Coaching Staff Former Coach Ben "Truck" Rutten - Sacked for real this time - 21/8

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Lore said:
According to Xavier Campbell on SEN yesterday, Rutten was heavily involved in the documentary series for the 150 years. He really loves the history stuff and so Dave Barham took him under his wing.

The documentary series will apparently also be used as a coaching tool :)

It’s kind of amazing to think the players and coaches didn’t already know a bit of the history… must’ve seemed kind of soulless in a new facility with no inkling of the history beyond the 16 premierships.
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How many new supporters of the club make the effort to learn the history of a club prior to them following it?
Especially these days.
This club has crowed about its history all through its many average years. Often before a season as part of hype.
But there is a difference between talking about a history because it's just what you do and speaking about the history from a place of care and the effort of people to understand it.
It seems Rutten gets that, it's been a seriously impressive performance, I think next year could be a fun year to follow the club. A lot of stories to be told and if you were a fly on the wall a lot of the themes in the group would be pretty inspirational week to week.
 
Mercurial89 said:
How many new supporters of the club make the effort to learn the history of a club prior to them following it?
Especially these days.
This club has crowed about its history all through its many average years. Often before a season as part of hype.
But there is a difference between talking about a history because it's just what you do and speaking about the history from a place of care and the effort of people to understand it.
It seems Rutten gets that, it's been a seriously impressive performance, I think next year could be a fun year to follow the club. A lot of stories to be told and if you were a fly on the wall a lot of the themes in the group would be pretty inspirational week to week.
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I think for most of us we learn the history from our parents and grandparents talking about their memories. Newer supporters who chose it for the colours or the logo perhaps not though.

It would have been the same inside the club, older players passing it down to younger ones. Especially in the days when Fletch was playing and Sheedy or Hird was coaching.

Part of the saga issue I guess that we didn’t get many kids coming in and then when we did get some kids in, the older guys got suspended and then retired or traded, so they didn’t get that much time together.

Definitely agree that Rutten has turned it around. Don’t really know what’s missing until you’ve found it again. Having a relatively young coach wanting to learn the history like this when we have a relatively young group of players during our anniversary year is actually kind of neat. Part of the journey they go on as a group, and seems like good timing to bring the whole thing back together as a unified club.
 
Lore said:
I think for most of us we learn the history from our parents and grandparents talking about their memories. Newer supporters who chose it for the colours or the logo perhaps not though.

It would have been the same inside the club, older players passing it down to younger ones. Especially in the days when Fletch was playing and Sheedy or Hird was coaching.

Part of the saga issue I guess that we didn’t get many kids coming in and then when we did get some kids in, the older guys got suspended and then retired or traded, so they didn’t get that much time together.

Definitely agree that Rutten has turned it around. Don’t really know what’s missing until you’ve found it again. Having a relatively young coach wanting to learn the history like this when we have a relatively young group of players during our anniversary year is actually kind of neat. Part of the journey they go on as a group, and seems like good timing to bring the whole thing back together as a unified club.
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The other issue with the saga was that we apparently stopped talking about the club history internally. It was like in the minds of some the saga had tainted everything before it and the only way from there was forwards.

We seem now to have recognised that history, good or bad is what it is and we should accept it, embrace it and learn from it.
 

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Think Ben had a good year but then whoosh should get a little credit , only difference between the two was that Darcy was put into the middle after some injuries and how good was he , one coaching blew was in the final , a certain player of the bench in the first 1/4 had 9 possessions , all good ones and then didn’t start the second , only allowed certain minutes because the Stars need more time on the ground , like your 3rd placed getter in the b and f , please ! a tackle is when you wrap someone , not just get in there way
 
R t james said:
Think Ben had a good year but then whoosh should get a little credit , only difference between the two was that Darcy was put into the middle after some injuries and how good was he , one coaching blew was in the final , a certain player of the bench in the first 1/4 had 9 possessions , all good ones and then didn’t start the second , only allowed certain minutes because the Stars need more time on the ground , like your 3rd placed getter in the b and f , please ! a tackle is when you wrap someone , not just get in there way
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The difference isn’t individual players. The difference is culture, a sense of belief in one another, what they can achieve together as a group and what it means to them and to the club collectively.

Woosha built a good playing group.

Rutten has built a good team.
 
