Opinion Men's 2023 Leadership Group - Merrett/McGrath captain/vice

[Mikevk123]

Merrett
McGrath
Shiel
Parish
Laverde
Redman

 

[The Devils Advocate]

Merret (C)
Redman (VC)

That's all I really care about TBH.
They're the only two I view as good, consistent leaders.

 

[JT_the_Man]

Redman, Merrett, McGrath.

Don't think we need any more than that tbh. Heppell probably helps out a bit but he'll be playing VFL. Looking for others like Shiel and Ridley to step up. Dunno about Draper in an official role just yet.

 

[biglaycock]

Redman (C)
Merrett (VC) Draper (VC)

Wright, Laverde, Ridley in LG

 

[BomberManU]

Hopefully BS can identify the best fit, because it's slim pickings.

 

[Lore]

Merrett, McGrath, Redman, Shiel, Wright.

Really don't want Merrett as captain. I still think Leadership groups in and of themselves are largely unneccesary for a professional sporting team. If you're a leader you'll lead regardless of whether or not you're in some specialised group.

I always wondered what leadership groups do. But I've been watching Fearless (the behind the scenes documentary from AFLW season 6) and you get to see into the leadership meetings and stuff.

It's actually quite interesting how they work together and at one point the Collingwood leadership group called the coaches in and told them they're not on the same page, the line coaches telling different stuff and the players not having good connection between lines. Their senior coach had to own it and do something about it, but the coaches could also respond to it and be like 'yeah well you also have to make an effort to learn the game plan'.

Also the stuff around the player not wearing the pride guernsey and sitting out, and how GWS dealt with it, the way the leadership group were thinking about it and what they advised.

I don't think you need more than 5 though. 3-5 is probably a good number, preferably including one from each line.

 

[naraku]

I would certainly like to think Merrett, Redman, Ridley are the core. Draper and Lav to get a look and if we want a younger guy, may as well start Hobbs' apprenticeship.

 

[thebigboy]

Feel like the idea of Draper being a captaincy chance is a while away. Boys love him, but he’s got a lot of on-field development left to do & probably some settling down with age.

Definitely not a murderers row of options, but Merrett deserves it at least whilst others show their worth over the next few years.

 

[brain taylor]

it'll probably be merrett but i'd love to see redman get the nod

 

[fairbump_playon]

it'll probably be merrett but i'd love to see redman get the nod

Agreed.

Only problem is Merrett will likely be a bit sooky

There should be a rule that you can’t make someone captain who would sook if they weren’t captain

 

[Dean Rioli]

Merrett, McGrath, Redman and Sheil

 

[Maxabillions]

Why has Merrett always been talked up as captain if waiting if he’s not much of a leader? Just cos he’s a good player?

 

[andleanback]

Merrett mcgrath langford redman Kelly

 

[andleanback]

Have heard Scott doesn’t care if it takes the whole preseason to find the captain, wants to let them prove it on the track and get the decision right.

 

[Lore]

Decided to have a look at the old Crichton medal winner articles with all the club awards on them for the last few years (ignoring leading goalkicker):

2022 / 2021 / 2020 / 2019:
Bruce Heymanson Best Clubman – Redman / Langford / Langford / Zaharakis
Adam Ramanauskas

Adam Ramanauskas

Age

44

Ht

184cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.0

4star

K

9.6

4star

HB

5.3

4star

M

4.1

4star

T

1.8

4star

No current season stats available

D

8.4

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

3.0

3star

M

2.4

3star

T

1.6

4star

Most Courageous Player – Laverde / Heppell / McGrath / Ambrose
Lindsay Griffiths Rising Star – Martin / Perkins / Draper / Clarke
Most Improved Player – Redman / Laverde / Ridley / Redman
John Kilby Staff and Trainers’ Award – Draper and McGrath / Redman / Gleeson / Heppell
McCracken Medal – Guelfi / Laverde

Crichton Top 10s:
2022: Wright, Merrett, Guelfi, Redman, Ridley, Laverde, Kelly, Martin, [Parish, Shiel and Hind], McGrath
2021: Merrett, Parish, Snelling, Ridley, Stringer, Laverde, Langford, Hind, Heppell, McDonald-Tipungwuti
2020: Ridley, Merrett, Saad, Langford, McGrath, Parish, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Smith, Snelling, Shiel
2019: Merrett, Shiel, Saad, McKenna, Heppell, McGrath, Ambrose, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Parish, Hurley

The Crichton is very performance-based, you can be a good player and not be a good captain, but the captain should be a good player.

The other club awards include off-field stuff and are voted by coaches and staff or whatever, they're more or less awards for role models of club values and I guess a sort of good bloke award (in terms of the staff and trainers award).

