Coach Men's Senior Coach: Brad Scott

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cavalcade said:
Yet only one poster here was against that Sheil trade. I don't recall who it was, but I remember there was only one.
Click to expand...
The problem with this is it is hindsight and the real issue was we kept picking up 180cm midfielders. When Shiel was picked up we had an average midfield. At that stage Parish was still playing more forward than midfield. McGrath was not in the midfield. Langford (191) was being tried there. Begley (187)was drafted to step up as a midfielder. Myers (191)was playing there when he was fit. Heppell (189)was still midfield. Clarke (187) was drafted to play midfield. Mynott was another midfielder (185). The problem is what kept happening. Caldwell. Hobbs. The bigger blokes who where not up to it where replaced with small blokes. The reason the Shiel trade never really worked is after a really good first year the second year was the Covid bubble implosion and then he has been injured every year since.
 
Me: What strategic changes would you make if you were the coach of the Essendon Football Club?


ChatGPT: If I were the coach of Essendon Football Club (AFL), I would focus on a few key strategic changes to improve performance and create a more competitive team. Here's an approach that would target both short-term success and long-term sustainability:

1. Rebuild Culture and Identity:​

  • Focus on Strong Club Values: Establish a clear culture emphasizing accountability, resilience, and unity. Essendon has a strong history, but in recent years, the club has lacked consistent identity and leadership. Creating a unified vision that both players and staff buy into will be key.
  • Leverage the Club’s History: Build pride by connecting players to Essendon’s long-standing tradition and its place as one of the AFL's most successful clubs.

2. Youth Development & Draft Strategy:​

  • Commit to Youth: Build a strong core of young players by focusing on player development and clear pathways from the VFL to the AFL. Invest in nurturing the next generation of midfielders, forwards, and defenders.
  • Draft Smart: Use draft picks wisely to target emerging talent in key areas. Essendon needs more top-tier talent, particularly in midfield and key forward positions. Prioritize speed, foot skills, and decision-making abilities.
  • Develop Depth: Focus on creating depth in key positions to avoid over-reliance on star players and injuries derailing seasons.

3. Defensive Structure:​

  • Improve Defensive Systems: Essendon has often struggled with defensive inconsistency. Implement a more structured defensive system where every player has clear roles in defense, including stronger team-wide pressure, zonal marking, and better transition from defense to offense.
  • Team Defense: Focus on forward pressure and midfielders working back to support defenders. A good defense starts in the forward line, and everyone on the team should be responsible for defensive efforts.

4. Midfield Dynamism:​

  • Balanced Midfield Strategy: Essendon needs to improve midfield dominance and balance inside/outside players. Players like Zach Merrett and Darcy Parish provide great ball use, but the midfield lacks physicality and size. Recruiting or developing a big-bodied midfielder would be a priority to complement the existing runners.
  • Emphasize Speed and Aggression: Use the club's natural athletic strengths to implement a faster, aggressive game style, particularly through the corridor. Essendon’s strengths traditionally lie in their speed, so harnessing that with a more direct game plan will put pressure on opposition defenses.

5. Forward Line Consistency:​

  • Key Forward Development: Invest in developing a reliable key forward. Essendon has lacked a consistent go-to player in this area. Ensuring a key forward can develop into a regular 40-50 goal scorer is vital.
  • More Structured Forward Entries: Improve forward entries by focusing on lowering the eyes, avoiding bombing the ball, and creating better angles for scoring. A cohesive approach to leading patterns, ball movement, and creativity is essential for improving efficiency inside 50.

6. Fitness & Injury Management:​

  • Enhanced Fitness Regime: Make fitness a competitive advantage by ensuring players are in peak physical condition. Essendon has had injury troubles in recent years, and a focus on fitness and injury prevention through advanced conditioning programs will be key to maintaining player availability.
  • Medical and Recovery Improvements: Strengthen the medical and rehab programs to minimize time lost through soft tissue injuries.

7. Game Plan & Tactics:​

  • Adaptability in Game Plans: The best teams in the AFL can adapt mid-game to changing conditions. Essendon needs a flexible game plan that can be reactive to the opposition's strengths and weaknesses, with the ability to adjust quickly if Plan A isn't working.
  • Transition Play: Focus on smooth transition from defense to attack, using both pace and precision. This would involve strong overlap running and players understanding when to slow down and control the tempo of the game.

8. Leadership Development:​

  • Emerging Leaders: Build a leadership group that extends beyond just the captain and vice-captain. Develop leadership across the entire playing group, so that young players are encouraged to take responsibility.
  • Player Empowerment: Empower players to take ownership of their roles and performances. Encourage open communication between coaching staff and players to foster accountability.
By focusing on these strategic changes, Essendon could become a more dynamic and competitive team, capable of breaking into finals contention and staying there consistently.
 
