Opinion Matthew Nicks: Adelaide's Coach (Part 3) - Re-Signed to 2027...

[feenix67]

Lol, you don’t think there are other factors at play to our improvement? You reckon he’s just all of a sudden become a good coach?

What is more absurd is that you think a coach cant learn and/or improve through external or third party sources.

Its quite clear from my previous posts that I absolutely do not think he's just all of a sudden become a better coach out of thin air. A coach improving through better support around him, a senior assistant, better structure etc is absolutely not unprecedented.

Im hardly an apologist, but Im also not a hater for the sake of it.

 

[n4sir]

You dont reckon players improve because of good coaching? Why cant a coach improve in a similar manner? It's not as if it's unprecedented.

Example A - we don't have that "offensive genius" Ben Hart (cough) in the building. Add to that Bird Brain and Matt Hass too.

That said, the last few weeks has seen a notable shift in coaching decisions on the day and in the week leading up. It's like a good percentage of the team has all of a sudden grown up, both on and off the field. The big question is can this momentum be maintained?

 

[Velvet George]

Hardwicks game plan at Richmond come from Caracalla. Yet it's Hardwick who goes down as a triple premiership coach.

Fagan was brought in to assist Clarkson in a multitude of ways because guess what? A head coach needs to be able to delegate because to do everything is simply too much work for one person.

The most important role of head coach is managing the playing group and keeping them invested and bought in.

Richmond reinvented their gameplan in 2017?

Fagan came up with Hawks gameplan and tactics?

 

[VictorianCrow85]

Richmond reinvented their gameplan in 2017?

Fagan came up with Hawks gameplan and tactics?

Yes Richmond changed their game plan. No Fagan was brought in to assist with other areas of coaching. The point made is that there's a lot that goes into coaching, an important part of delegation.

 

[Velvet George]

What is more absurd is that you think a coach cant learn and/or improve through external or third party sources.

Its quite clear from my previous posts that I absolutely do not think he's just all of a sudden become a better coach out of thin air. A coach improving through better support around him, a senior assistant, better structure etc is absolutely not unprecedented.

Im hardly an apologist, but Im also not a hater for the sake of it.

Sure he can improve if external sources create a gameplan for him and the players develop, injuries at an all time low and we bring in recruits.

Forget what he did previously.

 

[feenix67]

Richmond reinvented their gameplan in 2017?

Fagan came up with Hawks gameplan and tactics?

Bomber Thompson
John Longmire
Simon Goodwin
Damien Hardwick

There are more examples of coaches improving due to changes in structure and support staff than not.

 

[n4sir]

Example A - we don't have that "offensive genius" Ben Hart (cough) in the building. Add to that Bird Brain and Matt Hass too.

That said, the last few weeks has seen a notable shift in coaching decisions on the day and in the week leading up. It's like a good percentage of the team has all of a sudden grown up, both on and off the field. The big question is can this momentum be maintained?

Adding to this, Jack Hombsch should be up at the pointy end for Assistant Coach of the Year. That's one appointment we got right from day one.

 

[Soggy2112]

Sure he can improve if external sources create a gameplan for him and the players develop, injuries at an all time low and we bring in recruits.

Forget what he did previously.

If you’re going to dismiss the good as being the guidance of someone else, would you not also dismiss the bad as being not given good enough guidance?

Ultimately the head coach is responsible for what comes out on game day. Nicks is not the first and won’t be the last coach who needed a senior assistant to support. It’s no reason to dismiss anything that he’s achieved this year.

 

[spenze]

Or I stuffed up changing our gameplan

Or "how many times must I pick Murphy before I remember he's ****ing useless"

 

[PeterSalt]

Yes Richmond changed their game plan. No Fagan was brought in to assist with other areas of coaching. The point made is that there's a lot that goes into coaching, an important part of delegation.