R t james said:
Think Ben had a good year but then whoosh should get a little credit , only difference between the two was that Darcy was put into the middle after some injuries and how good was he , one coaching blew was in the final , a certain player of the bench in the first 1/4 had 9 possessions , all good ones and then didn’t start the second , only allowed certain minutes because the Stars need more time on the ground , like your 3rd placed getter in the b and f , please ! a tackle is when you wrap someone , not just get in there way
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We get it, you don't like the fact Snelling is better than your son.
 
player.whooshkaa.com

Essendon coach Ben Rutten (27/9/21)

Ben joined us in the studio and discussed how the Demons turned the Grand Final in their favour, how Christian Petracca now carries the torch for explosive midfielders, how Simon Goodwin was a prospective coach as far back as their Adelaide days, how Essendon will approach the player movement...
player.whooshkaa.com player.whooshkaa.com

Rutten reviews the grand final, our season, a bit about our list management and what he wants to do with the group to get to where we need to be. Might do cliffs later.
 
I'm very excited to see what he can do over the off season.

Parish and Stringer's improved fitness and form seems to have motivated players like Walla and McGrath to work on theirs before the preseason.
There's a real sense of "lift or be left behind" for the first time in a long time.

As harsh as it may have seemed, not giving Hooker, TBC and Zaharakis a farewell game was part of driving the cultural change.
Leaving Walla out of the final consolidated the fact that anyone can drop out of favour.

Hopefully this drives players like Cox, Perkins, Bryan and Reid to put in the work and compete for a spot in the side.
 
Lore said:
player.whooshkaa.com

Essendon coach Ben Rutten (27/9/21)

Ben joined us in the studio and discussed how the Demons turned the Grand Final in their favour, how Christian Petracca now carries the torch for explosive midfielders, how Simon Goodwin was a prospective coach as far back as their Adelaide days, how Essendon will approach the player movement...
player.whooshkaa.com player.whooshkaa.com

Rutten reviews the grand final, our season, a bit about our list management and what he wants to do with the group to get to where we need to be. Might do cliffs later.
Click to expand...
Lore said:
player.whooshkaa.com

Essendon coach Ben Rutten (27/9/21)

Ben joined us in the studio and discussed how the Demons turned the Grand Final in their favour, how Christian Petracca now carries the torch for explosive midfielders, how Simon Goodwin was a prospective coach as far back as their Adelaide days, how Essendon will approach the player movement...
player.whooshkaa.com player.whooshkaa.com

Rutten reviews the grand final, our season, a bit about our list management and what he wants to do with the group to get to where we need to be. Might do cliffs later.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this. One of the most genuinely entertaining and informative discussions I've heard. Normally footy interviews are mainly rubbish, but this was erudite, balanced and low on bullshit. Having it focus on broader footy topics like the GF really helped. And Rutten is a genuinely confident and authentic sounding guy. I really enjoyed the "fireside chat" template of this and highly recommend to those that haven't heard it yet.

Feels weird to have the stirrings of trust towards an EFC coach
 
Every other recruit last night was confused and relieved until their name was read out on TV. In contrast, Truck had phoned Hobbs and told him (maybe even asked him) prior to the world knowing. It might seem like a small thing, but I think it is the little things that build a good culture.
 
Care. Commit. Compete. Celebrate.

Reckon that might be the Essendon DNA on the wall there?
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From the video;
 

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AFL Coach’s Clipboard: Essendon coach Ben Rutten reveals how he plans to secure another finals berth​

The Bombers made the finals in Ben Rutten’s first year but failed to pass week one. He reveals the key areas of improvements and players impressing as he looks to go deeper in September.

Essendon surprised the footy world by playing finals in Ben Rutten’s first year in charge, but the AFL’s most infamous September curse remains intact.
He reveals how the Bombers will improve again in 2022, who’s impressing on the training track, the latest on Jake Stringer’s fitness, who replaces Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, the draftee pushing his case for Round 1, and the challenges of life on the farm.

Jay Clark: Congrats on everything last season. I hear you have spent some time on the farm on your summer break. How’s your tractor skills, ‘Truck’?

Ben Rutten: I’m a first-time farmer, so I’ve got all the gear and no idea. It’s a nice place to unwind and switch off. There are a lot of things that I’m learning as I go, so there’s a lot of trial and error, and a lot of help from people who have been there and done it before. So I’m enjoying it at the moment. My biggest problem is I’ve been trying to get a couple of cows pregnant, that’s my first little dabble at trying to breed some livestock, so hopefully they can come through.

[PLAYERCARD]Ben Rutten[/PLAYERCARD] is feeling relaxed heading into 2022. Picture: Michael Klein

Ben Rutten is feeling relaxed heading into 2022. Picture: Michael Klein
JC: Did you host all the players there as part of a pre-season camp?

BR: We finished up a training camp and then had a bit of a get-together at my place with all the footy department, the families and partners and kids of all the players, and staff as well. It was just a good opportunity considering everything that has happened the past couple of years. Those little connection points. It was nice timing. We had a camp for a couple of days which was physically demanding on everybody, and to finish that with a five-day break, it was really good.

JC: What was the theme of the camp?