Godzke said:
Me: What strategic changes would you make if you were the coach of the Essendon Football Club?


ChatGPT: If I were the coach of Essendon Football Club (AFL), I would focus on a few key strategic changes to improve performance and create a more competitive team. Here's an approach that would target both short-term success and long-term sustainability:

1. Rebuild Culture and Identity:​

  • Focus on Strong Club Values: Establish a clear culture emphasizing accountability, resilience, and unity. Essendon has a strong history, but in recent years, the club has lacked consistent identity and leadership. Creating a unified vision that both players and staff buy into will be key.
  • Leverage the Club’s History: Build pride by connecting players to Essendon’s long-standing tradition and its place as one of the AFL's most successful clubs.

2. Youth Development & Draft Strategy:​

  • Commit to Youth: Build a strong core of young players by focusing on player development and clear pathways from the VFL to the AFL. Invest in nurturing the next generation of midfielders, forwards, and defenders.
  • Draft Smart: Use draft picks wisely to target emerging talent in key areas. Essendon needs more top-tier talent, particularly in midfield and key forward positions. Prioritize speed, foot skills, and decision-making abilities.
  • Develop Depth: Focus on creating depth in key positions to avoid over-reliance on star players and injuries derailing seasons.

3. Defensive Structure:​

  • Improve Defensive Systems: Essendon has often struggled with defensive inconsistency. Implement a more structured defensive system where every player has clear roles in defense, including stronger team-wide pressure, zonal marking, and better transition from defense to offense.
  • Team Defense: Focus on forward pressure and midfielders working back to support defenders. A good defense starts in the forward line, and everyone on the team should be responsible for defensive efforts.

4. Midfield Dynamism:​

  • Balanced Midfield Strategy: Essendon needs to improve midfield dominance and balance inside/outside players. Players like Zach Merrett and Darcy Parish provide great ball use, but the midfield lacks physicality and size. Recruiting or developing a big-bodied midfielder would be a priority to complement the existing runners.
  • Emphasize Speed and Aggression: Use the club's natural athletic strengths to implement a faster, aggressive game style, particularly through the corridor. Essendon’s strengths traditionally lie in their speed, so harnessing that with a more direct game plan will put pressure on opposition defenses.

5. Forward Line Consistency:​

  • Key Forward Development: Invest in developing a reliable key forward. Essendon has lacked a consistent go-to player in this area. Ensuring a key forward can develop into a regular 40-50 goal scorer is vital.
  • More Structured Forward Entries: Improve forward entries by focusing on lowering the eyes, avoiding bombing the ball, and creating better angles for scoring. A cohesive approach to leading patterns, ball movement, and creativity is essential for improving efficiency inside 50.

6. Fitness & Injury Management:​

  • Enhanced Fitness Regime: Make fitness a competitive advantage by ensuring players are in peak physical condition. Essendon has had injury troubles in recent years, and a focus on fitness and injury prevention through advanced conditioning programs will be key to maintaining player availability.
  • Medical and Recovery Improvements: Strengthen the medical and rehab programs to minimize time lost through soft tissue injuries.

7. Game Plan & Tactics:​

  • Adaptability in Game Plans: The best teams in the AFL can adapt mid-game to changing conditions. Essendon needs a flexible game plan that can be reactive to the opposition's strengths and weaknesses, with the ability to adjust quickly if Plan A isn't working.
  • Transition Play: Focus on smooth transition from defense to attack, using both pace and precision. This would involve strong overlap running and players understanding when to slow down and control the tempo of the game.

8. Leadership Development:​

  • Emerging Leaders: Build a leadership group that extends beyond just the captain and vice-captain. Develop leadership across the entire playing group, so that young players are encouraged to take responsibility.
  • Player Empowerment: Empower players to take ownership of their roles and performances. Encourage open communication between coaching staff and players to foster accountability.
By focusing on these strategic changes, Essendon could become a more dynamic and competitive team, capable of breaking into finals contention and staying there consistently.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure ChatGPT is trained on data from before 2021.. I tried asking one of those bots about particular players the other day and it was naming blokes that had retired or played in different years (not together)
 
Godzke said:
Me: What strategic changes would you make if you were the coach of the Essendon Football Club?


