Coach Men's Senior Coach: Brad Scott

[naraku]

ah yes, we should have got Brad and Chris’ older brother Steel Scott.

Forgot about Steel. Give him a call and see if he is still free

 

[rumply]

 

[bombreys]

1) quite like how he spoke - doesn’t give away much, which I think is a good thing. Almost sounds like he still has his AFL hat on sometimes
2) Dunstall in place of Slobbo makes that show 10x more watchable, even sitting next to that weed

 

[windyhill]

I love this man. **** me he’s got a huge job turning this club around. I am with him every step of the way.

 

[cAsEy_18]

I love everything about what Scott is doing and saying... but...

I thought almost the exact same of Rutten less than 2 years ago. Last year was disastrous, but 2021, the style we were playing both looked and felt different, our competitiveness felt different, you had players coming out and saying "Yep, clear gameplan, really clear direction from Truck on our style, blue-collar" etc... and then look where that took us 18 months later.

Now, it's unfair of Scott to make comparisons just because that didn't work out. The big difference with Scott thus far I see is his ability to make gameday moves, to make adjustments, as well as to actually gameplan for the opposition, rather than "back our system in".

I like everything I've seen and heard early days. But I'm holding my horses on the whole "We've finally turned a corner" thing. Maybe, but let that play out a little bit longer yet.

 

[citizen-erased]

I love everything about what Scott is doing and saying... but...

I thought almost the exact same of Rutten less than 2 years ago. Last year was disastrous, but 2021, the style we were playing both looked and felt different, our competitiveness felt different, you had players coming out and saying "Yep, clear gameplan, really clear direction from Truck on our style, blue-collar" etc... and then look where that took us 18 months later.

Now, it's unfair of Scott to make comparisons just because that didn't work out. The big difference with Scott thus far I see is his ability to make gameday moves, to make adjustments, as well as to actually gameplan for the opposition, rather than "back our system in".

I like everything I've seen and heard early days. But I'm holding my horses on the whole "We've finally turned a corner" thing. Maybe, but let that play out a little bit longer yet.

difference for me is Rutten talked about things that could be tinkered with for a club that was a good way off the pace
Scott is about a long journey and a lot of things to work on even when things looked good. He's tempered when we win, but also comes back to this when we lose.


i dont think for a second we're there, or even gone around a corner. but i reckon we've at least identified where that corner is on a map.

 

[Happyskeret]

The thing for me with Brad is the clarity. I know Truck wanted us to be more blue collar but to the simpleton such as myself I couldn’t understand what the players were doing out there or more importantly the game plan.
I know there are better people out there than me that explain what the coach wanted to do what the players were not doing that they should have.
When I watch us now I can see what we are doing right and what’s wrong and it feels like we aren’t treading water anymore. When he speaks after the game I feel like I’m on the same page. There is much improvement in us still yet but I see a clear direction ahead.

 

[bombreys]

The thing for me with Brad is the clarity. I know Truck wanted us to be more blue collar but to the simpleton such as myself I couldn’t understand what the players were doing out there or more importantly the game plan.
I know there are better people out there than me that explain what the coach wanted to do what the players were not doing that they should have.
When I watch us now I can see what we are doing right and what’s wrong and it feels like we aren’t treading water anymore. When he speaks after the game I feel like I’m on the same page. There is much improvement in us still yet but I see a clear direction ahead.

I’m far happier with Scott.

Rutten seems like a really nice bloke - and perhaps one of the better assistant coaches - I just don’t think senior coaching was for him.

He seemed to want to over complicate everything and what he said didn’t seem to line up with what he did. That whole ‘blue collar’ stuff was such a wank too.

 

[Happyskeret]

I’m far happier with Scott.

Rutten seems like a really nice bloke - and perhaps one of the better assistant coaches - I just don’t think senior coaching was for him.

He seemed to want to over complicate everything and what he said didn’t seem to line up with what he did. That whole ‘blue collar’ stuff was such a wank too.