BR: We had a solid training session, and a school camp type of setup. So we had some canoeing and raft-building, and rock climbing and laser tag. We had some team events going on and it was an opportunity to work on our group dynamics, and cohesion and connection throughout those couple of days. I think we were able to do that pretty well.

JC: How do you get better? Essendon was fourth for offence, ninth for defence in 2021. What’s top of the whiteboard for 2022?

BR: There’s always a long list of things you want to do better, as a coach you are always striving for excellence or perfection with things, which can be unrealistic. But we are always looking to grow and improve, I think the final we ended up paying in the end of last year ended up being a fantastic experience for our guys, and I think that in itself gave us a bit of confidence in what we have been doing, but it also it showed up the gap and the difference in where we want to get to.

It was just one of those experiences and opportunities that we ended up playing a grand final team and a team that was in the top-two for the whole season, and to be able to play some pretty good footy and show some of the stuff we have been working on is getting towards the level we need it to be. It also showed our ability to stick at it.

Essendon will be hopeful Archie Perkins can take another big step forward in 2022. Picture: Mark Stewart

Essendon will be hopeful Archie Perkins can take another big step forward in 2022. Picture: Mark Stewart
The resilience in our game, and to be able to do it for longer and do it in all conditions – that is the gap we are looking to bridge, and the Bulldogs are a pretty hardened and seasoned unit which had spent the vast majority of the season at the top. That sort of stuff is invaluable for our guys. We took a lot of momentum out of that game even though it was a really disappointing loss and the guys were shattered. It gave us a little kick-start around pre-season and that is our theme. We want to build our cohesion and chemistry and spend more time training together. Understand how each other play and how each other think and another year of consistency and stability is going to be.

JC: Ruckman Sam Draper has become one of footy’s most exciting players. Raw, aggressive. St Kilda tried hard to get him. What can we expect this year?

BR: The thing to remember is he has only played 21 games or something like that. He is athletic, he is dynamic, he is kind of a spiritual warrior for us out on the ground and we love that about him. But he has still got a lot of room to improve and learn about himself and also the game.

He hasn’t grown up playing the game, so to be able to keep building his understanding of the game and what is required. Every now and then he gets his capability and his ambition a little bit mixed up, but it is also what we love about him. He does try things and he is not afraid to think he is a six-foot midfielder every now and then.

The boys love him, and we have a really strong ruck group. Andrew Phillips, who played a fair bit of footy for us last year, is working really well (with Draper), and Nick Bryan is a guy who won our VFL best-and-fairest last year. He is really athletic and is getting his ruck craft building, so we have a really nice combination there, and all of them are going to play an important part in this season.

Emerging ruckman Sam Draper looms as one of the Bombers’ most exciting prospects for 2022. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Emerging ruckman Sam Draper looms as one of the Bombers’ most exciting prospects for 2022. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
JC: How will the forward line look? No Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti early. Cale Hooker retired. Harry Jones coming back from injury. Where do the goals come from again?

BR: It is probably a similar proposition to what we were talking about last year. We brought Peter Wright into the team and we spent periods of the summer training with different guys in the midfield training up there and Cale Hooker spent the majority of the year up there and Harry Jones hadn’t even played a game at that point, so last year we were in a similar position.

I feel some of that cohesion will take some time to build, we might be similar again this year. But we are also really excited about it. Aaron Francis has been training up there really strongly, Peter Wright is 12 months in, Kaine Baldwin is showing some fantastic signs up there. We love what Harry Jones gives us up there and we think he is really going to progress.

So heaps of excitement, and optimism and enthusiasm, but also we need to understand we are not the finished product and we will continue to evolve. Last year we demonstrated we were a reasonably high-scoring team, we don’t want to be too predictable in the way that we score. We want contribution across the board. We know there are guys playing ahead of the ball, but they are not always the ones who are finishing the goals off, so we need to be pretty well-balanced.

Essendon skipper Dyson Heppell with Aaron Francis. Picture: Michael Klein

Essendon skipper Dyson Heppell with Aaron Francis. Picture: Michael Klein
JC: Who replaces McDonald-Tipungwuti? Irving Mosquito is no longer the club. Is Archie Perkins your man?

BR: Guys like Mozzie (Irving Mosquito) and ‘Walla’, they are guys who are difficult to replace. We think we have got some guys like Devon Smith, Archie Perkins has played a bit up forward for us and hopefully we can get some goals out of our midfielders at times, so we are looking to evolve and guys are able to step up in those positions. Last year through opportunity and needs we found guys were able to do that and none of those guys let us down last year, so that is all part of footy and the disappointment and challenge for one player is an opportunity for another. I feel like our guys are pretty fit and hungry and want to take their opportunities when they get them.

