Opinion Matthew Nicks: Adelaide's Coach

Is Matthew Nicks the right coach for Adelaide's rebuild?

  • Firmly yes (I love what I'm seeing)

  • Leaning yes

  • Can't decide either way

  • Leaning no (but don't sack him yet)

  • Firmly no (he should be sacked)


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Jun 7, 2011
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Good post, leading a team through a rebuild when there are no expectations isn't particularly difficult. The hard bit is to come.

And taking over after the s**t show that was Pyke and Burton would be easy too. Total breath of fresh air for the players without doubt. But it's easy to maintain strong friendship type relationships when there's no blowtorch being applied to yourself. Whether he can find the middle ground required after coming in as a relationship builder is yet to be determined.
 
Jun 6, 2010
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Nick's is unquestionably building a great culture around the club and you can tell the boys are happy. He is also building a culture of resilience in the group which has been shown in games.

The only thing I question is game day tactics, selection and player positioning. His player development seems to be on the money and it's clear players appear to love playing for him.

That over defensive game day tactic against Essendon was actually really concerning. I'm not sure what to think to be honest. As a fan it didn't fill me with confidence. How could we go from playing fast football to a chip and catch game. It is the only game ever I turned off at half time. Is it a result of not having a senior assistant, lack of experience or is it a sign of things to come. To me, we do seem to be progressing on the right track. If we don't win more than 6 games next year that would be a concern about whether Nick's can finish what was thrust upon him

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Jun 7, 2011
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I agree with my early 2020 thoughts. First two years were all about rebuilding a fun and positive culture. TICK. We would have to be one of the happiest and least scrutinized teams that have won a combined 10 games in 2 years of footy. 23 re-signings, nobody wanting desperately out and a reasonably big fish coming home. Our 2021 form was definitely an improvement on 2020. Beat 2 of the top 4 sides in Geelong and Melbourne, recorded 7 wins with 5 of our losses coming by 13 points or less.

Where does that leave us with Nicks and 2022. IMO - its 11 wins or bust. These should be the expectations for the club. Our list is in the spot to really grow and improve. We have only 7 players on our list with over 100 games of AFL experience and all 7 are walk up starts to our best 22. There is no risk of gifting games in 2022.

Injuries permitting - we will hopefully have 3 new recruits for 2022 in Dawson, Crouch and Milera in addition to a top 6 draft pick. 12 wins and a spot in the finals needs to be the goal. Fun culture has been established, but that can only last so long without winning.

If we are on track for 11-12 wins (fixture depending) - give Nicks a 2 year extension midway through 2022 (with a cut away clause at end of 2023 if it falls apart). Trajectory should be at 13-14 wins in 2023 and our window opening up in 2024.

Already gonna change my username to afc979824 (how can that backfire).

I don't agree that we need to hit 11 wins. We could lose 10 games by less than a kick an with an improved % on 2021, that could be a pretty good year in terms of where the group is going. I agree that the lack of scrutiny and the pressure that it brings is the big ? to answer before committing further to Nicks. Of course, if we hit the ground running, we might not see him under pressure before having to re-commit, but there's no alternative if we're going better than expected.
 
Nov 5, 2009
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I don't agree that we need to hit 11 wins. We could lose 10 games by less than a kick an with an improved % on 2021, that could be a pretty good year in terms of where the group is going. I agree that the lack of scrutiny and the pressure that it brings is the big ? to answer before committing further to Nicks. Of course, if we hit the ground running, we might not see him under pressure before having to re-commit, but there's no alternative if we're going better than expected.

Obviously the 11 wins is not set in stone. 11-12 wins should be a target, but obviously we need to adjust if there are extenuating circumstances (injuries, a crazy camp gone wrong, ex-captain making racist comments, etc).
 
Nov 6, 2003
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I agree with my early 2020 thoughts. First two years were all about rebuilding a fun and positive culture. TICK. We would have to be one of the happiest and least scrutinized teams that have won a combined 10 games in 2 years of footy. 23 re-signings, nobody wanting desperately out and a reasonably big fish coming home. Our 2021 form was definitely an improvement on 2020. Beat 2 of the top 4 sides in Geelong and Melbourne, recorded 7 wins with 5 of our losses coming by 13 points or less.

Where does that leave us with Nicks and 2022. IMO - its 11 wins or bust. These should be the expectations for the club. Our list is in the spot to really grow and improve. We have only 7 players on our list with over 100 games of AFL experience and all 7 are walk up starts to our best 22. There is no risk of gifting games in 2022.

