Rumour Future of the club (Bevo, board, assistant coaches, football department)

[Dazb86]

After Hawthorn won in ‘08 they clearly made it their priority to get quality talent in every year to fill their gaps, and they basically surrendered their first rounder (and often more) every year for about six years to build the later premiership sides.

We seemed to make the call our first rounder was paramount and tried to get solid players with picks in the 20s and 30s or as free agents.

There’s nothing wrong with Treloar, Keath, Crozier, Bruce etc. Keath aside though I don’t think many of them really addressed a glaring need. They were just pretty good players.

We supplemented that with fringe players.

I really do wonder whether we should have gone all out trading our draft hand (except the Darcy/JUH years). Tried to get an A-Grade ruck in instead of Stef Martin etc.

I feel like Lobb has been the only clear bust tbh. It didn't make sense at the time and it's only looking worse as time goes on.

 

[Next Waiting]

I feel like Lobb has been the only clear bust tbh. It didn't make sense at the time and it's only looking worse as time goes on.

Unless Darcy couldn't play much last year or one of English or Darcy get injured this year. I don't think it was a bad idea. The cost can be argued.

He may even have trade value at the end of this year.

I think we've made a lot worse decisions.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

I get our hands have been tied with JUH and Darc, but picks can always be gained through other means I.e. being bit more ruthless with list management in general, could’ve gotten something for English 1-2 seasons ago, better run clubs would’ve known he isn’t up to it when the chips are down since 2020. Other examples of course but I don’t want to write a 3000 word essay.

Little bit of hindsight hero here though. No reason to think, for example, that given the targeted recruitment of Keath and Bruce and the good form they both showed in 2021, that they would be of completely zero value to winning games by 2023-24. Bruce is about to turn 32. Keath 32 (and can be argued is younger in football terms given his cricket years, less accumulated wear on the body). May is also 32, and basically the same age as Keath, yet is playing as well now as he was in 2021.

Do people think Steven May went to Melbourne for a fourth rounder? Not saying there has been an opportunity in recent years for something like that, but pre covid there were definitely some chances.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

I feel like Lobb has been the only clear bust tbh. It didn't make sense at the time and it's only looking worse as time goes on.

We played Zaine Cordy as an out-of-position second ruck for half of 2022. It made plenty of sense to go after Lobb.

 

[Struggle]

I feel like Lobb has been the only clear bust tbh. It didn't make sense at the time and it's only looking worse as time goes on.

Lobb is the one that made the most sense to me

We had just spent a year of Cordy Schache and Buku playing 2nd ruck/ forward
Darcy then spent nearly all of last year injured again
Giving him 4 years is the only issue with the deal

 

[yebach]

One thing that annoys me is that from the outside it’s hard to know whose responsibility is what.

Who, for example, has been making the calls to recruit fringe players. Is it Bevo, Power, Grant, some combination?

The list has problems that have been building for a while. Is that Power’s doing or is he following orders?

I'm just guessing here. But if Bevo can overrule Darylimple re Gowers. I'd say he has a major influence on who we bring in.

 

[MaxiBont]

The thing about Sanders is he doesn't appear to be quick. That would mitigate things a little. He isn't so it doesn't.

To be clear, he needed to be everything he is purported to be  and quick to justify the reach in my view.

So you wanted him to be the best midfielder in the league pretty much.

What a low bar

 

[charcoalchicken]

Dogs should have gone after grundy and dees should have bought Lobb in, both make a lot more sense at either club than where they actually went

 

[lachy]

Lobb is the one that made the most sense to me

We had just spent a year of Cordy Schache and Buku playing 2nd ruck/ forward
Darcy then spent nearly all of last year injured again
Giving him 4 years is the only issue with the deal

But the 4 years was to significantly reduce the per year cost and impact on the Salary Cap

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[lachy]

Dogs should have gone after grundy and dees should have bought Lobb in, both make a lot more sense at either club than where they actually went

Grundy would never have been coming unless we were getting rid of English at the same time

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[charcoalchicken]

Grundy would never have been coming unless we were getting rid of English at the same time

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English is a 2nd ruck, he’d be one of the best players in the comp in this role

 

[Next Waiting]

So you wanted him to be the best midfielder in the league pretty much league.

