Coach Men's Senior Coach: Brad Scott

[ant555]

If they do part ways Scott has at least achieved the initial goal he was hired for.
More professional football program.

 

[ant555]

Will add that we will not be any good until we move on from the guys who have been around for more than seven or so years.
Average leaders who can not play any style other than what suits them.

 

[King Patty]

Unless you bring in other leaders from successful systems to teach and enforce good habits on field....the current crop will learn their own bad habits and we will be moving them on too in 7 years.

 

[ant555]

Unless you bring in other leaders from successful systems to teach and enforce good habits on field....the current crop will learn their own bad habits and we will be moving them on too in 7 years.

Do not totally agree. A guy like Dyson Sharp will not just follow like a sheep. He will always do everything team first. That is the way he is.
If you keep drafting a couple of players with good leadership each year you change the system as well.
Kondo is another who is highly regarded as a leader.

As far as outside players, being in a successful system is not the be all and end all.
People have commented on Fiorini and the fact that GC had not achieved anything but he was there with Witt’s and Miller and part of the group that was pushing the standards to get to where they are now.
He may be missing from that now but he has seen what is needed to get there.

I get the impression that there are a few senior guys who think Essendon owes them something.

 

[justlookingaround]

I'd like the best of both worlds where we draft guys like Sharpe and look at bringing in some on field leaders.
That being said is it really worth it if you can't entice the really great players? Like I don't think we'll be getting Pendles to play game 450 coaching us on the field, and we don't have any links like Fagan to Hodge.

 

[King Patty]

I'd like the best of both worlds where we draft guys like Sharpe and look at bringing in some on field leaders.
That being said is it really worth it if you can't entice the really great players? Like I don't think we'll be getting Pendles to play game 450 coaching us on the field, and we don't have any links like Fagan to Hodge.

Zac Merrett is one of the oldest and most experienced player already, just lacks success.

Jack Crisp fits the bill for me Unrestricted free agent. Premiership player, already played at 2 clubs.
He doesnt have to go to north.
Adds experience to half back and we can move on Ridley for draft picks.
Is fit and could get another 2-3 years from Crisp.

North tried offering their warchest $$$ for Maynard, but with Crisp being near end of career, and still being at a big club and maybe even offer coaching role post footy career. Crisp demonstrates exceptional professionalism, work ethic, and dedication, earning two consecutive E.W. Copeland Trophies as club champion.

 

[SydneyBomber]

I get the impression that there are a few senior guys who think Essendon owes them something.

Yep, and that's terribly depressing.
Just want all of these people (on and off)-field to hurry up and get the **** out of our club.

I can understand the saga players feeling that to an extent, but beyond that, anyone else can get stuffed

 

[justlookingaround]

Zac Merrett is one of the oldest and most experienced player already, just lacks success.

Jack Crisp fits the bill for me Unrestricted free agent. Premiership player, already played at 2 clubs.
He doesnt have to go to north.
Adds experience to half back and we can move on Ridley for draft picks.
Is fit and could get another 2-3 years from Crisp.

North tried offering their warchest $$$ for Maynard, but with Crisp being near end of career, and still being at a big club and maybe even offer coaching role post footy career. Crisp demonstrates exceptional professionalism, work ethic, and dedication, earning two consecutive E.W. Copeland Trophies as club champion.

Yeah I think Jack Crisp recently said he wants to play to 40, would definitely be one to look at, camboy history notwithstanding.

 

[Donflicted]

Yep, and that's terribly depressing.
Just want all of these people (on and off)-field to hurry up and get the **** out of our club.

I can understand the saga players feeling that to an extent, but beyond that, anyone else can get stuffed

Darcy Parish i reckon is one of them

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

I was in the Scott camp until this year.

After one game?? Against a top 4 team and two of our best players out?

 

[ant555]

I know that it was hard to pick out much from last Friday but there has been two changes to how they want to play not that it worked.

First up they are trying to move it forward at a reasonable pace. There was hardly any backwards stuff. We killed momentum with poor skill execution. It looked all over the place, but it is a shift from deliberately playing slow sideways and backwards. Even watching the second half of the VFL it has been trying to play faster forward footy, but the skills have been terrible.

Secondly team defence. Again, hard to see much after quarter time but watching live they were trying to set up a 15-man zone defence which you could see early. Obviously, it fell apart with the lack of pressure in our forward half. It is still a change from the basic defence we have run. maybe it is beyond us, and Scott is barking up the wrong tree, but it is how good teams defend. Particularly those with good intercept defenders.