Injuries permitting - we will hopefully have 3 new recruits for 2022 in Dawson, Crouch and Milera in addition to a top 6 draft pick. 12 wins and a spot in the finals needs to be the goal. Fun culture has been established, but that can only last so long without winning.

If we are on track for 11-12 wins (fixture depending) - give Nicks a 2 year extension midway through 2022 (with a cut away clause at end of 2023 if it falls apart). Trajectory should be at 13-14 wins in 2023 and our window opening up in 2024.

Already gonna change my username to afc979824 (how can that backfire).

thumbs-up-26.gif
 
Obviously the 11 wins is not set in stone. 11-12 wins should be a target, but obviously we need to adjust if there are extenuating circumstances (injuries, a crazy camp gone wrong, ex-captain making racist comments, etc).

% will show the improvement more than W/L.

We had a lot of games this year where we didn't get belted, but never really threatened to win - not just the GWS and Essendon games, but also against WCE (x2), Brisbane, Port (first showdown), Melbourne (second game), Bulldogs and Sydney. Conversely, the majority of our wins were narrow and not overly convincing.

A percentage of 90-95% will show we are staying in games longer.
 
Apparently we are set to extend Matthew Nicks before the start of his final season

 
Oct 21, 2012
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Why would there be a hurry to sign him. He's not going anywhere. Give him a 1/2 season to show if there is improvement.
You raise a valid point but im.in the camp to give Nicks a 2 year extension during this off season

Nicks took over a team and club that was spiralling out if control and I believe this young group will benefit from having stability leading in to 2022 season.

Ultimately a coach gets judged on wins however Nicks has had to rebuild the footy department and culture of rhe club and bring together and connect a young group in 2 covid disrupted seasons.

Nicks has also shown that he can make tough list calls on senior players like Talia and Lynch, whilst be comfortable with staying firm.on a 2 year term for M Crouch.

I also sense that Nicks was key in getting Burgess a d Dawson to the club

Im happy for the club to back him in with an early extension

On SM-G973F using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
Jan 31, 2020
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Nicks was proudly announcing today that the team's main aim is to kick goals next year! Surely this should have been our main aim already? I think HJ's sponsorship has gone to his head. ;)

Maybe I’m miss reading your intend towards this comment, but it does sound like you are being critical of Nicks?

The first 2 years under Nicks were totally focused on defense and defending the entire ground. It now sounds like they are going to concentrate on ball movement with a focus on attacking play.

I apologize if I’ve misunderstood your post.
 
You raise a valid point but im.in the camp to give Nicks a 2 year extension during this off season

Nicks took over a team and club that was spiralling out if control and I believe this young group will benefit from having stability leading in to 2022 season.

Ultimately a coach gets judged on wins however Nicks has had to rebuild the footy department and culture of rhe club and bring together and connect a young group in 2 covid disrupted seasons.

Nicks has also shown that he can make tough list calls on senior players like Talia and Lynch, whilst be comfortable with staying firm.on a 2 year term for M Crouch.

I also sense that Nicks was key in getting Burgess a d Dawson to the club

Im happy for the club to back him in with an early extension

On SM-G973F using BigFooty.com mobile app

I've also got to that point, especially as we don't seem to be struggling financially post covid (well, compared to other clubs). We should have the flexibility to sack him if it spirals out of control.
 
Jun 21, 2014
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Maybe I’m miss reading your intend towards this comment, but it does sound like you are being critical of Nicks?

The first 2 years under Nicks were totally focused on defense and defending the entire ground. It now sounds like they are going to concentrate on ball movement with a focus on attacking play.

I apologize if I’ve misunderstood your post.

No worries. I was not being critical of Nicks' coaching, merely the ludicrous connection of his sudden desire to kick goals with the Hungry Jacks' sponsorship. I'm assuming that he was trying to be funny.
 
Jun 7, 2011
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Nicks was proudly announcing today that the team's main aim is to kick goals next year! Surely this should have been our main aim already? I think HJ's sponsorship has gone to his head. ;)

Hopefully we'll shelve the long,, high and deep to 4 tall forwards system then. If we aren't prepared to hit up best options, regardless of depth, then we won't be kicking more goals.
 
May 16, 2015
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You raise a valid point but im.in the camp to give Nicks a 2 year extension during this off season

Nicks took over a team and club that was spiralling out if control and I believe this young group will benefit from having stability leading in to 2022 season.

