Coach Sam Mitchell's direction for the club and 2024 news

[Strapping Young Lad]

If anyone wants to have a listen about what the data is saying in regards to whether we have actually gotten worse this year have a listen to this from the 9:15 mark.

I know a few people have already touched on it, but the data is also showing that our results this year have been slightly better despite actually putting out a younger team and dealing with some injuries.




And here.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

 

[Pessimistic]

Social media is great, but ‘let us be known by our actions’

 

[KermitJagger]

Sam is head and shoulders above most other coaches in terms of articulating what he'd like to say.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Social media is great, but ‘let us be known by our actions’

Finally get the social media team to start using their channels to share the coaches insights and thoughts, and people want “actions not words”.

 

[CaptainWorpedo]

Social media is great, but ‘let us be known by our actions’

The action will come when the season starts, very little action can happen to then.

Be grateful the club is sharing a little with us fans during a long preseason.

 

[JZedd]

The action will come when the season starts, very little action can happen to then.

Be grateful the club is sharing a little with us fans during a long preseason.

Absolutely. I reckon we've had a lot of terrific feedback from the club.

Add the seriously good training updates, its really helped us fans during the off season.

 

[Pessimistic]

The action will come when the season starts, very little action can happen to then.

Be grateful the club is sharing a little with us fans during a long preseason.

I’m probably just a bit impatient, tbh

 

[Ned Ryerson]

I could be naive but I wonder if Sam has a bit of sway on the social media direction also or if we just have better marketing people now. The Box Hill clips of Sam’s coaching last year were really great access and it seems that has followed into his gig at Hawthorn.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

I could be naive but I wonder if Sam has a bit of sway on the social media direction also or if we just have better marketing people now. The Box Hill clips of Sam’s coaching last year were really great access and it seems that has followed into his gig at Hawthorn.

Sam and our new media manager wanted to improve how open the club has been via media.

 

[Pessimistic]

Sam and our new media manager wanted to improve how open the club has been via media.

There’s one simple way to do that, but not in Sam’s power. Yet

 

[flinchfree]

That is some seriously good chemistry between Sam and Chris. You can tell so much by body language, quickness to smile, breaking in on eachothers sentences for the quick rib.....jeez I like that.
Of course what they follow up with is true, that those relationships will be tested and developed more fundamentally under the pressure of season game play. In-game communication and their ability to effect change in the players, and the sickening moments of losses and how to turn things around, that's when a true functioning partnership and support for eachothers vision and ability will be revealed.
But in terms of a new head coach like Sam walking in, and having a longer term assistant already in place with his own style and views and likely aspirations for the top job, to have that ease between the two is phenomenal.

BTW, Newman looks for all the world like a quality senior coach in waiting. Speaks incredibly well without wandering or becoming lost in thought or resorting to cliches and colloquialisms, has that twinkle and smile and presence I reckon a playing group really responds to.

 

[cs61]

Finally get the social media team to start using their channels to share the coaches insights and thoughts, and people want “actions not words”.

Also, I think Sam has been really open with the culture of the club and getting to know players and having a better understanding of the inner workings of the people involved, but if you listen when they are asked about performance or game plan, both coaches and players then revert back to very straight bat answers, and keeping that tight lipped. I think the strategy has been being open in bringing excitement, but also not getting ahead of themselves in making any "we are here to win finals", "we should be making the top 8" etc type statements, but rather just giving some access that matches modern times with social media etc, which has been a huge breath of fresh air. I think this is the right balance, as it it building brand/culture, acquiring some collective excitement and support with these sorts of videos and giving some value for being a member of the club in terms of access, but also being level headed about achievement in seeing how we go first before making any bold statements about expectations.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

There’s one simple way to do that, but not in Sam’s power. Yet

Eh?

 

[KermitJagger]

Eh?

TO WIN! Gotta be proved on the field, gosh durnit. Nothing else matters!

 

[TazHawk15]

Social media is great, but ‘let us be known by our actions’

Let us be optimistic

 

[MrPremiership]

Social media is great, but ‘let us be known by our actions’

I love the club's change of direction here....we have never been social media or fan friendly when it came to content. The last 6 months has been refreshing.

It's giving me a stronger connected with the club, players and coaches. Can only imagine the beneficial impact its having on younger supporters who want to engage in that way

 

[TheFourPillars]

The club needs to be engaging. There is a real fear of supporter disengagement membership drop off in the next few years which could really affect the club. They needed to get on the front foot and have.

 

[Mercy Seat]

I could be naive but I wonder if Sam has a bit of sway on the social media direction also or if we just have better marketing people now. The Box Hill clips of Sam’s coaching last year were really great access and it seems that has followed into his gig at Hawthorn.

I friend of mine works in comms at another AFL club, and I can tell you that the significance of social media has blown up at every club in the past 6-12 months. In fact, the AFL is playing catch up on what is pretty much the norm globally in sport, and there's pressure from the AFL onto clubs to keep up.

It's possible that Sam might be an influence, but I dare say it's something that had to and would have happened regardless.

 

[Pessimistic]

Eh?

Send Kennett back to the liberals. Both sets of IQ improve

 

[rei154]

The club needs to be engaging. There is a real fear of supporter disengagement membership drop off in the next few years which could really affect the club. They needed to get on the front foot and have.

Tbh I think we've already seen a massive disengagement from a large swathe of our supporters.
I'd say from 2019-2021 our supporters really felt the stagnation of our club mantra/approach to things- things that worked really well when we're successful, but when we struggle all they do is leave a bad taste.

I wouldn't be surprised if this season and moving through to 2024 we see a massive uptick in supporter base and engagement!

 

[Pessimistic]

Tbh I think we've already seen a massive disengagement from a large swathe of our supporters.
I'd say from 2019-2021 our supporters really felt the stagnation of our club mantra/approach to things- things that worked really well when we're successful, but when we struggle all they do is leave a bad taste.

I wouldn't be surprised if this season and moving through to 2024 we see a massive uptick in supporter base and engagement!

Supporters or members. Going by some commentary I’ve heard lately stopping treating members like cash cows might go a long way

 

[rei154]

Supporters or members. Going by some commentary I’ve heard lately stopping treating members like cash cows might go a long way

Supporters- memberships have still been trending up I believe.

That being said, I fully agree. I think once we've moved a little further through the financial impacts of COVID, the clubs that will succeed the most are the clubs that find the initiative with getting supporters and members involved without milking them (especially if wealth inequality keeps up).

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

This is a very good read. Explains a bit about how the CD rankings are formed.

Moorey gets good marks on the basis of where he gets it, how he uses it and how accurate he his.


“I don’t think things are as far off as perhaps what some in the industry believe,” Daniel Hoyne of Champion Data suggests. “I keep coming back to the midfield discussion, the ability to find a couple midfielders and hopefully the draftees that you’ve just selected (Josh Ward, Connor MacDonald, Sam Butler and Ned Long) might be able to help in that situation. But I think there’s enough there to suggest that 2024, which is only two years away, that finals and top six should be on the cards. But that will only happen if the midfield elevates itself.”

 

[TylerDurden]

 

[HomerJayS]

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