 

[ant555]

Scott may well not be the guy. Those complaining may be right. However, no game plan could put our players at the same level of last night or tonight's game. Our skill level and footy smarts are nowhere near the level.

 

[bombreys]

Swinging the axe and dropping an 8-gamer after a drubbing - that’s why they pay him the big bucks

 

[bombreys]

After one game?? Against a top 4 team and two of our best players out?

14 games. Not one game. 14 games

 

[BrunoV]

Scott may well not be the guy. Those complaining may be right. However, no game plan could put our players at the same level of last night or tonight's game. Our skill level and footy smarts are nowhere near the level.

No one is asking to be top 4, are they?

Just a single sign of progress would be nice.

 

[Vindicater]

Will add that we will not be any good until we move on from the guys who have been around for more than seven or so years.
Average leaders who can not play any style other than what suits them.

Merrett, Wright and Langford are our oldest players.

Trade them and bring in some 30 plus vets to help the young leaders. A guy like Harry Cunningham from Sydney who has gone past it as a regular at Sydney but might enjoy a few games and an extra year of pay to work hard and lend guidance.

 

[ydc55]

Do not totally agree. A guy like Dyson Sharp will not just follow like a sheep. He will always do everything team first. That is the way he is.
If you keep drafting a couple of players with good leadership each year you change the system as well.
Kondo is another who is highly regarded as a leader.

As far as outside players, being in a successful system is not the be all and end all.
People have commented on Fiorini and the fact that GC had not achieved anything but he was there with Witt’s and Miller and part of the group that was pushing the standards to get to where they are now.
He may be missing from that now but he has seen what is needed to get there.

I get the impression that there are a few senior guys who think Essendon owes them something.

I agree with your impression.
The problem is we kept them rather than traded them.
Merrett, Ridley, Langford and Parish all had a look elsewhere.
Redman may have as well.
If this season flounders we have to make some big calls.
It is the last draft in years that will not be strongly compromised by Tassie even though they will take some 17 year olds.
Also in 2027 we would hope Bewick, Rodan and merhi are possibly on our radar.

 

[ydc55]

HEA looks well off the pace to me

I see potential but can’t see much production coming this year

HEA is football fat.
I am on record that I would have only taken him in the rookie draft and would have taken greeves, onley, hibbins Hargreaves or Archie dolman with that pick.
Every time I warched training I was impressed with how hard hea worked and I wish him every bit of luck and success but he is genetically disadvantaged to play at AFL level. He needs to turn himself into Paul Puopolo who was 23 I reckon when he got a chance.

 

[eth-dog]

I agree with your impression.
The problem is we kept them rather than traded them.
Merrett, Ridley, Langford and Parish all had a look elsewhere.
Redman may have as well.
If this season flounders we have to make some big calls.
It is the last draft in years that will not be strongly compromised by Tassie even though they will take some 17 year olds.
Also in 2027 we would hope Bewick, Rodan and merhi are possibly on our radar.

Langford and Parish? Where did you see that? Not doubting it just can't remember it.

 

[Old Campaigner]

Langford and Parish? Where did you see that? Not doubting it just can't remember it.

Parish definitely had a look around in his contract year but apparently gave up when it became clear no one else was paying the kind of money he wanted

 

[Vander18]

HEA is football fat.
I am on record that I would have only taken him in the rookie draft and would have taken greeves, onley, hibbins Hargreaves or Archie dolman with that pick.
Every time I warched training I was impressed with how hard hea worked and I wish him every bit of luck and success but he is genetically disadvantaged to play at AFL level. He needs to turn himself into Paul Puopolo who was 23 I reckon when he got a chance.

Agree.

Was struck in practice games by his body shape. Not sure how it’s possible for a young bloke playing AFL footy.

Has to get to work and change this. Put in the work and eat properly and it can absolutely be done.

 

[ant555]

No one is asking to be top 4, are they?

Just a single sign of progress would be nice.

How do you progress from bottom 6 if you are not smart enough to play anything other than a basic game plan and lack the required skill level?
New coach may well advance them up the road a little bit but in the end the club has to get it head around that the list is C grade.
Scott has continually said we are nowhere near it. Maybe his idea of a game plan is not a fit or he cannot sell it or it is no good, but the fact is we are nowhere near it.