Truck obviously knew a bit about footy. Like what he did with Laverde was terrific. It is a real skill though to be able to articulate yourself with clarity. I still hear buzz words like the journey as in the past it was learnings.
What strikes me the most is when journos ask Brad the curly questions he is actually quite transparent in his responses. Questions about Sheeds and Dodo/Mahoney, Hepple snd Jake for example not easy subject matter but he hits it like a hammer on the head.

 

[ant555]

I’m far happier with Scott.

Rutten seems like a really nice bloke - and perhaps one of the better assistant coaches - I just don’t think senior coaching was for him.

He seemed to want to over complicate everything and what he said didn’t seem to line up with what he did. That whole ‘blue collar’ stuff was such a wank too.

I would say that at that stage senior coaching was not for him. Who knows down the track or with a club in a different situation but he did not have the experience to take on what we needed.
Do not agree with the Blue Collar stuff being a wank. People took it the wrong way. He always said we had to get back to playing a blue collar Essendon brand. He never said it was going to roll out from day one.

 

[faible]

I would say that at that stage senior coaching was not for him. Who knows down the track or with a club in a different situation but he did not have the experience to take on what we needed.
Do not agree with the Blue Collar stuff being a wank. People took it the wrong way. He always said we had to get back to playing a blue collar Essendon brand. He never said it was going to roll out from day one.

I think what Rutten said about what we needed to do was bang on, it's the exact same stuff Scott is doing. Playing two-way football with a strong defensive setup. Scott has the luxury of some genuine small forwards and Setterfield in the middle that Rutten didn't have in Year 2 (but did have the smalls in year 1 when we played a basic pressure based plan and looked much better).

The challenge will be whether Scott can build upon that basic gameplan to produce one that's capable of winning a GF. Rutten clearly academically knew how to do that, given he (and Caracella) did exactly that at Richmond, but between personnel, a confidence sapping opening 6 round draw, and an inability to get the players to understand or execute it, he fell over at senior level.

Scott has a bit more credits in the bank due to his time at North and his AFL role that probably buys him the time and credibility to get a better run at it than Rutten did, along with an extra 2-3 drafts worth of players who are willing to do the work.

Rutten didn't deliver great pressers, but the stuff he said about what we needed to do and how we needed to play was pretty accurate IMO.

 

[Lore]

Truck seemed to be half a line coach when he was supposed to be senior coaching. He had to be really hands on because there weren’t enough people to delegate to, which is one problem already that Woosha had trouble with as much as the next person.

I think being so young as well, he was in a position of authority with his former colleagues, some of whom are much more experienced.

Really, being able to rein in your assistants is as much of a skill as anything.

I remember something Nat Wood said when she was interviewed as our AFLW head coach starting a new team, and she was saying how the assistants coaches had all these ideas and were super excited and had built out this whole big game plan with nuanced little bits of strategy and tactics and stuff.

But then she really only had a couple of months preseason and 10 games to sort of learn as they went. And they’re part timers with less training time to really go over the minutiae, but that’s a different issue to the boys anyway. All up, there wasn’t enough time to go that complex that quickly.

But where Wood looked at her team’s situation, and stripped the intended gameplan back to something manageable and taught the first steps first, Rutten either didn’t know the players weren’t ready for the next layer in 2022, or didn’t rein it in enough despite knowing it, or tried to rein it in and then assistants went rogue and didn’t distill the message down to something easy enough to grasp?

Whatever happened I think what Scott brings more than anything is leadership skills. Being a senior coach is more than just a title, you have to actually be the boss, decide the direction you want to go in, motivate people to follow you and explain it in a way and at a pace that people are able to follow. Captain/LG’s job is to support that process on field. And that is completely underrated.

 

[VelvetSledge]

Despite the L, it's looking like we might have finally found the right man for the job.

Couldn't be happier so far

 

[naraku]

^^^ Yep, every game so far, you can almost pinpoint where Essington would show up but with Brad we snap out of it and try to play decent footy.
Yesterday was the only game through the entire contest I felt we never had a chance.It would of been our first loss of the season.

Against pies and Saints, we where in it at some and could of/should of won.

