Coach Men's Senior Coach: Brad Scott

[ant555]

In a class room setting, do the students set the curriculum, or do the teachers?

On the field. It is hardly rocket surgery to work out young players will learn from playing against the best.

 

[WABomber]

Sending the lambs out to slaughter doesn't teach them shit, he did similar at North and spent 10 years there and now on his fourth year here, how many chances does this guy get??

 

[ghostdog]

He put a bit of the blame for last week's loss on Tsatas today. Didn't isolate him, but also didn't name any others. Subtext would imply Parish.

Should have played Tsatas anyway. God knows others have had their share of free trips.

 

[jdstorm]

He put a bit of the blame for last week's loss on Tsatas today. Didn't isolate him, but also didn't name any others. Subtext would imply Parish.

Should have played Tsatas anyway. God knows others have had their share of free trips.

Of course he did.
Easier to do that then cop it for picking an unbalanced side

 

[tha Freak]

Whatever messaging Scott is trying to implement to the side is not getting through! The club is stagnating under his tenure, time to move forward with a new plan and coach!
Surely the jungle drums are starting to beat!!

 

[Zach Package]

On the field. It is hardly rocket surgery to work out young players will learn from playing against the best.

Yeah on field, I would hope they do by pure osmosis but during the week you can’t just play the tape and put your feet up.

I don’t see him as particularly good at teaching and developing, so how he unpacks it and ensures they actually do take something from it and make it worth our while is kinda important.

 

[BrunoV]

Seven consecutive seasons coaching a team down the ladder.

 

[Old Campaigner]

Seven consecutive seasons coaching a team down the ladder.

Isn’t that what folks here have been asking for? A full clean out of the dead wood and hitting the draft?

 

[BrunoV]

Isn’t that what folks here have been asking for? A full clean out of the dead wood and hitting the draft?

I just think it's an interesting career trajectory for a coach.

It says a lot about his judgement.

 

[Milanista28]

Isn’t that what folks here have been asking for? A full clean out of the dead wood and hitting the draft?

Yes, but we need to cut more.

 

[jdstorm]

Yes, but we need to cut more.

Can only cut so many in any given year.

Will turnover another 10 this year. And there won’t be too many Pre Rosa guys on the list

 

[Milanista28]

Can only cut so many in any given year.

Will turnover another 10 this year. And there won’t be too many Pre Rosa guys on the list

Hope there is a few senior guys who have played most games this year in that 10.

 

[jdstorm]

Hope there is a few senior guys who have played most games this year in that 10.

obviously never know how it all goes down but I’d expect quite a few senior/name players to either be wanting to play elsewhere and have that granted or to be moved on.

 

[FootyGuru]

Who had us pushing for finals or bottom 4?

Who can explain our game plan? Who can explain an alternative one?

Who wants to rebuild and who wants to continue to top up with more senior bodies?

Who knows what our true best 22 is? Or even if we should be playing our best 22 or trying to develop younger players

Our supporters aren’t aligned on any of this! Yet blame Scott for whatever they individually believe.

 

[naraku]

I look at arguably the worse team for the past decade, our fierce and great rivals at Norf as a reason I'll stick with Brad until the end of the season.
Both coaches came in 2022, and yes, Clarko's is the better, more successful coach.

But that solely isn't the reason Norf have won games and been competitive most of this season, it's not just about Clarkson.

They've hit the draft.
They've stuck with Clarko.
They brought in some experience and leadership (Parker, Daniel, Darling).

Looking back, North have had years 4 (inc x2 caretakers) coaches since Brad left and Clarkson arrived.
They seemed to reconize and learn the need to place structure around the club as long as possible.
This year, they have already won 4 games and look ultra competitive and could be a wild card team after sucking for a decade.

Funnily enough and the jokes aside, I think we need to follow that blueprint at least until the end of the season.

 

[ant555]

Who had us pushing for finals or bottom 4?

Who can explain our game plan? Who can explain an alternative one?

Who wants to rebuild and who wants to continue to top up with more senior bodies?

Who knows what our true best 22 is? Or even if we should be playing our best 22 or trying to develop younger players

Our supporters aren’t aligned on any of this! Yet blame Scott for whatever they individually believe.

I had us down for 8 or so wins so I will miss on that.

As for game plan there is simply too much going on in a few areas to get any really good read on it.
Poor skills. Low confidence. Older players who simply do not get defence under pressure and young players finding there way.

The balance is hard to find.

 

[ant555]

It is crunch time for Brad and who he is going to back in going forward. Just on Parish despite my personal judgment that he is not part of the future picture I am not shocked they have backed him to find some form and given him more rope than others. If you look at what he has done under Brad, it tells a bit of a picture.