ChatGPT: If I were the coach of Essendon Football Club (AFL), I would focus on a few key strategic changes to improve performance and create a more competitive team. Here's an approach that would target both short-term success and long-term sustainability:

1. Rebuild Culture and Identity:​

  • Focus on Strong Club Values: Establish a clear culture emphasizing accountability, resilience, and unity. Essendon has a strong history, but in recent years, the club has lacked consistent identity and leadership. Creating a unified vision that both players and staff buy into will be key.
  • Leverage the Club’s History: Build pride by connecting players to Essendon’s long-standing tradition and its place as one of the AFL's most successful clubs.

2. Youth Development & Draft Strategy:​

  • Commit to Youth: Build a strong core of young players by focusing on player development and clear pathways from the VFL to the AFL. Invest in nurturing the next generation of midfielders, forwards, and defenders.
  • Draft Smart: Use draft picks wisely to target emerging talent in key areas. Essendon needs more top-tier talent, particularly in midfield and key forward positions. Prioritize speed, foot skills, and decision-making abilities.
  • Develop Depth: Focus on creating depth in key positions to avoid over-reliance on star players and injuries derailing seasons.

3. Defensive Structure:​

  • Improve Defensive Systems: Essendon has often struggled with defensive inconsistency. Implement a more structured defensive system where every player has clear roles in defense, including stronger team-wide pressure, zonal marking, and better transition from defense to offense.
  • Team Defense: Focus on forward pressure and midfielders working back to support defenders. A good defense starts in the forward line, and everyone on the team should be responsible for defensive efforts.

4. Midfield Dynamism:​

  • Balanced Midfield Strategy: Essendon needs to improve midfield dominance and balance inside/outside players. Players like Zach Merrett and Darcy Parish provide great ball use, but the midfield lacks physicality and size. Recruiting or developing a big-bodied midfielder would be a priority to complement the existing runners.
  • Emphasize Speed and Aggression: Use the club's natural athletic strengths to implement a faster, aggressive game style, particularly through the corridor. Essendon’s strengths traditionally lie in their speed, so harnessing that with a more direct game plan will put pressure on opposition defenses.

5. Forward Line Consistency:​

  • Key Forward Development: Invest in developing a reliable key forward. Essendon has lacked a consistent go-to player in this area. Ensuring a key forward can develop into a regular 40-50 goal scorer is vital.
  • More Structured Forward Entries: Improve forward entries by focusing on lowering the eyes, avoiding bombing the ball, and creating better angles for scoring. A cohesive approach to leading patterns, ball movement, and creativity is essential for improving efficiency inside 50.

6. Fitness & Injury Management:​

  • Enhanced Fitness Regime: Make fitness a competitive advantage by ensuring players are in peak physical condition. Essendon has had injury troubles in recent years, and a focus on fitness and injury prevention through advanced conditioning programs will be key to maintaining player availability.
  • Medical and Recovery Improvements: Strengthen the medical and rehab programs to minimize time lost through soft tissue injuries.

7. Game Plan & Tactics:​

  • Adaptability in Game Plans: The best teams in the AFL can adapt mid-game to changing conditions. Essendon needs a flexible game plan that can be reactive to the opposition's strengths and weaknesses, with the ability to adjust quickly if Plan A isn't working.
  • Transition Play: Focus on smooth transition from defense to attack, using both pace and precision. This would involve strong overlap running and players understanding when to slow down and control the tempo of the game.

8. Leadership Development:​

  • Emerging Leaders: Build a leadership group that extends beyond just the captain and vice-captain. Develop leadership across the entire playing group, so that young players are encouraged to take responsibility.
  • Player Empowerment: Empower players to take ownership of their roles and performances. Encourage open communication between coaching staff and players to foster accountability.
By focusing on these strategic changes, Essendon could become a more dynamic and competitive team, capable of breaking into finals contention and staying there consistently.
Click to expand...


Who would have thought the AI would regurgitate useless bullshit?
 
Lore said:
Pretty sure ChatGPT is trained on data from before 2021.. I tried asking one of those bots about particular players the other day and it was naming blokes that had retired or played in different years (not together)
Click to expand...
AI is a bits of piece of shit. I asked google a while back for a list of players who have worn #17 for the bombers (our old website used to have lists of all the players you could sort that way before we sold our souls), the return I got was a picture of Elijah Tsatas with "Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti" written underneath it.
 
yodellinhank said:
AI is a bits of piece of shit. I asked google a while back for a list of players who have worn #17 for the bombers (our old website used to have lists of all the players you could sort that way before we sold our souls), the return I got was a picture of Elijah Tsatas with "Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti" written underneath it.
Click to expand...
Would be handy if Tstats had the same speed and kicking skills as Walla. :)
 
Lore said:
Pretty sure ChatGPT is trained on data from before 2021.. I tried asking one of those bots about particular players the other day and it was naming blokes that had retired or played in different years (not together)
Click to expand...
To be fair, the club's had players playing that should have retired in 2021, so maybe it made an assumption.
 

