Opinion Men's 2023 Leadership Group - Merrett/McGrath captain/vice

[Yoda_]

This is coming up a few times across multiple threads so have at it

I'll assemble my thoughts and post them soon enough but to start we don't have nearly enough, if any leaders from on field let alone off it.

 

[frodos gardener]

Yes

 

[andleanback]

Merrett can’t be next captain, Mcgrath doesn’t look likely either. We have zero leadership.

 

[brain taylor]

problem is most of the guys with the right attitude/attributes are kids with little experience. i'd put redman in the leadership group though.

 

[mike14]

This is always interesting, because we don't see most of what 'leadership' is, we just see the results for good or ill. And as concept leadership can mean many things to many people

Using Heppell as the logical example, who was apparently elected by his peers as captain unanimously; his he a good leader because he has the respect of his peers, they listen to him and they value his judgment and experience? Did they pick him because he's a pushover and lets them get away with things?
We heard last night that he was the only one giving instructions on the field. Is that good leadership, or bad because no-one listened/responded?
If he sets the example and no-one follows is that a failure of leadership, or a failure of the group to be able to respond?

What we want is a highly-skilled, hardarse who sets the tone from the first bounce and can will his team to victory off his own boot, but they are very rare individuals.

Is there a singular leader who could make this group respond in a positive manner, or is it a case that organizational culture needs to be fixed first, which will naturally allow leadership to come out of the group in a way that works for them?
That may mean bringing in some mature players with a different outlook to help change the standards

 

[Mikevk123]

Zach Merrett- Captain
Andrew McGrath

1

Andrew Mcgrath

Age

25

Ht

180cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

22.7

5star

K

11.6

4star

HB

11.1

5star

M

1.6

2star

T

6.4

5star

MG

252.9

4star

D

22.7

5star

K

11.6

4star

HB

11.1

5star

M

1.6

2star

T

6.4

5star

MG

252.9

4star

D

22.0

5star

K

11.0

4star

HB

11.0

5star

M

1.2

2star

T

6.4

5star

MG

219.0

4star

- Vice Captain
Will Snelling

11

Will Snelling

Age

26

Ht

175cm

Wt

79kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.1

4star

K

4.7

2star

HB

9.4

5star

M

1.8

2star

T

4.8

5star

G

0.8

4star

D

12.6

3star

K

4.3

2star

HB

8.3

4star

M

1.3

1star

T

5.6

5star

G

0.4

3star

D

16.2

4star

K

5.2

2star

HB

11.0

5star

M

2.4

3star

T

3.8

5star

G

1.2

4star

- Leadership group
Kyle Langford

4

Kyle Langford

Age

27

Ht

192cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.7

4star

K

8.3

3star

HB

7.3

5star

M

3.9

4star

T

3.3

5star

G

0.7

4star

D

17.4

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

8.4

4star

M

4.4

4star

T

1.6

3star

G

0.7

4star

D

8.2

2star

K

3.2

2star

HB

5.0

4star

M

2.0

3star

T

2.6

4star

G

0.6

3star

- Leadership group
Mason Redman

27

Mason Redman

Age

26

Ht

187cm

Wt

87kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.2

4star

K

10.1

4star

HB

5.1

4star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.7

4star

MG

262.0

4star

D

12.0

3star

K

7.8

3star

HB

4.2

3star

M

3.2

3star

T

1.8

3star

MG

210.3

3star

D

12.0

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

5.0

4star

M

4.4

4star

T

2.4

4star

MG

144.2

3star

- Leadership group
Jayden Laverde

15

Jayden Laverde

Age

28

Ht

193cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.8

3star

K

6.3

2star

HB

5.4

4star

M

3.9

4star

T

2.8

4star

MG

152.8

2star

D

8.8

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

3.8

3star

M

3.3

3star

T

2.5

3star

MG

116.5

2star

D

11.2

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

5.8

4star

M

3.2

4star

T

3.6

5star

MG

141.2

3star

- Leadership group

 

[madrigal]

There are two categories of bad leaders, the first you are moving in the wrong direction and the second nobody is willing to follow you. Heppell is the former.

If your leaders are going in the wrong direction they will never succeed, maybe it is better to have a leader that nobody follows, because at least one person is going in the right direction and eventually you can turn over the list to mirror the correct values.

 

[citizen-erased]

What is this word

 

[citizen-erased]

Zach Merrett- Captain
Andrew McGrath- Vice Captain
Will Snelling- Leadership group
Kyle Langford- Leadership group
Mason Redman- Leadership group
Jayden Laverde- Leadership group

Langford really showing some good signs while injured.
Like seeing him on the bench every game, sticking close to whatever it is we're trying to do

 

[Corleone]

The truth is we have a severe dearth of on-field leadership and lack a hardened edge as a group.

For a multitude of reasons we have developed a "nice guy" group mentality - which might be great for getting likes on Instagram or whatever the * they care about, but it's not doing a lot for us on-field.