So in terms of a proxy for how a leadership group could be viewed internally without accounting for player opinions:

Player	Other Club Awards since 2019	Placed Top 10 in the Crichton since 2019	Total Crichton places + other awards	Career Games Played (Club Games)	Current BigFooty LG Poll Votes
Redman	4	1	5	80	66
Laverde	3	2	5	91	17
McGrath	2	3	5	111	47
Heppell	2	2	4	213	19
Langford	2	2	4	107	13
Ridley	1	3	4	68	25
Merrett	0	4	4	184	72
Parish	0	4	4	132	9
McDonald-Tipungwuti	0	3	3	126	n/a
Shiel	0	3	3	199 (64)	18
Hind	0	2	2	64 (43)	n/a
Draper	2	0	2	43	38
Guelfi	1	1	2	83	n/a
Martin	1	1	2	21	n/a
Snelling	0	2	2	50 (49)	n/a
Perkins	1	0	1	39	n/a

A few things that fascinate me:

Merrett, Parish, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Shiel and Hind have all placed in the Crichton without winning any of the other club awards recently. Good players, but apparently not notable for their off-field impact.

The most balanced players seem to be Laverde, McGrath, Heppell and Langford, who've had at least two top 10 places and two other awards recently, with Redman and Ridley being less consistent in one way or another.

For some reason Laverde and Langford aren't rated externally really at all (not on BigFooty anyway). Injuries don't help of course, but it's still interesting. They're some of the longest serving players at the club but are overlooked, perhaps because they were not top 10 picks or coated in stardust.

 

[andleanback]

Decided to have a look at the old Crichton medal winner articles with all the club awards on them for the last few years (ignoring leading goalkicker):

2022 / 2021 / 2020 / 2019:
Bruce Heymanson Best Clubman – Redman / Langford / Langford / Zaharakis
Adam Ramanauskas Most Courageous Player – Laverde / Heppell / McGrath / Ambrose
Lindsay Griffiths Rising Star – Martin / Perkins / Draper / Clarke
Most Improved Player – Redman / Laverde / Ridley / Redman
John Kilby Staff and Trainers’ Award – Draper and McGrath / Redman / Gleeson / Heppell
McCracken Medal – Guelfi / Laverde

Crichton Top 10s:
2022: Wright, Merrett, Guelfi, Redman, Ridley, Laverde, Kelly, Martin, [Parish, Shiel and Hind], McGrath
2021: Merrett, Parish, Snelling, Ridley, Stringer, Laverde, Langford, Hind, Heppell, McDonald-Tipungwuti
2020: Ridley, Merrett, Saad, Langford, McGrath, Parish, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Smith, Snelling, Shiel
2019: Merrett, Shiel, Saad, McKenna, Heppell, McGrath, Ambrose, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Parish, Hurley

The Crichton is very performance-based, you can be a good player and not be a good captain, but the captain should be a good player.

The other club awards include off-field stuff and are voted by coaches and staff or whatever, they're more or less awards for role models of club values and I guess a sort of good bloke award (in terms of the staff and trainers award).

So in terms of a proxy for how a leadership group could be viewed internally without accounting for player opinions:

Player	Other Club Awards since 2019	Placed Top 10 in the Crichton since 2019	Total Crichton places + other awards	Career Games Played (Club Games)	Current BigFooty LG Poll Votes
Redman	4	1	5	80	66
Laverde	3	2	5	91	17
McGrath	2	3	5	111	47
Heppell	2	2	4	213	19
Langford	2	2	4	107	13
Ridley	1	3	4	68	25
Merrett	0	4	4	184	72
Parish	0	4	4	132	9
McDonald-Tipungwuti	0	3	3	126	n/a
Shiel	0	3	3	199 (64)	18
Hind	0	2	2	64 (43)	n/a
Draper	2	0	2	43	38
Guelfi	1	1	2	83	n/a
Martin	1	1	2	21	n/a
Snelling	0	2	2	50 (49)	n/a
Perkins	1	0	1	39	n/a

A few things that fascinate me:

Merrett, Parish, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Shiel and Hind have all placed in the Crichton without winning any of the other club awards recently. Good players, but apparently not notable for their off-field impact.

The most balanced players seem to be Laverde, McGrath, Heppell and Langford, who've had at least two top 10 places and two other awards recently, with Redman and Ridley being less consistent in one way or another.

For some reason Laverde and Langford aren't rated externally really at all (not on BigFooty anyway). Injuries don't help of course, but it's still interesting. They're some of the longest serving players at the club but are overlooked, perhaps because they were not top 10 picks or coated in stardust.

Langford is rated massively internally as a leader. Smokey for captain imo.