Taking into account that there are senior guys who Scott backs that he should not be there is a massive gulf in the list that is a result of the poor recruiting from before he arrived. 2018 draft gave us nothing. 2019 only Bryan and Jones. 2020 is a flop with only Cox. Perkins. Reid on the list. 2021 only Durham from the midseason. 2022 Tsatas and Hayes are the only ones left.
These are the drafts that were supposed to fuel the development of players who should now be in their prime and pushing the likes of Parish and Langford out of the side. Instead, there is not pressure on these guys and the coach, rightly or wrongly, backs them rather than brining in 8 or 9 first or second year players.

Scott has painted himself into a corner. That is his fault. It will be an interesting watch this year. They showed nothing last Friday, but they are running with a more advanced attacking and defensive plan. It certainly was very hard to see any of it, but they are running it because they cannot just run safe and steady and expect to develop any of the young players past the basics now, we are a younger side.

They will move on from Scott. He will not be the top 4 coach.
People can laugh or disagree, but he has implemented a more professional approach in the football department. That has been witnessed by anyone who has seen us train over the last 10 years.
Tactically he does not do a lot. He has backed in a few players that he has to make a stand on this year, and he is probably a bit too old school Leigh Matthews as far as player relationships go. There is a bit of an irony in that as the players wanted a tougher coach because Rutten, who before he was coach was sent to do people management courses because it was thought he lacked in that area, was considered not hard enough and too much of a nice guy.

Has Scott set back Essendon? I doubt it. Before he started, I said it would be more than 6 or 7 years of build as far as the list goes. I doubt any other coach would have punted Parish or Langford off the list straight up. Ridley would still have got a longish term contract. Maybe Wright doesn't.

Yes, sometime has been wasted on a few players that should have been traded but personally I doubt it has cost us more than a year in what was always going to be a long build because of the absolute shocking returns from the 2018-2022 draft period.

Sack him. Do not sack him. The club has ****ed itself over and over in the last 20 years. It is like the Richmond hangover after the 70's and 80's. Maybe one day the "old Essendon" that has always been around in the background will fade away and at some stage some new faction who knows what it is doing will take over but that could be another 20 years away.

Brad has made a few inroads despite the lack of progress. Vozzo got Dodoro out the door. The direction of the recruiting as far list strategy looks to have changed for the better. Maybe one day the back-room power brokers will work out that what we did between 1981 and 2000 is no longer relevant to being at the pointy end of the table.

 

[ant555]

Agree.

Was struck in practice games by his body shape. Not sure how it’s possible for a young bloke playing AFL footy.

Has to get to work and change this. Put in the work and eat properly and it can absolutely be done.

Have to say I thought he was no chance of being as advanced as he is. He has far exceeded even the clubs' expectations.
Kako has dragged him along a bit. I doubt his body shape changes a lot. He will always look chunky. He will look more like an NRL player than an AFL player. That is his body type. He looked poor in areas the other night because there was a total lack of pressure from any of the forward line.
I had doubts on how far his endurance could go but he has already surprised me how far he has come on. he will never run a marathon. He will always have an odd body shape, but I think with a couple of other decent small forwards around him he can be a guy you can bring on and impact games. A 60-70 percent game time guy who impacts games. His ability to impact the scoreboard via his scores or score involvement is uncanny.
Do not think it is as simple as saying put in the work. He has been.

 

[Yoda_]

I agree with your impression.
The problem is we kept them rather than traded them.
Merrett, Ridley, Langford and Parish all had a look elsewhere.
Redman may have as well.
If this season flounders we have to make some big calls.

Just on these, the only one Ihad no problem matching and keeping was Joe. A generational fwd

Parish was a midfield seagull. Sure, had one AA season but mids can be found anywhere.
Ridley has been injured so an offer from Brisbane was already an inroad into the list
Merrett could have turbocharged a rebuild years ago, forget the Hawks offer in 2025

I maintain that we were saved from ourselves with Draper. You just knew that Essendon wanted to match Draper

It is the last draft in years that will not be strongly compromised by Tassie even though they will take some 17 year olds.
Also in 2027 we would hope Bewick, Rodan and merhi are possibly on our radar.

I wonder if we forget trying to actually bring in fresh kids and just try and obtain the ones we have ties to who know us, would want us and get them "cheaply" ?

 

[Vander18]

I’ve given up on Scott.

As Ant has said, yes he has contributed to an improved football program but it’s not flowing through to game day.

System and process are great but the other side of the game is effort, passion and sacrifice and it seems clear at this point that he’s unable to inspire the group.

His demeanour is very corporate and the playing group has adopted it.