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yodellinhank said:
AI is a bits of piece of shit. I asked google a while back for a list of players who have worn #17 for the bombers (our old website used to have lists of all the players you could sort that way before we sold our souls), the return I got was a picture of Elijah Tsatas with "Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti" written underneath it.
Click to expand...
Sounds about as accurate as Tsatas' kicks.
 
BrunoV safe to say your not in the Brad Scott corner?



I kinda knew it was going to go the way it is. I was hoping he would shake the tree enough for the powers to be to actually make change

Dodoro (out), Sheedy (gone) is obviously a good start. If we can actually bottom out (properly) and clear the decks over the next 2 years we may be able to race Tasmania in a chance for a flag
 
BrunoV said:
Actually it was my idea, many years ago. When I was calling for him to head up a football department as a US style GM.

Not sure what to make of that, anymore.
Click to expand...
But we're talking about head coach and you wanted Lyon or Clarkson no?

I would be genuinely interested to see those alternate timelines.
 
was one of his biggest defenders last year and for most of this year but am really starting to waiver.
Feels like, as usual, we are still playing catch up on modern trends and while we try to implement what was a successful plan 2 or 3 seasons ago the best teams have both worked out how to stop that style of game plan and also implemented a new style of footy thats more focussed on fast transition and are happy to give up a bit of their defensive structure.

Add to that, it is now heading to year three and the promise of a genuine list shake up is starting to feel like lip service.
 
joey_jo_jo said:
was one of his biggest defenders last year and for most of this year but am really starting to waiver.
Feels like, as usual, we are still playing catch up on modern trends and while we try to implement what was a successful plan 2 or 3 seasons ago the best teams have both worked out how to stop that style of game plan and also implemented a new style of footy thats more focussed on fast transition and are happy to give up a bit of their defensive structure.

Add to that, it is now heading to year three and the promise of a genuine list shake up is starting to feel like lip service.
Click to expand...
The first half of the season we took the game on then we went into our shell. Ridley out did not help.

It was like the coaches knew we had dropped off physically and instructed us to hold the ball up and play possession style maybe in the hope of staying in the 8.

Problem is we have zero forward pressure and playing slow means there is no space for the taller guys to lead into as opposition have already filled the gaps once the ball gets in there.

Watch Sydney, they play a possession game out of defence but they are so good at finding space on the wings with deadly accurate disposal. Once in possession they have speed of ball movement into the forward line with forward pressure to get results. We lack speed of ball into forward line and pressure.

We need genuine speed inside 50 and speed of ball into the 50.

Langford wasn't right either. Should have been rested IMO.
 
MiguelM said:
The first half of the season we took the game on then we went into our shell. Ridley out did not help.

It was like the coaches knew we had dropped off physically and instructed us to hold the ball up and play possession style maybe in the hope of staying in the 8.

Problem is we have zero forward pressure and playing slow means there is no space for the taller guys to lead into as opposition have already filled the gaps once the ball gets in there.

Watch Sydney, they play a possession game out of defence but they are so good at finding space on the wings with deadly accurate disposal. Once in possession they have speed of ball movement into the forward line with forward pressure to get results. We lack speed of ball into forward line and pressure.

We need genuine speed inside 50 and speed of ball into the 50.

Langford wasn't right either. Should have been rested IMO.
Click to expand...
I suspect you're right re the bolded, but this is what has got me down the most.
I am more than happy to wait a few years for finals action if we are reshaping the list and brand of footy we play. That's what Scott has been saying all along and what he said at start of year but the way they changed back to this style once they got a whiff of finals felt like taking short cuts instead of staying the course. It's doubly frustrating that it's not even a successful style of footy to play now.
 
joey_jo_jo said:
was one of his biggest defenders last year and for most of this year but am really starting to waiver.
Feels like, as usual, we are still playing catch up on modern trends and while we try to implement what was a successful plan 2 or 3 seasons ago the best teams have both worked out how to stop that style of game plan and also implemented a new style of footy thats more focussed on fast transition and are happy to give up a bit of their defensive structure.

Add to that, it is now heading to year three and the promise of a genuine list shake up is starting to feel like lip service.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's quite as simple as that, the good teams have the players to enable them to do things other teams can't.

If our midfield had guys like Gulden & Warner running through it, our transition would automatically look much faster because you've got guys with both the football IQ to identify the options and the skills to execute. As-is we heavily reliant on Merrett to move it like that, Martin is good but not in Merrett's class, and we don't have any particularly fast or damaging small forwards (e.g. Papley) either.