 

[faible]

Decided to have a look at the old Crichton medal winner articles with all the club awards on them for the last few years (ignoring leading goalkicker):

2022 / 2021 / 2020 / 2019:
Bruce Heymanson Best Clubman – Redman / Langford / Langford / Zaharakis
Adam Ramanauskas Most Courageous Player – Laverde / Heppell / McGrath / Ambrose
Lindsay Griffiths Rising Star – Martin / Perkins / Draper / Clarke
Most Improved Player – Redman / Laverde / Ridley / Redman
John Kilby Staff and Trainers’ Award – Draper and McGrath / Redman / Gleeson / Heppell
McCracken Medal – Guelfi / Laverde

Crichton Top 10s:
2022: Wright, Merrett, Guelfi, Redman, Ridley, Laverde, Kelly, Martin, [Parish, Shiel and Hind], McGrath
2021: Merrett, Parish, Snelling, Ridley, Stringer, Laverde, Langford, Hind, Heppell, McDonald-Tipungwuti
2020: Ridley, Merrett, Saad, Langford, McGrath, Parish, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Smith, Snelling, Shiel
2019: Merrett, Shiel, Saad, McKenna, Heppell, McGrath, Ambrose, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Parish, Hurley

The Crichton is very performance-based, you can be a good player and not be a good captain, but the captain should be a good player.

The other club awards include off-field stuff and are voted by coaches and staff or whatever, they're more or less awards for role models of club values and I guess a sort of good bloke award (in terms of the staff and trainers award).

So in terms of a proxy for how a leadership group could be viewed internally without accounting for player opinions:

Player	Other Club Awards since 2019	Placed Top 10 in the Crichton since 2019	Total Crichton places + other awards	Career Games Played (Club Games)	Current BigFooty LG Poll Votes
Redman	4	1	5	80	66
Laverde	3	2	5	91	17
McGrath	2	3	5	111	47
Heppell	2	2	4	213	19
Langford	2	2	4	107	13
Ridley	1	3	4	68	25
Merrett	0	4	4	184	72
Parish	0	4	4	132	9
McDonald-Tipungwuti	0	3	3	126	n/a
Shiel	0	3	3	199 (64)	18
Hind	0	2	2	64 (43)	n/a
Draper	2	0	2	43	38
Guelfi	1	1	2	83	n/a
Martin	1	1	2	21	n/a
Snelling	0	2	2	50 (49)	n/a
Perkins	1	0	1	39	n/a

A few things that fascinate me:

Merrett, Parish, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Shiel and Hind have all placed in the Crichton without winning any of the other club awards recently. Good players, but apparently not notable for their off-field impact.

The most balanced players seem to be Laverde, McGrath, Heppell and Langford, who've had at least two top 10 places and two other awards recently, with Redman and Ridley being less consistent in one way or another.

For some reason Laverde and Langford aren't rated externally really at all (not on BigFooty anyway). Injuries don't help of course, but it's still interesting. They're some of the longest serving players at the club but are overlooked, perhaps because they were not top 10 picks or coated in stardust.

As much as I'm not a fan of joint Captains, in this scenario where there's no real standout leadership option perhaps it's a Merrett + <someone> combination for a couple of years, with Hobbs being one that looks like a long-term leader you build a club around for the future.

 

[bombreys]

Merrett captain, Redman vice, Shiel/Lav/Draper rounding out the leadership group

 

[andleanback]

Merrett captain, Redman vice, Shiel/Lav/Draper rounding out the leadership group

Shiel is a horrible leader

 

[Lore]

Mahoney interviewed on AFL Daily podcast mentioned that at this stage they see Heppell as captain again this year

LISTEN: Mahoney on Essendon captaincy, Scott's early impact

Join Sarah Olle and Josh Gabelich for AFL Daily

www.afl.com.au

Ideally we really need to bring others through and let them grow into those roles but it's hard when there's one stand out and no real competition I guess.

Apparently he was running with Walla and encouraging him the whole way during the 2k

 

[DapperDon]

Yeah not sure how I feel about Hep remaining as captain. I don't have him in the best 22 mid season (probably actually earlier), and this makes it near impossible to have someone else take his spot.

 

[calyam]

It's a damning assessment of the list if there are no suitable leadership candidates besides a happy knacker struggling to stay in the best 22.

 

[Bombers36]

I’d like to see ;-

Heppell captain
Redman VC
Lav, Merrett and 2MP in leadership group

If Heppell isn’t in the 23 mid season he’ll still add value for his leadership in the reserves

Redman to me screams captain and has a bit of that hard edge about him most of us love.. winning the 2K time trial recently shows he’s on track for a big 2023

Lav is our rock down back, Merrett still our best onballer and 2MP could kick 60 - 70 goals in 2023 all going well


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[ant555]

It's a damning assessment of the list if there are no suitable leadership candidates besides a happy knacker struggling to stay in the best 22.

It is and I have been saying it for over 2 years now. Our leadership is very poor. It was 50% of the reason I was keen on Clarke in the draft. Everyone keeps saying this bloke or that bloke should be in the leadership group but the fact is the cupboard is virtually empty.

 

[creepyguy23]

Would Love for the Captain to be either Redman Or Merrett. That said, I'll respect whoever Scott picks.

Heppell is not in our best 22 so forget about him.

Don't know why Shiel's name gets thrown around, he is definitely not leadership material and shouldn't even be in the leadership group.

Lav and Draper to be in the leadership group as both have a little bit of mongrel about them (something our leaders have lacked for the past 15+ years)