2023 started well and was playing some decent football. Injured after round 8 and did not play AFL until round 15. Not quite as good in the back end of the season but ended up being elite for disposal. Above average for marks and tackles. Elite for clearances. Average for disposal efficiency. Above average for rebound 50. Above average for GBG. his form was good despite any defensive issues.

2024 he simply was handicapped from the start. Missed early games. His form was patchy while he worked up fitness and then got injured again and had another long layoff. Never got going.

2025 was simply a total wipe out.

So, it is no real shock they are giving him some games to try and rekindle some form this year.

Personally, I was in the trade him when he had a year left on the last contract and despite his best offensive form being good enough in the right midfield mix, I see his defensive issues too much of an issue to keep carrying.

Brad will have to make the call, and it may seem obvious to many of us, but the reality is they also had to give him some leeway to see where his form was going to end up.

 

[Keystone agony]

I think he has lost me. The Tsatas decision is the worst one he has made.

Tsatas was terrible

We need standards

 

[Keystone agony]

Ridley
Redman
Parish
Bryan
Martin
Kako
Setterfield
Fiorini

And its a different story

Caldwell injured 2nd half, theres more. The 20-25 guys have an impact aswell

May
A.Clarke

Ect

 

[ant555]

I just think it's an interesting career trajectory for a coach.

It says a lot about his judgement.

You would have to question the judgement of any coach to take us on given what we have become.

 

[FootyGuru]

It is crunch time for Brad and who he is going to back in going forward. Just on Parish despite my personal judgment that he is not part of the future picture I am not shocked they have backed him to find some form and given him more rope than others. If you look at what he has done under Brad, it tells a bit of a picture.

2023 started well and was playing some decent football. Injured after round 8 and did not play AFL until round 15. Not quite as good in the back end of the season but ended up being elite for disposal. Above average for marks and tackles. Elite for clearances. Average for disposal efficiency. Above average for rebound 50. Above average for GBG. his form was good despite any defensive issues.

2024 he simply was handicapped from the start. Missed early games. His form was patchy while he worked up fitness and then got injured again and had another long layoff. Never got going.

2025 was simply a total wipe out.

So, it is no real shock they are giving him some games to try and rekindle some form this year.

Personally, I was in the trade him when he had a year left on the last contract and despite his best offensive form being good enough in the right midfield mix, I see his defensive issues too much of an issue to keep carrying.

Brad will have to make the call, and it may seem obvious to many of us, but the reality is they also had to give him some leeway to see where his form was going to end up.

The one thing that’s got me a little confused, is Scott’s love for parish but also his hate for tsatas. When seemingly they have similar strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Milanista28]

Ridley
Redman
Parish
Bryan
Martin
Kako
Setterfield
Fiorini

And its a different story

Caldwell injured 2nd half, theres more. The 20-25 guys have an impact aswell

May
A.Clarke

Ect

The different story is mid table

 

[Keystone agony]

The different story is mid table

Agree, ive no issue in us tanking a slong as Brads given the full year of 2028

Its the only way to the top for sustained periods in Melbourne unless your head coach is riduclous

 

[BrunoV]

You would have to question the judgement of any coach to take us on given what we have become.

if the Brisbane Lions can see our players for what they are, why cant the coach? Our players dis not become this was over night. They were the same 4 years ago.

What is he giving Parish time to become, a stat padding front runner? How does that help? We are talking about a player for who there was no free agency marker. No one had any interest in even matching Essendon's terms. Scott Lucas (his manager) was on radio bitching about how Parish was being disrespected by our reluctance to meet his terms. That's not a market and we're still holding out on this same player.

 

[ant555]

if the Brisbane Lions can see our players for what they are, why cant the coach? Our players dis not become this was over night. They were the same 4 years ago.

What is he giving Parish time to become, a stat padding front runner? How does that help? We are talking about a player for who there was no free agency marker. No one had any interest in even matching Essendon's terms. Scott Lucas (his manager) was on radio bitching about how Parish was being disrespected by our reluctance to meet his terms. That's not a market and we're still holding out on this same player.

I am not defending that decision. He is making a mistake. The likes of Parish will cost him his job. At least he is awake to Tsatas who is really a poor mans Parish.

Personally, I am not that wound up over the coach as I do not think it effects the timeline of the build.
The rebuild coach was never going to last. We had to go to 4 or 5 drafts, which we will end up doing in the same time frame.
It was more important to correct the recruiting / list management area for me.

Personally, I still think that Scott has made the football department better. Everything I see when I have been around the club is way more professional. The player's preparation is better.
He has made mistakes with the take on the list but the board also finally sees the list for what it is.
A lot of the on field issues this year are not simply senior players. We are getting burnt by playing young players who will always make mistakes while they develop as well.

This is what you get when you fire a coach. Do not get the first two choices you want and end up almost pleading for Scott to take the job without a real deep dive into the list. You sell him the job based on the list just needing a little more building to be a genuine top 6 side.