 

[citizen-erased]

^^^ Yep, every game so far, you can almost pinpoint where Essington would show up but with Brad we snap out of it and try to play decent footy.
Yesterday was the only game through the entire contest I felt we never had a chance.It would of been our first loss of the season.

Against pies and Saints, we where in it at some and could of/should of won.

but for a quarter in each loss, we've been in and on top in games.
We've played the top 4 sides in the comp the last month, and come away 1-3 without being blown away.
5 & 6 the next two weeks. I'd like to chalk a win up, but really the focus comes after that. We should start getting a run going.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

We already look more organised than we have in years. Under Woosha and Rutten we were usually in a mess round 1.

 

[citizen-erased]

We already look more organised than we have in years. Under Woosha and Rutten we were usually in a mess round 1.

baby steps, but we seem to be taking a lot of them and all in the forward direction

pre-season focus on skills
early season form on fitness, best available
Tougher games we're not giving up in despite being outclassed
Im loving the mantra of kids in to stay. it sells patience but also clarity. I reckon likes of Hobbs, Reid, Bryan etc. invest in that.
Doesn't talk about going away from systems or taking learnings, but that we're still off the mark in areas and an unfinished product. the eyes on the long term prize might be another way of selling hope to the masses, but it feels a more honest conversation.

You'd really only mark us down for 3 quarters this year. Unfortunately all 3 cost us wins and we'd be undefeated if not for them. but given we were bottom 4 and a shambles to boot, that's not a bad start

Real test comes in a fortnight - very gettable teams after Port and Lions. And Port aren't exactly the hardest test in the comp.

12 more winnable games this year

 

[ant555]

Like his precise answers in the press conference.

 

[bombreys]

I would say that at that stage senior coaching was not for him. Who knows down the track or with a club in a different situation but he did not have the experience to take on what we needed.
Do not agree with the Blue Collar stuff being a wank. People took it the wrong way. He always said we had to get back to playing a blue collar Essendon brand. He never said it was going to roll out from day one.

Certainly not saying he couldn't go back to it in the future - he just wasn't working for us, at all.

I can't really agree with you there - he talked about it a lot. If he wasn't going to implement it right away, he probably shouldn't have said it at all, let alone constantly go back to it - though I suppose that is hindsight.

I wish him the best - but am personally happy we ended up with Scott.

 

[ant555]

Certainly not saying he couldn't go back to it in the future - he just wasn't working for us, at all.

I can't really agree with you there - he talked about it a lot. If he wasn't going to implement it right away, he probably shouldn't have said it at all, let alone constantly go back to it - though I suppose that is hindsight.

I wish him the best - but am personally happy we ended up with Scott.

Think you need to listen to exactly what he said. I do not disagree that he had to be held accountable for his failings but the issue was more complex than it looked. There where a few variables.

 

[tesla1962]

From a distance, a really impressive set of press conferences and media engagements from Brad Scott. It seems like there is a clarity that is permeating through the whole place. Notwithstanding the circus that preceded his appointment, I think the decision to go with him will turn out to be a very good one.

 

[MattyB3150]

I love watching Brad Scott’s presconferences. Was very hard to listen to Worsfold or Rutten who would just say the same boring repetitive lines every week. Felt like Groundhog Day.

 

[frodos gardener]

I liked that Brad said he couldn’t read too much into our ability to fight back against Geelong’s big score because we didn’t put them in a position where they really had to up the gear. He’ll give credit where it’s due but only where it’s due, it seems.

 

[Mercurial89]

I liked that Brad said he couldn’t read too much into our ability to fight back against Geelong’s big score because we didn’t put them in a position where they really had to up the gear. He’ll give credit where it’s due but only where it’s due, it seems.

Also pretty strong comments that he was happy they showed some grit and didn't fold.
Even mentioned the mentally weak tag which is not something coaches throw out there usually.

 

[windyhill]

Lovely bloke Truck, he just looked bewildered at times, winning or losing. Glad he’s back at richmond as they shuffle back into their hole.