What I wouldn't give to have a player like Taylor Adams

3

Taylor Adams

Age

30

Ht

181cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

24.9

5star

K

13.5

5star

HB

11.4

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

4.8

5star

CL

5.0

5star

D

20.4

5star

K

12.4

5star

HB

8.0

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

5.9

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

18.2

5star

K

11.0

4star

HB

7.2

5star

M

4.4

4star

T

3.0

5star

CL

2.2

4star

, Jack Viney

7

Jack Viney

Age

30

Ht

179cm

Wt

93kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

22.1

5star

K

9.4

4star

HB

12.6

5star

M

2.8

3star

T

5.7

5star

CL

5.0

5star

D

21.8

5star

K

10.3

4star

HB

11.5

5star

M

2.5

3star

T

4.5

5star

CL

5.0

5star

D

13.4

4star

K

8.6

4star

HB

4.8

4star

M

2.6

3star

T

3.4

5star

CL

3.6

5star

, Tom Liberatore, Ben Cunnington

10

Ben Cunnington

Age

32

Ht

185cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.4

5star

K

9.0

3star

HB

12.4

5star

M

2.9

3star

T

4.7

5star

CL

5.6

5star

D

17.7

4star

K

6.0

2star

HB

11.7

5star

M

2.0

2star

T

4.0

5star

CL

4.0

5star

D

15.8

4star

K

6.4

3star

HB

9.4

5star

M

2.4

3star

T

6.2

5star

CL

3.0

5star

or Luke Parker

26

Luke Parker

Age

31

Ht

183cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

24.2

5star

K

12.6

5star

HB

11.6

5star

M

3.8

4star

T

5.6

5star

CL

5.8

5star

D

22.1

5star

K

12.3

5star

HB

9.9

5star

M

3.9

4star

T

5.0

5star

CL

5.5

5star

D

21.2

5star

K

11.4

4star

HB

9.8

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

8.0

5star

CL

5.2

5star

. They aren't the most talented on their respective lists, but they simply will not take a backwards step and will not shirk a single contest. They fight for the ball and fight for their teammates, they set the standard when the ball is in dispute. That to me is on-field leadership, that's what we are missing and without players of that calibre we can not and will not succeed.

This is going to take a concerted effort over several years to first draft players like that and then somehow we have to develop them. Going to be hard without a template to follow ...

 

[JayJ20]

Hobbs looks like captain material but he won't be captain for a while. Maybe he can be a young captain like Cotchin and Selwood were, but that's at least 4-5 years away.

I don't see anyone else on the list. We need to recruit one. Is Brayshaw captain material? Or Dunkley?

 

[windyhill]

T.D , captains my all time Essendon 22. Ben Hobbs is next in line, I’d have him leap frogging Mcgrath. Merrett can have it until Benny is ready. For someone his size, Merrett can lay a tackle when he chooses to.

 

[Old man fletch]

Zach Merrett- Captain
Andrew McGrath- Vice Captain
Will Snelling- Leadership group
Kyle Langford- Leadership group
Mason Redman- Leadership group
Jayden Laverde- Leadership group

Don't mind that except not McGrath. Supposedly has leadership qualities, but has zero impact on games atm. Unless the club lock him in a hbf role and let him play to his strengths, he can't be in a leadership role for the same reason as Dys. Can't be a leader when you're not guaranteed best 22, means you get gifted games to the detriment of the team.

Already sick of watching him jogging 5 steps behind oppo players bursting out of packs this year. Don't want to watch that for the foreseeable future

 

[Zach Package]

As long as we don’t listen to Matthew Lloyd’s version of what he thinks leadership is then the only way is up. It’s not all about belting people.

You’d be saddling him with a lot but if you want uncompromising ‘leader by example’ the next man in line has to be Laverde, and to be honest I think that’s what we should do.

It may actually help get a little more out of Heppell too, there are plenty of examples of players having a bit of a renaissance after giving away the captaincy.

 

[MPMonkeys]

If Jordan Ridley

14

Jordan Ridley

Age

25

Ht

195cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.6

4star

K

11.1

4star

HB

4.5

3star

M

6.4

5star

T

1.7

4star

MG

244.8

4star

D

17.0

4star

K

11.9

5star

HB

5.1

3star

M

6.7

5star

T

1.7

3star

MG

265.4

4star

D

13.8

4star

K

9.6

4star

HB

4.2

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

1.4

4star

MG

208.2

4star

wants to persist with kicking out 10m sideways every single time then he either needs to hand in his spot on the leadership group or give the job to someone else. Because that ain't leadership. It does not help the team.

 

[NAB777]

As long as we don’t listen to Matthew Lloyd’s version of what he thinks leadership is then the only way is up. It’s not all about belting people.

You’d be saddling him with a lot but if you want uncompromising ‘leader by example’ the next man in line has to be Laverde, and to be honest I think that’s what we should do.

It may actually help get a little more out of Heppell too, there are plenty of examples of players having a bit of a renaissance after giving away the captaincy.

