Crisis meeting - Hun reports

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Sitting on the wing on GF, I witnessed Dylan Shiel tear us apart relentlessly for the whole game. It was like we had forgot about him. This isn't completely the players fault, this is a coaching massacre.

When Shiel gets it, he gets it as a result of his opponents getting drawed into the contest that we are too late to influence. With awful positioning being the main reason. The effect is he has 25m to run and hit a target because we opened that space for him. Our backline would be furious with the mids if this shit continues.

How hard is it to keep track of your man? This is basic U14s shit. Are they coached to be offensive or only go when necessary?

I feel like our centre clearance massacre is a direct result of not giving a **** about our direct opponents. Goldy isn't in AA form and even if he was, we still won't win all the clearances. Where is the dynamic? The versatility? The team on paper seems well equipped to handle the ball magnets, so why aren't we being more careful?
 

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Snake_Baker

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"There have even been rumblings of an offer for John Longmire to return to coach the club he once played at. Given Longmire's record at at the Swans - he has taken them to the finals every year - that is a ludicrious proposition."

WTF is he on about?
 

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https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl...om-north-s-real-problems-20190425-p51h7y.html


Coach rumblings a ludicrous diversion from North's real problems
By Wayne Carey
April 25, 2019 — 3.17pm

For any team that's underperforming, it doesn't take long for the unrest to grow and the rumour mill to hit overdrive. In the past week, North Melbourne have been a case in point.

There have been question marks about everything from the coach and his methods to the chairman's commute from Sydney, while past directors have also piped up. There have even been rumblings of an offer for John Longmire to return to coach the club he once played at. Given Longmire's record at at the Swans - he has taken them to the finals every year - that is a ludicrious proposition.

The players at North need to take responsibility for their record.CREDIT:AAP
But you know what all that actually means when it comes to the Kangaroos recent performances?
Absolutely nothing. It's just noise.
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Still, with Brad Scott in his 10th season at North, which equals Denis Pagan's tenure, it's reasonable to ask: is there a use-by date on a coach's message?
My view is that the players need to take responsibility. Let's not forget this is a club that was predicted to finish in the bottom four last year, but then almost played finals. Funnily enough, that often gets forgotten when discussing Scott.

While many thought he over overachieved last year, this year his critics have been circling. So in the opening five weeks, how have the Roos managed to lose what they've stood for? Did they think it was just going to happen with the players that were recruited? None of them were superstars, but the likes of Jared Polec, Jasper Pittard, Aaron Hall and Dom Tyson should have at least added some depth. Clearly, the problem is mental, not physical.
There have been concerns right across the ground, but for me it's the forward line that's looked most dysfunctional this season. I've touched on the flaws in Ben Brown's game, but he has players around him who should complement his many strengths. Right now, he needs more support.

The skipper, Jack Ziebell, is a player I've always admired. When he's at his best, he has the ability to lead his team in the way Joel Selwood does at Geelong and Trent Cotchin has at Richmond. Unfortunately, it's just not often enough.

Ziebell's role has obviously evolved in the past few years, going from a mid-forward to spending almost all of his time forward. He's got a great attack on the footy and is a great mark for his size.

North skipper Jack Ziebell needs to show Selwood- and Cotchin-type leadership more often.CREDIT:AAP

This year, though, the dynamic has changed. With Jarrad Waite retiring, Ziebell is often taking the opposition's second-best or even best defender. Last week it was Michael Hurley who held him to just six disposals. We've all had bad games, but if he's faced with that type of situation again, Ziebell has to play smarter.

As captain, he should have enough licence to inject himself into the contest if he's struggling. As good as Ziebell is one-on-one, he couldn't expect to beat a key-position player such as Hurley too often, so he needed to stop engaging him. Instead he should look to take players like Hurley out of their comfort zone. Use your running power to get up the ground and around the footy and then push back inside 50 to be front and centre.

The Bombers would clearly prefer Hurley closer to goal, rather than chasing Ziebell into the middle. That being said, structurally Ziebell's almost been asked to play as a taller target because the Kangaroos simply aren't getting enough out of Mason Wood. He's a player who could prove key to their turnaround. Not only can he take the heat off Ziebell, but also Brown.

He's had his excuses because of a lack continuity, but given he spent some time in the VFL to start the season, it seems there's also more at play. Wood has the natural ability to be a very good footballer, but how long can you live off potential? He's now 25 and must take the next step, otherwise he's in danger of finishing his career as a talent unfulfilled.

For him, it's about workrate and care with the footy. He had a few chances to get the Roos on the board last week, and in future must take them. The good thing for Wood, and indeed the entire North team, is that they get another chance to show the footy world what they're made of under the Friday night lights. This is an opportunity to change the conversation.

No longer should the coach have to make excuses for his players, as Scott did when he said he might have made a mistake by throwing in all his recruits at once. Talk of teams taking time to gel is one of the bigger myths in footy. While some players aren't rocket scientists, most are intelligent enough to adapt.

North should look no further than Port Adelaide in seeing what's possible when everyone buys into a plan, no matter how different it is. Port had only a week to train the way they wanted to play against West Coast. Now it's the Roos' turn to show just how much can change in seven days
But what about the Plan Duck?

If the Plan is rubbish and you think it is, you can’t force anyone to buy into it regardless of whether you are paid $1k or $200k

Look at the last decade in politics in Australia

So looking back at Plan A there I would suggest
 
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I wish Brad's coaching output was as successful as his media reputation.