Lepitch was credited with coming up with that change, not Hardwick

Edit: they had no choice due to injuries from memory

 

[kirky]

I have mixed feelings about this.

It’s undeniable that we have had good player retention in the Nicks era. Better than you’d expect, given how bad we’ve been for much of it. That’s played a big part in us getting back to being competitive.

But how do we work out who should get the credit? We can only guess really.

There are a few candidates.

First, Reid has maybe done a good job with the contracts. The players we need to keep are happy with their deals.

Second, maybe the broader club support team has done a good job making the players feel welcomed and well supported.

Third, maybe the broader coaching group has done a good job on development.

Fourth, maybe it’s the players themselves. They like each other, and want to succeed together. They are playing for each other.

Fifth, maybe it’s Nicks. Really, maybe it could be. But, you don’t hear our players banging on about Nicks like the Port players have done about Kenny (or Melbourne players with Goodwin). And frankly he doesn’t seem like the kind of coach anyone would be very attached to. When talks he’s pretty bland, full of cliches. Selection is often bad, and if he has some tactical genius or unique insight he is incapable at talking about it. More of a waffling manager than the kind of person who inspires confidence, loyalty, or even affection. Maybe he’s different behind closed doors. But I think the first four factors are likely to be a bigger part of it.

Think on the money with the first four.

At the end of the day we have :-

- drafted Tilthorpe (2020), Rachele (2021), Michelanney (2022), Curtin (2023) and Draper (2024) - we have nailed all our first round picks the last 5 years

- recruited Keays (2020), Hinge (2021), Keane (2023), Dawson (2022), Rankine (2023), Cumming, Neal-Bullen and Peatling (all 2024)

Is it any wonder we are where we are?

 

[NSolis]

If you’re going to dismiss the good as being the guidance of someone else, would you not also dismiss the bad as being not given good enough guidance?

Ultimately the head coach is responsible for what comes out on game day. Nicks is not the first and won’t be the last coach who needed a senior assistant to support. It’s no reason to dismiss anything that he’s achieved this year.

Just seems to be based on the strange idea that the head coach is some sort of single point of all tactical leadership. So if the team has improved in part because of the input of someone else this is in spite of Nicks, rather than part of what is happening under his leadership.

In the modern game the head coach is much more like a senior manager of other coaches, as well as a club figurehead and a leader to the players. Nothing about Nicks’ leadership style is particularly top down anyway - he’s always talking about ideas as coming from the players etc.

 

[adelaidecrows]

Think on the money with the first four.

At the end of the day we have :-

- drafted Tilthorpe (2020), Rachele (2021), Michelanney (2022), Curtin (2023) and Draper (2024) - we have nailed all our first round picks the last 5 years

- recruited Keays (2020), Hinge (2021), Keane (2023), Dawson (2022), Rankine (2023), Cumming, Neal-Bullen and Peatling (all 2024)

Is it any wonder we are where we are?

You could probably include our 2nd draft picks in those drafts have been pretty good as well. So our recruitment team has been possibly league best. Which is kind of humiliating for all those that wanted to blame them 2 years ago and wanted them sacked. Which...I am almost certain I was in that boat. oops. My Bad.

 

[King Elvis]

One of the big criticisms I've had of Nicks is a stubborn refusal to learn from his mistakes, and making the same stupid decisions again and again.

If he's finally, somehow, changed that, it's a big positive - and over the last month it feels like a distinct shift in our approach.

Still not convinced, selection etc still an issue - but nobody is perfect.

 

[feenix67]

One of the big criticisms I've had of Nicks is a stubborn refusal to learn from his mistakes, and making the same stupid decisions again and again.

If he's finally, somehow, changed that, it's a big positive - and over the last month it feels like a distinct shift in our approach.

Still not convinced, selection etc still an issue - but nobody is perfect.

We have collective PTSD I swear. It feels almost alien feeling positive about how things are progressing!

