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.

 

[Lickmesocks]

A bit of talk about earning games this year and no limits in terms of ladder finish.

However, Do you think Smitch is thinking another development year? How many more years before finals are expected?

Is there any pressure of Sam this year at all? Or would this be much further down the track?

I was told 2025 was our season we have penciled in to make a real run at things in regards to our list structure. I would hope we see some real encouraging progress in 2024 and pushing the 10-11 win mark .

Perhaps the big injury list may work against us. It’s never a good sign starting a season with multiple players already injured. The Will Day stress fracture is an absolute nightmare injury for us. For a lad that runs and changes direction as much as he does, this is one people need to understand may flare up again and have a significant impact.

Also with Blanket going down it makes the clubs chase for Ben Mckay even more Important 4 months ago!!!

Frosty, Phillips, Scrimmer and Sicily better not go down this year or we are in more trouble than the early settlers.

 

[Hawker55]

I see this year as our 2006 equivalent. Bit more consistency, bit more output from those who will become key players and then all of a sudden next year we have a spate of players with 40-75 games who kick on.

 

[Elhawko]

It's a strange season for us, I think, where there is more pressure on individuals than there is on the whole, but if those individuals don't progress then the prospects for this unit will be significantly impacted. I think Lewis and Reeves in particular need to step up, the former to take his place among the very best key forwards in the league and the latter to establish himself as a bona fide first ruck. If neither of them can take that next step then I think Sam will come under pressure sooner rather than later because we don't have quality replacements for either and the chances of trading a top-flight recruit in in their place looks slim. The team can't afford to go back to the drawing board through the draft for these positions either; that would put our timeline for contending back years and that would put Sam under pressure. It is as they say, later than we think.

 

[Tony3163]

It's a strange season for us, I think, where there is more pressure on individuals than there is on the whole, but if those individuals don't progress then the prospects for this unit will be significantly impacted. I think Lewis and Reeves in particular need to step up, the former to take his place among the very best key forwards in the league and the latter to establish himself as a bona fide first ruck. If neither of them can take that next step then I think Sam will come under pressure sooner rather than later because we don't have quality replacements for either and the chances of trading a top-flight recruit in in their place looks slim. The team can't afford to go back to the drawing board through the draft for these positions either; that would put our timeline for contending back years and that would put Sam under pressure. It is as they say, later than we think.

Yeah Nah. Not in 2024.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

I see this year as our 2006 equivalent. Bit more consistency, bit more output from those who will become key players and then all of a sudden next year we have a spate of players with 40-75 games who kick on.

Until the formline proves otherwise I’m choosing to see 2023 as our 2006 equivalent where the game style started to take shape in moments and by the end of the year the group had built a stronger belief in their collective future prospects.

 

[cryptor]

It's a strange season for us, I think, where there is more pressure on individuals than there is on the whole, but if those individuals don't progress then the prospects for this unit will be significantly impacted. I think Lewis and Reeves in particular need to step up, the former to take his place among the very best key forwards in the league and the latter to establish himself as a bona fide first ruck. If neither of them can take that next step then I think Sam will come under pressure sooner rather than later because we don't have quality replacements for either and the chances of trading a top-flight recruit in in their place looks slim. The team can't afford to go back to the drawing board through the draft for these positions either; that would put our timeline for contending back years and that would put Sam under pressure. It is as they say, later than we think.

Reeves and Lewis were here when Sam took over. He's since brought across Meek (who was reportedly sought after by 11 other clubs) and Chol (who we also beat out 2-3 clubs to sign) to backup and support them. We've also drafted Ramsden and Dear as developing options who both look promising.

I'm sure there have been some good KPFs we could have picked up in the draft during Sam's time as senior coach (eg. Amiss) but it would have been at the expense of the players we did pick (eg. Ward) who were part of the draft strategy to rebuild the midfield. Which was looking very bleak a few years ago. The fact Sam has been able to in parallel revitalise it so quickly with some existing players like Worpel and Nash shouldn't count against him when we look back at who/types we did or didn't pick.

It's also been flagged that part of our overall recruitment strategy would be to eventually target for needs via trade and free agency. The recent hire of a specialist recruiter in Roughead signals that we are now at that point. I expect we'll sign a KPD and KPF through one of these avenues by the end of the year. And if we don't it won't be for a lack of trying.

If we can't afford to go back to the drawing board through the draft, then we certainly can't afford to sack a coach who is making all the right moves simply because things that can't be controlled don't fall his way.

 

[kirbatron]

8, 50 point floggings last year. need to get that down to 0-2 if possible.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

8, 50 point floggings last year. need to get that down to 0-2 if possible.

6 of these came early in the year and were somewhat expected with the new midfield and a poor forward half without Lewis.

 

[Elhawko]

Reeves and Lewis were here when Sam took over. He's since brought across Meek (who was reportedly sought after by 11 other clubs) and Chol (who we also beat out 2-3 clubs to sign) to backup and support them. We've also drafted Ramsden and Dear as developing options who both look promising.