Geelong has long relied on a really strong intercept marking backline because they've got the size in the midfield to consistently have pressure on the ball carrier. We've seen that Ridley and McKay can be very impressive in the same settings when our midfield pressure is on, but they struggle when it's not.

I think what we're seeing right now is that we've got a list with holes in it, and as the season wears on, key players fatigue or get injured, we simply lack the critical mass of players to continue to execute it.

Our i50 numbers were much improved this season over last which suggests we're actually playing more of a forward half game but are consistently unable to capitalise and when we turn the ball over it comes back through the corridor at high speed.

A couple of quality small forwards could totally change both those aspects. Durham was very dynamic through stoppages in a way only Shiel has been previously, and will have another pre-season in him. Caddy will be another year fitter and stronger which should help with our forward-half marking power as well.
 
faible said:
I don't think it's quite as simple as that, the good teams have the players to enable them to do things other teams can't.

If our midfield had guys like Gulden & Warner running through it, our transition would automatically look much faster because you've got guys with both the football IQ to identify the options and the skills to execute. As-is we heavily reliant on Merrett to move it like that, Martin is good but not in Merrett's class, and we don't have any particularly fast or damaging small forwards (e.g. Papley) either.

Geelong has long relied on a really strong intercept marking backline because they've got the size in the midfield to consistently have pressure on the ball carrier. We've seen that Ridley and McKay can be very impressive in the same settings when our midfield pressure is on, but they struggle when it's not.

I think what we're seeing right now is that we've got a list with holes in it, and as the season wears on, key players fatigue or get injured, we simply lack the critical mass of players to continue to execute it.

Our i50 numbers were much improved this season over last which suggests we're actually playing more of a forward half game but are consistently unable to capitalise and when we turn the ball over it comes back through the corridor at high speed.

A couple of quality small forwards could totally change both those aspects. Durham was very dynamic through stoppages in a way only Shiel has been previously, and will have another pre-season in him. Caddy will be another year fitter and stronger which should help with our forward-half marking power as well.
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Yeah alot of what you say is what Ive been saying for most of the last two years.
I just think there a couple of factors that has me starting to worry,

1. as Miguel and I mentioned above it felt like there was significant change in approach at midpoint of the year. Was this as you said just due to a long season catching up to undermanned list or did the coaches genuinely think we had a shot at top 4 and tried to take a short cut through tweaking of the team structure/style? I really cant answer that at the moment

2. with the list issues, I feel like we have really hamstrung ourselves from overhauling the list. I fear we have been too cute with the way we have managed the salary cap/impending pay rise by handing players longer terms to offset the lower pay rate. Just feels we have locked ourselves in with too many guys that are not bad but just average to good and are contributing to the list imbalance/leadership void.

3. this is probably recency bias/reactionary but Hawks/Cats seasons have been real eye openers to me. I dont think either team has complete lists either, I would say they both have sub-par midfields and hawks key position stocks arent amazing either, but they have identified certain areas of the ground that they know are key in the modern game and havent wavered all season in focusing at excelling in these areas. Being brave in both list management calls and game style has paid dividends for them whereas we seem to prefer to tread water.
 
joey_jo_jo said:
Yeah alot of what you say is what Ive been saying for most of the last two years.
I just think there a couple of factors that has me starting to worry,

1. as Miguel and I mentioned above it felt like there was significant change in approach at midpoint of the year. Was this as you said just due to a long season catching up to undermanned list or did the coaches genuinely think we had a shot at top 4 and tried to take a short cut through tweaking of the team structure/style? I really cant answer that at the moment

2. with the list issues, I feel like we have really hamstrung ourselves from overhauling the list. I fear we have been too cute with the way we have managed the salary cap/impending pay rise by handing players longer terms to offset the lower pay rate. Just feels we have locked ourselves in with too many guys that are not bad but just average to good and are contributing to the list imbalance/leadership void.

3. this is probably recency bias/reactionary but Hawks/Cats seasons have been real eye openers to me. I dont think either team has complete lists either, I would say they both have sub-par midfields and hawks key position stocks arent amazing either, but they have identified certain areas of the ground that they know are key in the modern game and havent wavered all season in focusing at excelling in these areas. Being brave in both list management calls and game style has paid dividends for them whereas we seem to prefer to tread water.
Click to expand...
I wonder what we would have done if we were 0-5, like the Hawks?
I didn't see much of their early games, but did Haw adjust, to get back on track, or stay the course they were on and it all came together?
Feels like '25 is going to be a big year, for us, one way or the other. Significant improvement, or bottom 4. Mid table has to stop, but I'm sure there's always pressure from the powers above to avoid bottoming out.
 
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