rookie list is pretty incredible. This week it is likely that four of our current rookies will be in the side, with Silvagni and Barlow clearly best22. That indcates that we have injuries, but that our list itself does not have huge depth (quite a few developing players on there who are 1-3 seasons away).

The thing about the rookie list is that there is a fair amount of luck involved. Who is to say Barlow would be available; it is a raffle. And of course they are by definition players who were not drafted. But we seem to have drafted physically mature players recently with a reasonable track record at a lower level.

 

[theGav56]

The interesting thing is that all of those "leaders" (i.e. Bell, Car, Black) have been moved on from the club, and instead they have chosen to keep retired players like McManus and Solomon involved in the club because they have a reputation for building team morale and being inclusive.

good point that, and generally a key reason that NEW coaches like to move out the old guard of players when their has been a lack of success

I love a good fantasy, but Harvey talked Bell into playing another year, commuting from Geraldton! He kept M Carr on for 1 year too many, and played him round 1, where we were beaten badly. He offered J Carr a 2 year deal, but thankfully Carr went back to P Adelaide. Coming from a position of Assistant Coach of the club, can't really see that Harvey would have had much sense of issues with those players from the way he handled them.

You guys are in such a different situation. As has been highlighted by Richmond posters, we had a spine in place, and could put a lot of focus on midfield. One area. Of course we didn't draft midfielders with every pick, but it is a key area of weakness which has been addressed.

And in perspective, it has been a good start to a long year.

 

[krustyman]

freo have been topping up with better recruiting for several years now and it was only a matter of time before they hit the jackpot. obviously harvey could not allow his senior players to retire earlier without sufficient replacement.