Ultimately a coach gets judged on wins however Nicks has had to rebuild the footy department and culture of rhe club and bring together and connect a young group in 2 covid disrupted seasons.

Nicks has also shown that he can make tough list calls on senior players like Talia and Lynch, whilst be comfortable with staying firm.on a 2 year term for M Crouch.

I also sense that Nicks was key in getting Burgess a d Dawson to the club

Im happy for the club to back him in with an early extension

On SM-G973F using BigFooty.com mobile app
All I ask is why would there be a hurry to sign him. No one else is going to grab him. He seems a nice guy but what if the season starts going pear shape.
 
Nov 1, 2012
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The first 2 years has been the relatively easy bit, tear down and go to the draft.

but the hard bit, to actually build on and start to get results? That’s the next bit, and we don’t have visibility of how that will go

I’d have preferred to wait until we had seen a few rounds of season 2022 before extending him.

the difficult bit is ahead of us, just seeing at least a few steps along that path seems more prudent to me
 
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Sep 19, 2007
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All I ask is why would there be a hurry to sign him. No one else is going to grab him. He seems a nice guy but what if the season starts going pear shape.

I tend to agree, although I'm not going to burn the place down if they do sign him early. I tend to feel we could give it till about round 10 before re-signing, see how the season unfolds and make sure its not a complete shitfest.

Having said that, given the state of our club/list when he came in, and with the addition of COVID, I think he probably deserves a two year deal. The first 2 years were write-offs from a performance perspective and were all about commencing the rebuild. From a performance point of view the assessment genuinely starts in 2022.

I think we all have bad memories of Sando an our haste to sign him for an extra 2 years coming off an abysmal 2013. The difference is Sando took over a much stronger club and list that was simply tired of Craig and needed a breath of fresh air. Once the fresh air passed, it became reasonably clear Sando was struggling, with key talents clearly underperforming under his watch, yet Trigg extended him anyway. I'm certainly much more confident with Nicks at 2 years, than I was with Sando at 2 years.

The other thing to be careful of is we don't want to join the rat race of changing coach every 2-3 years, which if you look at the likes of Carlton, Melbourne, Brisbane, St Kilda, Gold Coast seems to be common place. Locking in Nicks at this point gives him confidence to look towards 2023/24 with selections and developing game plan. Hold off and perhaps there's a drive, however subconscious, to push for more immediate results.
 
May 17, 2009
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I tend to agree, although I'm not going to burn the place down if they do sign him early. I tend to feel we could give it till about round 10 before re-signing, see how the season unfolds and make sure its not a complete shitfest.

Having said that, given the state of our club/list when he came in, and with the addition of COVID, I think he probably deserves a two year deal. The first 2 years were write-offs from a performance perspective and were all about commencing the rebuild. From a performance point of view the assessment genuinely starts in 2022.

I think we all have bad memories of Sando an our haste to sign him for an extra 2 years coming off an abysmal 2013. The difference is Sando took over a much stronger club and list that was simply tired of Craig and needed a breath of fresh air. Once the fresh air passed, it became reasonably clear Sando was struggling, with key talents clearly underperforming under his watch, yet Trigg extended him anyway. I'm certainly much more confident with Nicks at 2 years, than I was with Sando at 2 years.

The other thing to be careful of is we don't want to join the rat race of changing coach every 2-3 years, which if you look at the likes of Carlton, Melbourne, Brisbane, St Kilda, Gold Coast seems to be common place. Locking in Nicks at this point gives him confidence to look towards 2023/24 with selections and developing game plan. Hold off and perhaps there's a drive, however subconscious, to push for more immediate results.
Trigg half gave Sanderson the extension to keep the heat off himself. Little payoff so the coach doesn't publically bite back at the CEO's stuff up costing him players.
 
Jun 7, 2011
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The first 2 years has been the relatively easy bit, tear down and go to the draft.

but the hard bit, to actually build on and start to get results? That’s the next bit, and we don’t have visibility of how that will go

I’d have preferred to wait until we had seen a few rounds of season 2022 before extending him.

the difficult bit is ahead of us, just seeing at least a few steps along that path seems more prudent to me

I expect he's met or exceeded his original KPIs, but that was a comparison to an exceedingly low bar. Going forward he will be measured against a performance indicator, we've no idea how he'll perform or deal with failure. If it was me, I'd give him a bonus for exceeding expectations last 2 years, but I wouldn't extend him until some rubber has hit the road next year. Q
 
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