 

[Scorpus]

Just seems to be based on the strange idea that the head coach is some sort of single point of all tactical leadership. So if the team has improved in part because of the input of someone else this is in spite of Nicks, rather than part of what is happening under his leadership.

In the modern game the head coach is much more like a senior manager of other coaches, as well as a club figurehead and a leader to the players. Nothing about Nicks’ leadership style is particularly top down anyway - he’s always talking about ideas as coming from the players etc.

The head coach is ultimately accountable for the performance of the team, even if there are contributions from other coaches and staff

This means they are responsible for failings but are also entitled to take credit for success.

We can't hold Nicks accountable for failures then turn around and give credit for success to others

 

[Velvet George]

The head coach is ultimately accountable for the performance of the team, even if there are contributions from other coaches and staff

This means they are responsible for failings but are also entitled to take credit for success.

We can't hold Nicks accountable for failures then turn around and give credit for success to others

Yes I can

 

[Coopers]

One of the big criticisms I've had of Nicks is a stubborn refusal to learn from his mistakes, and making the same stupid decisions again and again.

If he's finally, somehow, changed that, it's a big positive - and over the last month it feels like a distinct shift in our approach.

Still not convinced, selection etc still an issue - but nobody is perfect.

Maybe, he's improved since 2020. Like, he's no longer a rookie himself. If he was a player he'd be 23 years old now, entering his prime.

 

[Coopers]

The head coach is ultimately accountable for the performance of the team, even if there are contributions from other coaches and staff

This means they are responsible for failings but are also entitled to take credit for success.

We can't hold Nicks accountable for failures then turn around and give credit for success to others

Yes we can, we totally can work that way. That's how it works for middle management across literally every business everywhere.

It's the opposite for the C suite + board

 

[Velvet George]

The other thing is with he’s the head coach, he deserves credit thing.

Should the credit go to the CEO and recruiters for bringing in Davis, 3 good recruits and the talent in our team? Plus our fitness staff for minimal injuries.

Do we think we wouldn’t be in this position if we had a different coach?

 

[Scorpus]

Yes we can, we totally can work that way. That's how it works for middle management across literally every business everywhere.

It's the opposite for the C suite + board

I don't think the head coach is the equivalent of a middle manager

 

[MRB37]

We have collective PTSD I swear. It feels almost alien feeling positive about how things are progressing!

It's the hope that kills you. A lot of people were feeling it before the Geelong game earlier in the year and they promptly shit the bed on that game and I think that definitely put some people (me included) back in their shells a bit.

This week especially, i've been wearing my Crows beanie around when I go out and there's been plenty of "You think we can make it?" comments from random people again. They're starting to believe again.

 

[rocket18]

Maybe, he's improved since 2020. Like, he's no longer a rookie himself. If he was a player he'd be 23 years old now, entering his prime.

And yet he continues to make rookie errors this year - in his 6th season!

How do you reconcile your statement with his continued selection of Murphy??

It's his 6th year, how can his talent identification be so bad??

And to a lessor extent Smith, we missed a perfect opportunity to give Edwards a taste of AFL.

 

[NSolis]

I don't think Smith qualifies as a selection error. On the contrary I think he performed a fair bit better than most here would have expected, and better than he did for the vast majority of 2024.

You certainly could blood a young player instead of picking Smith as the next depth defender, but that's more of a judgment call where you're weighing up expected short-term impact vs getting a look at someone who may or may not have an AFL future. That's certainly defensible either way - if we end up finishing top 2 for example I don't see how you can blame the selection panel for going for experience with those sorts of calls, assuming the player they select actually performs. It's not like we are bottom 4 this year - winning this week matters. If we need a backup defender in finals we know we have a ready to go, experienced option who is actually performing.

Murphy I suspect was an attempt at the same thing, it just failed because Murphy is not good enough. That one is a selection error.

 

[weekend at bernies]

You don't go from a D student to an A student unless you are given help..
clearly Davis was that help.