I'm sure there have been some good KPFs we could have picked up in the draft during Sam's time as senior coach (eg. Amiss) but it would have been at the expense of the players we did pick (eg. Ward) who were part of the draft strategy to rebuild the midfield. Which was looking very bleak a few years ago. The fact Sam has been able to in parallel revitalise it so quickly with some existing players like Worpel and Nash shouldn't count against him when we look back at who/types we did or didn't pick.

It's also been flagged that part of our overall recruitment strategy would be to eventually target for needs via trade and free agency. The recent hire of a specialist recruiter in Roughead signals that we are now at that point. I expect we'll sign a KPD and KPF through one of these avenues by the end of the year. And if we don't it won't be for a lack of trying.

If we can't afford to go back to the drawing board through the draft, then we certainly can't afford to sack a coach who is making all the right moves simply because things that can't be controlled don't fall his way.

I don't think it's a matter of whether Sam recruited the players or not, just that if these two in particular don't take a further step then that's going to stall our progress. We can't wait for Sam to recruit an entire squad! He has to make the most of what he has. But what I'm saying is that these two players, Reeves and Lewis, are the two players who I see as being under pressure this year because I think they will be crucial to a premiership tilt in the coming seasons but unlike the other exciting prospects we have who are genuine kids, these two players are reaching their peak years. The are running out of development years; they are going to have to be good now and stay good for us to win a flag in the next five years or so, I think. If they fail, and I'm not suggesting they will, then the impact on our rebuild would be more significant than any other players on our list in my opinion. Hence I think they are under the most pressure this year....

 

[theiaofseed]

6 of these came early in the year and were somewhat expected with the new midfield and a poor forward half without Lewis.

None in the last 8 weeks of the year, despite playing 5 of the top 9 teams. Compared to 5 in the first 9 weeks.

 

[parsons nose]

It's a strange season for us, I think, where there is more pressure on individuals than there is on the whole, but if those individuals don't progress then the prospects for this unit will be significantly impacted. I think Lewis and Reeves in particular need to step up, the former to take his place among the very best key forwards in the league and the latter to establish himself as a bona fide first ruck. If neither of them can take that next step then I think Sam will come under pressure sooner rather than later because we don't have quality replacements for either and the chances of trading a top-flight recruit in in their place looks slim. The team can't afford to go back to the drawing board through the draft for these positions either; that would put our timeline for contending back years and that would put Sam under pressure. It is as they say, later than we think.

Lewis and Reeves are two different kettle of fish. Lewis is a proven quality key forward and given a decent run at it, will prove his value. Reeves, aside from his tap work, is way behind the leagues best ruckman. And may never achieve the output we had hoped he would deliver on.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

8, 50 point floggings last year. need to get that down to 0-2 if possible.

We got flogged more times than North did, which is terrible.

Thankfully our last flogging was in round 16, so hopefully we found some kind of answer for when teams start to run all over us. We played a few good teams in that same period too.

 

[bigmaxi]

Lot's on the list that need games......Play the kids.

25​	Ward, Josh	30​	20yr 6mth	15 Aug 2003	183cm​	80kg​	Northern Knights	Midfield
24​	Grainger-Barras, Denver	28​	21yr 10mth	17 Apr 2002	194cm​	84kg​	Swan Districts	Defender Forward
36​	Blanck, JamesR	24​	23yr 3mth	20 Nov 2000	196cm​	93kg​	Box Hill Hawks	Defender
30​	Butler, Sam	17​	21yr	10 Feb 2003	184cm​	81kg​	GWV Rebels	Forward
23​	Weddle, Joshua	17​	19yr 9mth	25 May 2004	191cm​	92kg​	Oakleigh Chargers	Defender
16​	D'Ambrosio, MassimoR	16​	20yr 8mth	5 Jun 2003	178cm​	80kg​	Western Jets	Defender
28​	Mackenzie, Cameron	14​	20yr 1mth	21 Jan 2004	188cm​	82kg​	Sandringham Dragons	Forward
40​	Mitchell, SeamusR	14​	21yr 7mth	3 Jul 2002	181cm​	80kg​	Bendigo Pioneers	Defender
21​	Stephens, Cooper	7​	23yr 1mth	17 Jan 2001	188cm​	86kg​	Geelong Falcons	Midfield
29​	Serong, Jai	5​	21yr	16 Feb 2003	193cm​	84kg​	Gippsland Power	Defender
44​	Hustwaite, Henry	2​	19yr 7mth	20 Jul 2004	195cm​	84kg​	Dandenong Stingrays	Midfield
42​	Macdonald, Bailey	2​	19yr 6mth	4 Aug 2004	182cm​	74kg​	Oakleigh Chargers	Defender
38​	Ramsden, MaxR	2​	20yr 10mth	19 Apr 2003	203cm​	86kg​	Sandringham Dragons	Forward
41​	Bennetts, JoshuaR	0​	19yr 6mth	9 Aug 2004	178cm​	76kg​	Eastern Ranges	Forward
35​	Dear, Calsher	0​	18yr 6mth	4 Aug 2005	195cm​	87kg​	Sandringham Dragons	Forward
27​	McCabe, William	0​	18yr 4mth	29 Sep 2005	197cm​	86kg​	Tanunda	Defender
43​	O'Sullivan, Jack	0​	19yr 4mth	22 Oct 2004	177cm​	72kg​	Oakleigh Chargers	Forward
0​	Phillips, EthanR	0​	24yr 7mth	17 Jul 1999	198cm​	90kg​	Port Melbourne	Defender
26​	Ryan, Bodie	0​	18yr 10mth	20 Apr 2005	187cm​	82kg​	Glenelg	Defender
45​	Tucker, ClayR	0​	19yr 6mth	9 Aug 2004	204cm​	103kg​	Eastern Ranges	Ruck
34​	Watson, Nick	​