What a low bar

Pretty much in the draft, Harley excepted. If he was the best, excluding Harley, but didn't have speed, which he doesn't appear to, I wouldn't have gone there. I'd have copped the Croft situation as it stood and kept our first rounder this year.

 

[lachy]

English is a 2nd ruck, he’d be one of the best players in the comp in this role

Maybe he would be, but would need to be happy with that role and at the time of the trade was never happening

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[lachy]

Pretty much in the draft, Harley excepted. If he was the best, excluding Harley, but didn't have speed, which he doesn't appear to, I wouldn't have gone there. I'd have copped the Croft situation as it stood and kept our first rounder this year.

How many mids in this year's drafts have all of those attributes you want?

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[Dazb86]

Lobb is the one that made the most sense to me

We had just spent a year of Cordy Schache and Buku playing 2nd ruck/ forward
Darcy then spent nearly all of last year injured again
Giving him 4 years is the only issue with the deal

The Cordy/Schache/Buku situation was self created by the coaching department.

I personally feel like Sweet was always a decent option as main ruck and English as the 2nd.

 

[Anja_Nees]

I'm just guessing here. But if Bevo can overrule Darylimple re Gowers. I'd say he has a major influence on who we bring in.

Probably does.

Might be a shared responsibility (ie “Hey Sammy, get me a backup wingman” “Does it matter if he can kick?” “Nope” “Leave it with me”).

 

[threenewpadlocks]

The Cordy/Schache/Buku situation was self created by the coaching department.

I personally feel like Sweet was always a decent option as main ruck and English as the 2nd.

English played forward in the 2021 finals series (and in the couple of rounds before when we were trying to figure out what to do post Bruce injury). He was completely ineffective. He's not a forward.

If anything, the tactical decision to su Lewis Young out of the ruck and put English back in there got us the win in the semi vs Brisbane.

 

[Mantis Toboggan]

TBF to Bevo, he is negotiating a mine field of list imbalance and the accumulated effect of poor list management decisions and under performing players.

I'm not averse to him moving on at season's end as the the length of his tenure is also a factor. I think he knows it and will do his best to bring clarity to the way forward in the interim, before bowing out this year. Exposing some players for managed periods of time (Buss, Freijah, Darcy and Sanders) while exiting others. That will be a win.

I thinking he's handling it well enough. If you believe that we should be doing much better than we are, all things considered, you're going to be disappointed.

Is this a wind-up? It’s his list and he’s absolutely butchering it.

The biggest knock on Bevo is his inability to get clear structures both at the back and up forward. We’ve endured 7 years of three Bulldogs leaping at the same footy while nobody has the foresight to crumb. It’s not one or two players who are the culprits, it’s been dozens of them over the last few years.

You look at the easy goals other teams get. Co-ordinated leading patterns to generate space for each other.

Down back, look at the Dees and Geelong how they block for each other, protect the drop of the ball and allow one person to go for the mark.

I don’t expect us to be the very best at every aspect of the game, but I do expect something a little more thought out than the all-out chaos we’ve employed for years on end.

‘He’s handling it well enough’

My bloody arse!

 

[adammonerz]

I definitely got the vibe Bevo knows his coaching this season out and thats it based on his press conference last night. I liked that he also acknowledged how the fans feel regarding the teams inconsistency. Bevo gets a lot of flack from me and others on this board but I do genuinely believe he loves the club almost maybe too ****ing much for his own good. Last night I saw a guy who looked defeated and knew that his messages have stopped working, his not going to come out and say it or it's coach suicide but he knows he is gone.

I hope he just gives us a look at the list, exposes the passengers so that we can cut them and gives us some. bright spots in terms of young talent if his going to end the season with us

 

[St 07]

Whatever criticisms you have of Sanders, I cannot see him missing a goal from 13 metres out to ice the game like Watson. Man he sh*t the bed. He will be scarred by that I hope.

