L_W_P
@peteplatinum on Instagram
Im seriously going to suggest Matty Knights.
He had a great gameplan at Essendon that was built on fast movement and playing with instinct. This is perfect for a young team needing to find some self confidence and earn respect from the wider AFL community. We might get beaten but we will go down swinging.
He managed to get a two ruck system working very well with Ryder and Hille/Bellchambers which could be emulated in time with Longer/Hickey/Stanley.
He gave youngsters games (Zaharakis, Hurley etc) and backed them in despite poor form which hurt him at the time but is paying off for the Dons now.
He was shafted by injuries late each season that cost him alot of sway with key Essendon people and when push came to shove they shafted him for Hird, who hasn't really changed anything from a game style perspective. Goodwin and Thompson working on their defensive setups have had more to do with Essendons good form in recent years than Hird being a 'genius'. Also ya know..... Dank and co...
Knights has taken the Geelong VFL team to a flag in 2012 and the GF again this year. They are built on the same gameplan he used at Essendon, but with a slightly more defensive focus around the stoppages especially. It's not Geelongs 'slingshot' gameplan, but it's close. The last 2 years have been a great effort when he hasn't had his best side available due to kids getting games in the AFL or injured players coming back through the VFL (Chappy, Hunt etc). He's also developed kids like 20 year old Jordan Schroder who he has turned from a defensive forward into a Liston Medal winning midfielder in the space of 2 years.
I think he is humble enough to take direction from a list perspective from Pelchen, but has enough of a voice to get his message across to his assistants and the players. Having coached a VFL team he would also understand the need for a better relationship with Sandy over the next few years.
He would also understand the hurt that the senior guys are going through having not hit the peak himself.
There might be other options out there, but from what I have seen/read/heard I think that we could do alot worse than Matty Knights
Who ya got Saints fans?
He had a great gameplan at Essendon that was built on fast movement and playing with instinct. This is perfect for a young team needing to find some self confidence and earn respect from the wider AFL community. We might get beaten but we will go down swinging.
He managed to get a two ruck system working very well with Ryder and Hille/Bellchambers which could be emulated in time with Longer/Hickey/Stanley.
He gave youngsters games (Zaharakis, Hurley etc) and backed them in despite poor form which hurt him at the time but is paying off for the Dons now.
He was shafted by injuries late each season that cost him alot of sway with key Essendon people and when push came to shove they shafted him for Hird, who hasn't really changed anything from a game style perspective. Goodwin and Thompson working on their defensive setups have had more to do with Essendons good form in recent years than Hird being a 'genius'. Also ya know..... Dank and co...
Knights has taken the Geelong VFL team to a flag in 2012 and the GF again this year. They are built on the same gameplan he used at Essendon, but with a slightly more defensive focus around the stoppages especially. It's not Geelongs 'slingshot' gameplan, but it's close. The last 2 years have been a great effort when he hasn't had his best side available due to kids getting games in the AFL or injured players coming back through the VFL (Chappy, Hunt etc). He's also developed kids like 20 year old Jordan Schroder who he has turned from a defensive forward into a Liston Medal winning midfielder in the space of 2 years.
I think he is humble enough to take direction from a list perspective from Pelchen, but has enough of a voice to get his message across to his assistants and the players. Having coached a VFL team he would also understand the need for a better relationship with Sandy over the next few years.
He would also understand the hurt that the senior guys are going through having not hit the peak himself.
There might be other options out there, but from what I have seen/read/heard I think that we could do alot worse than Matty Knights
Who ya got Saints fans?
