Coaching Staff Discussion on coaching panel 2020 Who stays, who goes

Ha ha that's an interesting one.

The personnel running through the midfield is wonderful apparently.

But we're not in a position to blame the midfield coach either.

Must be just a mythological curse because no one at our club is to blame for us having one of the worst midfields in the competition!

Yep. CS contests are particularly dire. We know few taps to our advantage will be won, but instead of reading and roving to a losing ruck, it is like we give up on winning first possession. Seems we hope the Oppo mids will stuff up possession as we do when we gain the ball.
 

MF

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Sep 10, 2006
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I find it hard to understand how any of us could have an even remotely informed opinion about how well particular assistant or development coaches are doing their job.
I agree.

The recruiting staff are probably the only ones you can get a guage on from the outside but even then there's other factors at play such as development and the type of players required/requested by the coaching staff.
 
Jan 13, 2007
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Ha ha that's an interesting one.

The personnel running through the midfield is wonderful apparently.

But we're not in a position to blame the midfield coach either.

Must be just a mythological curse because no one at our club is to blame for us having one of the worst midfields in the competition!

Or the absence of a tap ruckman. It's strange that you omitted that detail.
 
All academic until we can move horse on

Yep. We could have three new Assistants in Clarkson, Mathews and the ghost of Norm Smith and it would not make a jot of difference.
 

bungee

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Surely McVeigh replaces Kennelly as backline coach. I think that would be a great move imo.

I'd love Cox to stay, when you see him live on match day he seemingly speaks with great enthusiasm. He has come from a successful club and his rucking expertise will be invaluable considering our lack of standout big men. He will really aid the development of guys like McLean, Knoll, etc.

If someone has to leave, Kirk would be my candidate imo. Some of the mid work has been really messy since he has taken over. I know he hasn't had a lot to work with, but when you watch the matches our set ups have been poor and often players are in poor positions. Even without strong players in there (when compared to what we've had) you can still set up correctly.

I saw Leigh Tudor is leaving North and will be available to coach elsewhere in 2020. Word was that he was the mastermind behind the 2012 premiership and really thought outside the box which would be a very beneficial asset for our panel. Whether he would come back to Sydney though is another issue.

Will be interesting to see what happens in the off season no doubt.
Kirk should move to a position of Zen master teaching mind techniques, meditation and levitation.
 

bungee

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We could do with better fitness staff. Too many injuries for too many years. Most of our defence missing this last year as well as our ruck contingent. Buddy's not getting any younger either. He needs to be kept like an exotic car, in a warm dry shed with a dust sheet over him and his tyres rotated regularly.
 
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I know. I wish we were back in 2014 when our midfield was dominating under Tom Derickx.

1. Our midfield didn't dominate in 2014. Although the numbers then were better than now.
2. As a tap ruckman, Derickx wasn't terrible. He wasn't great. But he wasn't terrible.
3. You might have noticed a couple of rule changes in the last few years designed around making ruckmen more valuable.
4. Recent history says that our clearances with, say, Naismith in the side are as good as any side.
 
1. Our midfield didn't dominate in 2014. Although the numbers then were better than now.
2. As a tap ruckman, Derickx wasn't terrible. He wasn't great. But he wasn't terrible.
3. You might have noticed a couple of rule changes in the last few years designed around making ruckmen more valuable.
4. Recent history says that our clearances with, say, Naismith in the side are as good as any side.

Your optimism on Naismith is admirable.
 

Skhilton14

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We could do with better fitness staff. Too many injuries for too many years. Most of our defence missing this last year as well as our ruck contingent. Buddy's not getting any younger either. He needs to be kept like an exotic car, in a warm dry shed with a dust sheet over him and his tyres rotated regularly.
It seems as though ever since Nathan Gibbs left our injury management hasn't been as good.
 

Kapanis

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It seems as though ever since Nathan Gibbs left our injury management hasn't been as good.
It is Gibbs and Dave Misson we miss, they worked hand in hand to create different training regimes for different players. There's some great articles on their techniques and how it improved player welfare and the reduction in injuries at the Swans.
 
It is Gibbs and Dave Misson we miss, they worked hand in hand to create different training regimes for different players. There's some great articles on their techniques and how it improved player welfare and the reduction in injuries at the Swans.
Practice made perfect: Swans reap the rewards of doctor's train of thought
ROY MASTERS SEPTEMBER 08, 2006

 
1. Our midfield didn't dominate in 2014. Although the numbers then were better than now.
2. As a tap ruckman, Derickx wasn't terrible. He wasn't great. But he wasn't terrible.
3. You might have noticed a couple of rule changes in the last few years designed around making ruckmen more valuable.
4. Recent history says that our clearances with, say, Naismith in the side are as good as any side.

1. Yes they did.
2. Derickx was no different to Sinclair or McLean or Aliir or Reid.
3. If ruck men are so valuable why is the best ruck man in the competition enjoying his September holidays after his team finished 17th on the ladder?
4. The quantity of the clearances is not as important as the quality of them. Exhibit A: the QF last night. Geelong trounced Collingwood in centre clearances, but did SFA with them, while the Pies were a lot cleaner and made the most of their opportunities.
 
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1. Yes they did.
2. Derickx was no different to Sinclair or McLean or Aliir or Reid.
3. If ruck men are so valuable why is the best ruck man in the competition enjoying his September holidays after his team finished 17th on the ladder?
4. The quantity of the clearances is not as important as the quality of them. Exhibit A: the QF last night. Geelong trounced Collingwood in centre clearances, but did SFA with them, while the Pies were a lot cleaner and made the most of their opportunities.

I think on your 3rd point, in general, you can excel (go deep into finals) as a team without a truly excellent ruck like Gawn or Grundy but it's very, very hard to excel with an average to poor ruck. It gives the other side just that little bit too much of an advantage around the ball which is crucial in September.
 
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I find it hard to understand how any of us could have an even remotely informed opinion about how well particular assistant or development coaches are doing their job.

A reminder for all posters: while evidence-based argument and judicious use of data to confirm a point are not explicitly prohibited, they are discouraged and in this forum should be not seen as a substitute for uninformed guesswork, warmed-over feelpinion or I-just-extracted-this-from-my-arse Eureka moments.
 

DavyRed

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Nov 5, 2009
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I find it hard to understand how any of us could have an even remotely informed opinion about how well particular assistant or development coaches are doing their job.
Absolutely this! If someone has great connections in the club that’s obviously going to help but otherwise I don’t understand how most of us would be able to accurately judge coaches performances behind the scenes.
 
I think some of us, certainly me, infer how an Assistant is going by looking at the part of our game where they have major input.

Few of us can mount a case that our midfield delivered adequate performances across the year. Yes our midfield lacks class personnel. This was compounded by the absence of a big competent ruckman. Yet the extent to which we went backwards opens the question on how well Kirk is performing.

Conversely our backline held up well despite the loss of three star defenders. Personnel or the influence of the Assistant coach? Despite being often starved of regular supply and missing a fit Buddy, I thought the forward line was effective. Kudos to Stevie J.
 
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