He's positively bulletproof when it comes to media analysis ever pushing any blame his way.

Even an outspoken alumni like Wayne can't bring himself to question the TEN YEAR incumbent for poor performance.
 

Snake_Baker

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"There have even been rumblings of an offer for John Longmire to return to coach the club he once played at. Given Longmire's record at at the Swans - he has taken them to the finals every year - that is a ludicrious proposition."

I'll revisit this again. Does Duck know something we don't?
 
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"There have even been rumblings of an offer for John Longmire to return to coach the club he once played at. Given Longmire's record at at the Swans - he has taken them to the finals every year - that is a ludicrious proposition."

I'll revisit this again. Does Duck know something we don't?
Only Horse back to NMFC rumblings I’ve come across have been on BF.
 

Snake_Baker

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Ducks right tho. Say what you want about the coach, the players aren’t putting in anywhere near enough effort. I don’t care if they don’t believe in the game plan- effort should always be there.

Dunno about that Val.

Have you seen the way we structure up around the contest?

In order to believe this is a player issue, you would have to believe that hardly anyone in the side has been consistently carrying out the coaches instructions. We hardly ever have anyone properly positioned at the ball drop of marking contests, because it appears to me that we almost always have players set up in order to stifle the opposition from breaking away when they win the ball (due to being properly set up at the contest). We are actively conceding first possession to them. It's just negate, negate, negate.
 
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Ducks right tho. Say what you want about the coach, the players aren’t putting in anywhere near enough effort. I don’t care if they don’t believe in the game plan- effort should always be there.
Sorry mate but ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Of course the players aren't playing well this year. But why is this being looked at in isolation?!

"I've tried selling my house through 5 different real estate agents for the last 5 years.

My conclusion on why my house hasn't sold this year: the current agent had a coffee stain on his tie during the last inspection"
 

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Snake_Baker

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Only Horse back to NMFC rumblings I’ve come across have been on BF.
Yeah, but Carey & Longmire are good mates, so is Duck intimating that Longmire actually has been contacted regarding the job, he supports that idea, and he's taking a swipe against people who don't support the idea wholeheartedly?
 
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"There have even been rumblings of an offer for John Longmire to return to coach the club he once played at. Given Longmire's record at at the Swans - he has taken them to the finals every year - that is a ludicrious proposition."

I'll revisit this again. Does Duck know something we don't?
I read that more as Carey supporting Horse's position and reputation at Sydney.
 

Snake_Baker

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I read that more as Carey supporting Horse's position and reputation at Sydney.

Yeah, could be. He rates the list so bad that it would be ludicrous for Horse to consider us. However, Duck also claimed on air that our list is much better than what it is delivering, and I happen to agree.
 

CharlieMortdecai

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TBH I found most of the article to be like that.
Yeah it's a really strange take. Not enough buy-in from the players? Yet, Zeibell should use his 'licence' (by exploiting his running power ha ha). Like anyone has licence to use their instincts under the bard.
 
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Yeah, could be. He rates the list so bad that it would be ludicrous for Horse to consider us. However, Duck also claimed on air that our list is much better than what it is delivering, and I happen to agree.
Yep, read it as Carey thinks he’s no chance of leaving Sydney more than us being a ludicrous option. I too think our least is far from a problem.
 
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Yeah it's a really strange take. Not enough buy-in from the players? Yet, Zeibell should use his 'licence' (by exploiting his running power ha ha). Like anyone has licence to use their instincts under the bard.
Exactly. Duck is also assuming Brad hasn’t instructed him to stay home for the structure of the forward line.
 

Snake_Baker

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At it's basic crux, I think the major issue is with a coach who is always following the dynamic trends in the AFL in order to overcome them. He's overtly defensive.

In all honesty, can anyone give me a single creative tactical example in the entire 10 years of Brads tenure?

Just one?
 
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Yeah, could be. He rates the list so bad that it would be ludicrous for Horse to consider us. However, Duck also claimed on air that our list is much better than what it is delivering, and I happen to agree.
Quite possibly re list. Anecdotally my feeling was the list left to the new coach in 2009 had more latent upside than this list which 'feels' more imbalanced.

With the exception of highly talented (or untalented) outliers recruitment via drafting is pretty standard league-wide imo. Clubs generally take a player rated thereabouts by phantom drafts etc at their picks. If a club set out to draft the worst player with each pick (who was rated thereabouts) that would be as hard as trying to pick the best.

So all lists with a decent spread of mature talent should be capable of hitting the 6-10 ladder spots with competent coaching and reasonable player availability. To push higher or drop lower requires adjustments of those 2 variables.

Simple formula, difficult execution.
 

koshari

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Ducks right tho. Say what you want about the coach, the players aren’t putting in anywhere near enough effort. I don’t care if they don’t believe in the game plan- effort should always be there.
The win against crows was forged out of pure effort, but is was a terribly innefficient and laborious win in a style that cannot be maintained. Against the * they were so outgunned onthe outside that thet were just resigned to chase all day, i like all appreciate effort however theres reasons succesfull cultures embrace automation and backwards ones cling to manual labour.

Get the systems right and the efforts will be rewarded.
 

Snake_Baker

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Don't shoot, if Brett Ratten decided to return to coaching, how would north fans feel about that? Think it would be an upgrade but who are the other coaches in waiting that would be better?

ANY change is GOOD change.
 
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