This is the ruthlessness our club is lacking

 

[Anja_Nees]

I personally feel like Sweet was always a decent option as main ruck and English as the 2nd.

I thought it was worth a go, although I understood why it didn’t happen. Sweet was the opposite of English in terms of round the ground impact.

I thought Trengove gave it a good go a few times (as he did at Port) as well. If we didn’t want him for that there was no point recruiting him.

 

[Bald]

English is a 2nd ruck, he’d be one of the best players in the comp in this role

When playing in that role (and it's a small sample size) he has pretty much the same output as Rory Lobb. It would likely be a bit better with a pre-season or 2 training in the role but I'm not sure he'd be one of the best in the comp.

 

[CarnTheScray]

Little bit of hindsight hero here though. No reason to think, for example, that given the targeted recruitment of Keath and Bruce and the good form they both showed in 2021, that they would be of completely zero value to winning games by 2023-24. Bruce is about to turn 32. Keath 32 (and can be argued is younger in football terms given his cricket years, less accumulated wear on the body). May is also 32, and basically the same age as Keath, yet is playing as well now as he was in 2021.

I understand we’ve been unlucky, though Bruce and Keath were probably exceptions to the rule of trading in players for cheap. Both exceeded my expectations.

Same age as May yes, but May has always been the better player and of course was valued more highly on the trade table. Keath I think won a showdown medal? But besides that was a really recent transition from cricket.

Didn’t help we probably aged Keath by 5 years by making him do gods work in 2021. That Richmond game is still burned into my brain sitting on level 4 lol.

 

[Dazb86]

When playing in that role (and it's a small sample size) he has pretty much the same output as Rory Lobb. It would likely be a bit better with a pre-season or 2 training in the role but I'm not sure he'd be one of the best in the comp.

He was pretty good in 2021 from memory

 

[Next Waiting]

So what does success look like this year?

To my mind, we've made our bed with Sanders so we have to lie in it. He's not what I would have gone with, but we did, so we make the best of it and manage him to a point over this season where he can impact next season.

So between now and the end of the season when Bevo retires, what needs to happen to prepare the ground for the next coach.

I think he's actually making a reasonable fist of that situation. Sanders has had a look, was found wanting, gets an insight of the level he has to get to, goes to the 2s for a spell of consolidation. Can come back later for another go. I think that's fair enough.

Gallagher should get this same treatment. Probably a couple of weeks ago but certainly from this week. Come back later.

JOD, might be in the same boat. Has a future, come back later.

Rule a line through Baku.

We need to see Freijah and Buss. I'd like it to be this week at the G against Richmond coz I'm going. Wouldn't mind seeing Cleary again. Don't think it has to be rushed though.

Clarke

Continue with Richards in the middle. Early days for him there. Has mixed up the good with the meh but that shouldn't be unexpected.

Macrae in Libba's role. Seems the natural successor for mine anyway.

My wildcard is JUH to the left wing.

3 talls forward is too many. Naughts pressures and we need that so would rather he stayed up there. Always felt JUH was a wing option. Doesn't have to be permanent. Freijah on the other wing.

The small forwards is problematic but we have what we have.

How many games we win or whether we make finals is just not a consideration this year in my view as we try to shed some light on the situation for the incoming coach at the end of the year.

We want to also get back into the first round of this year's draft so some managed exposure for tradeable assets like Lobb, Daniel and Williams should be in the mix. Hopefully Smith chooses whichever club will get us enough currency to get back to the top of this year's draft. I'd swap all of those players and the opportunity to get into this year's first round for Butters and it would be my first preference.

I hope that at Round 24, our line up looks like this

Dale Jones JOD

Cleary Buss JJ

Freijah Bont Richards

Weightman Naughts JUH

West Darcy VDM

English Libba Treloar

Int: Macrae, Gallagher, Sanders, Williams

Sub:

If it does and those younger players have developed to a point where they can explode next year, then Bevo will have done his job in my view and he can bow out with best wishes.