The Great Dasher Milburn

[Turbocat]

He'll be more ruthless than Thompson would ever have been.

Probably. It will be a balancing act for Scott judging if we are in it up to our necks or if its beyond the group.

Every coach in the AFL strives for a side capable of winning it , and rebuilding with youth guarantees a shot in a few years time IF all go's well. But it doesn't always go well. Look at Ayres ( I dread to compare anyone to him ) but the only time he got the big dance was in his first year.

No doubt there will be some fresh kids but if playing a big group mature guys is the price of a shot at the title then some of those kids will just have to be hindered a little . IF/When we are out out of it , I'd say we would see a fair amount of the ruthlessness get shown and some flag champs may just have to suck it up.

 

[David the Cat]

Probably. It will be a balancing act for Scott judging if we are in it up to our necks or if its beyond the group.

Every coach in the AFL strives for a side capable of winning it , and rebuilding with youth guarantees a shot in a few years time IF all go's well. But it doesn't always go well. Look at Ayres ( I dread to compare anyone to him ) but the only time he got the big dance was in his first year.

No doubt there will be some fresh kids but if playing a big group mature guys is the price of a shot at the title then some of those kids will just have to be hindered a little . IF/When we are out out of it , I'd say we would see a fair amount of the ruthlessness get shown and some flag champs may just have to suck it up.

Yes!!! This is what I have been trying to say, in another thread, but you just said it better....

100% agree.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Probably. It will be a balancing act for Scott judging if we are in it up to our necks or if its beyond the group.

Every coach in the AFL strives for a side capable of winning it , and rebuilding with youth guarantees a shot in a few years time IF all go's well. But it doesn't always go well. Look at Ayres ( I dread to compare anyone to him ) but the only time he got the big dance was in his first year.

No doubt there will be some fresh kids but if playing a big group mature guys is the price of a shot at the title then some of those kids will just have to be hindered a little . IF/When we are out out of it , I'd say we would see a fair amount of the ruthlessness get shown and some flag champs may just have to suck it up.

Probably. No doubt where we are on the ladder will play a part, but ultimately it will be a philosophy...if he really means it about the 'not fall off the cliff stuff' is will require pushing some before they want to be gone, so I expect that means we will see some ruthlessness shown, although ultimately it will be well into next year before we know whether that's the case or not.

 

[Gaz_Brownlow]

Yes!!! This is what I have been trying to say, in another thread, but you just said it better....

100% agree.

Definitely a balancing act....what needs to be remembered also, especially in reference to Ayres, is the handling of senior players towards the end of their careers. I'm never suggesting that they should be given senior games of football, however especially with a new coach these players should be appreciated in their greater capacity to the football club. It would devastate me if we had a repeat of the Paul Couch, Budha Hocking, Stoneham, Bairstow etc. The current crop of senior players (especially blokes like Milburn) have too much worth to this club in the long term. I have every bit of faith that Scott and co will act appropriately as i'm sure they realise that future success is often built around securing continuing mentoring, coaching and support from this champion group of players.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Definitely a balancing act....what needs to be remembered also, especially in reference to Ayres, is the handling of senior players towards the end of their careers. I'm never suggesting that they should be given senior games of football, however especially with a new coach these players should be appreciated in their greater capacity to the football club. It would devastate me if we had a repeat of the Paul Couch, Budha Hocking, Stoneham, Bairstow etc. The current crop of senior players (especially blokes like Milburn) have too much worth to this club in the long term. I have every bit of faith that Scott and co will act appropriately as i'm sure they realise that future success is often built around securing continuing mentoring, coaching and support from this champion group of players.

Certainly the right description.

I agree with the rest of your post, and think that the older players should be handled well, yet Scott's got to be ruthless enough to pick the best 22 on form every week, even if that criteria means some greats are in the VFL. By all means show respect to our players in how that is handled, how they are involved in mentoring those who are challenging their spots, etc, but don't be afraid to make the hard calls. One of the ways I reckon Scott should do it is sit them all down and say he doesn't have a youth policy/agenda, but he'll pick the team on form and that's the way it is, if you're out that's why you're out and it doesn't mean you can't ever get back in. Certainly it will be a challenging task but it's one that he'll need to face and I'm sure it'll be one he's up to.