Lloyd's point was that nobody stood up when it counted. Not one player. And there were at least two occasions where they should have flown the flag. That's symptomatic of a deeper issue.

From an outsider's point of view, I think I'm with you with Laverde. Even if it's for a transitional 1-2 years. I really can't see anyone else worthy of the job at this point.

 

[NAB777]

If Jordan Ridley wants to persist with kicking out 10m sideways every single time then he either needs to hand in his spot on the leadership group or give the job to someone else. Because that ain't leadership. It does not help the team.

Most infuriating....

 

[Zach Package]

Lloyd's point was that nobody stood up when it counted. Not one player. And there were at least two occasions where they should have flown the flag. That's symptomatic of a deeper issue.

From an outsider's point of view, I think I'm with you with Laverde. Even if it's for a transitional 1-2 years. I really can't see anyone else worthy of the job at this point.

Lloyd literally said ‘I would have run straight through him’ and implied one of our leaders should have done that to make a point.

That kind of stuff is not our big issue.

I raised Lav as an option, and even if it is transitional I think it is the best thing to do in the circumstances. I reckon giving it to McGrath even though he’s been the long mooted next in line for a while would make things worse.

As Ross Lyon, get the pumpkin off your head and run some 200s

 

[Lore]

If Jordan Ridley wants to persist with kicking out 10m sideways every single time then he either needs to hand in his spot on the leadership group or give the job to someone else. Because that ain't leadership. It does not help the team.

Ridley isn’t in the leadership group in the first place.

 

[ant555]

The truth is we have a severe dearth of on-field leadership and lack a hardened edge as a group.

For a multitude of reasons we have developed a "nice guy" group mentality - which might be great for getting likes on Instagram or whatever the fu** they care about, but it's not doing a lot for us on-field.

What I wouldn't give to have a player like Taylor Adams, Jack Viney, Tom Liberatore, Ben Cunnington or Luke Parker. They aren't the most talented on their respective lists, but they simply will not take a backwards step and will not shirk a single contest. They fight for the ball and fight for their teammates, they set the standard when the ball is in dispute. That to me is on-field leadership, that's what we are missing and without players of that calibre we can not and will not succeed.

This is going to take a concerted effort over several years to first draft players like that and then somehow we have to develop them. Going to be hard without a template to follow ...

Sums it up.

 

[citizen-erased]

The truth is we have a severe dearth of on-field leadership and lack a hardened edge as a group.

For a multitude of reasons we have developed a "nice guy" group mentality - which might be great for getting likes on Instagram or whatever the fu** they care about, but it's not doing a lot for us on-field.

What I wouldn't give to have a player like Taylor Adams, Jack Viney, Tom Liberatore, Ben Cunnington or Luke Parker. They aren't the most talented on their respective lists, but they simply will not take a backwards step and will not shirk a single contest. They fight for the ball and fight for their teammates, they set the standard when the ball is in dispute. That to me is on-field leadership, that's what we are missing and without players of that calibre we can not and will not succeed.

This is going to take a concerted effort over several years to first draft players like that and then somehow we have to develop them. Going to be hard without a template to follow ...

Last part is the concern
Who teaches the next crop to do things differently.

Freo already had mundy and fyfe
Brissy got hodge and birchall in
Dees got lewis in

Other hand, tigers largely built their own culture.

So it can be done a multitude of ways.
We just don't stand for success at the moment.

 

[brutus76]

Need some blokes with some mongrel and who GAF in the leadership group

Stringer, Kelly, Tedders come to mind. Even 2MP FFS

 

[andleanback]

As long as we don’t listen to Matthew Lloyd’s version of what he thinks leadership is then the only way is up. It’s not all about belting people.

You’d be saddling him with a lot but if you want uncompromising ‘leader by example’ the next man in line has to be Laverde, and to be honest I think that’s what we should do.

It may actually help get a little more out of Heppell too, there are plenty of examples of players having a bit of a renaissance after giving away the captaincy.

You obviously didn’t listen properly to what he said. You don’t have to belt someone to make your presence felt to a guy who has belittled you or your team mate, or has taken out your best player (merrett)

 

[citizen-erased]

As long as we don’t listen to Matthew Lloyd’s version of what he thinks leadership is then the only way is up. It’s not all about belting people.

You’d be saddling him with a lot but if you want uncompromising ‘leader by example’ the next man in line has to be Laverde, and to be honest I think that’s what we should do.

It may actually help get a little more out of Heppell too, there are plenty of examples of players having a bit of a renaissance after giving away the captaincy.

In lloyds defence, in his day that was the response.
We need whatever the version is now. Id put it on draper. Has the size and mongrel and can claim lanky ruckman clumsiness for clobbering someone.

Or just get him on the mumford/nank program. Use the frame and hurt the oppositions small players with "fair" tackles.

 

[CBombers17]

If they haven't consistently done what's asked of them and/or have been uncoachable in important areas (Merrett) then elevate them as examples for the rest of the players at your peril.

If there is nobody then have nobody. Seriously- Do something different for a change and be real.