 

[Hawker55]

6 of these came early in the year and were somewhat expected with the new midfield and a poor forward half without Lewis.

And don't forget missing Lewis so our firepower was down. Even with him out we could have won a couple more in that early stretch.

There's a lot of individual milestones to hit for players that will show we're developing as a team. Lewis to kick 50 goals for example, or Will Day to start hitting 30 possies regularly. I saw elsewhere Josh Ward to take that step from 20 touches a game to 25.

That'll all add up. I'm pretty comfortable with our rucks tbh - Reeves is developing and doing ok for his age and where he's been. The key for him is just as much the midfield connection. He'll hold his own in most contests, now he needs to get on the same page as the mids around him so they can feed off each other.

 

[The Spirit of Cricket]

We got flogged more times than North did, which is terrible.

Thankfully our last flogging was in round 16, so hopefully we found some kind of answer for when teams start to run all over us. We played a few good teams in that same period too.

yes this is what i mean where improvement doesn't necessarily come in wins/losses

we might not beat a Brisbane/Collingwood again and finish with 1-2 less wins but if we're competitive in most games you could argue that's a step forward. then it's about developing a winning culture and converting those close games into consistent wins

 

[bigmaxi]

yes this is what i mean where improvement doesn't necessarily come in wins/losses

we might not beat a Brisbane/Collingwood again and finish with 1-2 less wins but if we're competitive in most games you could argue that's a step forward. then it's about developing a winning culture and converting those close games into consistent wins

Agree, for me it is to see more consistency across the whole ground, with some decent back ups across each line for when injury's strike. Super exited for the year to pan out, think there will be some pleasant surprises coming from our young list. Go Hawks.

 

[DogDaySonny]

Last year we lost too much and too big to the middle of the table. Beating the middle of the table and especially not getting pumped by the mid teams is my progress marker. Beating top four teams is just a cherry on top if we get one.

Our progress needs to be consistency. And consistency will have us playing better against the mid-table teams.

 

[tommyk72]

Last year we lost too much and too big to the middle of the table. Beating the middle of the table and especially not getting pumped by the mid teams is my progress marker. Beating top four teams is just a cherry on top if we get one.

Our progress needs to be consistency. And consistency will have us playing better against the mid-table teams.

This was the most worrying thing about the first practice match. However there were obviously a lot of caveats (praccy match, wind, first hit out, etc.). I really want to see us remaining in a position to win matches a lot longer.

 

[Dewnior]

Reeves and Lewis, are the two players who I see as being under pressure this year because I think they will be crucial to a premiership tilt in the coming seasons but unlike the other exciting prospects we have who are genuine kids, these two players are reaching their peak years. The are running out of development years; they are going to have to be good now and stay good for us to win a flag in the next five years or so, I think. If they fail, and I'm not suggesting they will, then the impact on our rebuild would be more significant than any other players on our list in my opinion. Hence I think they are under the most pressure this year....

Pies just won a flag with Cameron and Mihochek. Let that sink in for a minute before you put undue pressure on Reeves and Lewis.

 

[bigmaxi]

Until the formline proves otherwise I’m choosing to see 2023 as our 2006 equivalent where the game style started to take shape in moments and by the end of the year the group had built a stronger belief in their collective future prospects.

Yep a flag in ‘25, I can get around that for sure.

 

[H00t]

Some of Mitchell’s thoughts heading into 2024.

 

[HedgeFund]

Some of Mitchell’s thoughts heading into 2024.

Very measured and realistic.

 

[matey]

Some of Mitchell’s thoughts heading into 2024.

Loved hearing Sam’s last sentence

 

[Gut Runner]

Some of Mitchell’s thoughts heading into 2024.

Admitted that the practice matches didn't look good and was disappointed.

Also said we got lucky on the injury front last year and this year will be tough.

Could be another rough year.

 

[ahhhhhh]

Admitted that the practice matches didn't look good and was disappointed.

Also said we got lucky on the injury front last year and this year will be tough.

Could be another rough year.

Maybe the practice match form did mean something?