JC: Ben Hobbs looks like a great pick. Hard nut. Is he in the mix for early games this year?

BR: He has been fantastic. Along with Patrick Voss, Alastair Lord, Garrett McDonagh, they have all done a heap of training and really immersed themselves into the program. Initially, that’s all you can ask, can they build some strong relationships and feel comfortable and start contributing? All of them have been able to.

It shows where they are in terms of their attitude, it’s been fantastic, and just like any young or less-experienced players, it is important to just be able to come into the environment and understand the way we play and start to get a feel for the guys around them.

Hobbsy is pretty ambitious and has got a good head on his shoulders. He hasn’t knocked back any challenges and he has been able to compete really well against some of our more experienced guys. He is one of those guys once you give him half a sniff, he will be keen to take that opportunity.

Draftee Ben Hobbs is pressing for a potential Round 1 debut. Picture: Mark Stewart

Draftee Ben Hobbs is pressing for a potential Round 1 debut. Picture: Mark Stewart
JC: It’s an excellent midfield group. How are you going to give everyone in there a lick of the ice cream? Dylan Shiel, Darcy Parish, Zach Merrett, Jye Caldwell, Andrew McGrath. How do they all fit?

BR: It’s a nice thing to have at our disposal, it’s something as a club we have been working towards for a few years. Whether it is Melbourne or the Bulldogs or Richmond, they all have strong midfields. The last few years it is more about those guys having a really clear picture of what their best footy looks like, and what their strengths are and what the team needs, regardless of what position they are on the field. I think we have some strong flexibility in our game, which I think is a great thing.

JC: Not many tipped you to play finals last year, but you made it. On the back of losing three senior players, it was a great effort. What’s the pass mark in 2022?

BR: The biggest expectation we are putting on ourselves is to create a program and an environment where we just continue to build and push and get better and grow. Absolutely, we got a bit of a taste of what the finals were about last year, which highlighted some areas of our game which we need to get better at. But you’ve got 18 teams wanting to crack in and make the finals.

We want to create a program that puts us in the best position to win a premiership. That is the thing we have been pretty clear on over the past few months is that decisions have been made to get us closer to win a premiership and some sustained success, so we are no different in that respect this year and we will continue to make those decisions based on what is going to best position us for that.

Create a program where we are stretching ourselves no matter whether you are a staff member, a coach or a player, I want that to be the hallmark of this footy club. That up until the last day you are at the club you are feeling like you are getting better, it’s what we are trying to build.

[PLAYERCARD]Ben Rutten[/PLAYERCARD] has developed a strong relationship with his players. Picture: Michael Klein

Ben Rutten has developed a strong relationship with his players. Picture: Michael Klein
JC: Jake Kelly flew under the radar in the trade period. Sounds like he has fit in well. What impact will he have down back?

BR: He has done some fantastic jobs on us at times on talls or smalls, which is a real strength of Jake’s. So he gives us another option to play on some of those dangerous smalls in particular. But he has a unique strength to be able to defend and intercept the ball, but he is great with ball in hand as well. So he gives us more options and less predictability in our game. He is a good hard worker and has a great attitude and is a pretty experienced player.

JC: There’s been a lot of talk about coaching styles and how tight you can or should be with players. Justin Langer and Simon Goodwin have been under the microscope. What’s your coaching style? How close should you be?

BR: I’m more of a relationship-based coach and I think for the players it is important to build those strong relationships, and part of that is not having the same relationship with every player. It is about meeting their needs and understanding their needs, and some guys need more attention or some guys may need a little less. It is critical.

They are my No.1 responsibility, the players, and you’ve got to have a good relationship to pick up behavioural changes, and I need them understanding the way I think and I think that is just critical. It does make things difficult at times when you have to have some more difficult conversations, or tell them things they may not want to hear. But that is the price you have to pay as a coach, and I would rather that and have strong relationships than the opposite. It’s just the way I do things, and it is not necessarily right or wrong. I think it is paramount in building trust.

JC: We saw Nik Cox and Perkins really shine last year. What about Zach Reid, your other top pick?

BR: Unfortunately, he hasn’t done a heap out on the track with the guys, he has had a really difficult run. Glandular fever, stress fracture in his back, and little bit of foot problems, plus he has had Covid, so he has struggled to get some continuity. He was building up his loads from his foot and they had a little setback with Covid, which put him back a week or two in building up.

So it’s been disappointing, and he’s been flat and frustrated at times, but it is also giving him, as a young tall player, time to build his body and put a lot of work into that and hopefully give himself a great opportunity to have a long and uninterrupted career. Because there is no doubt he is 203cm or 205cm, he looks like he is growing every day and with a lean body, he’s a bit of a recipe for some problems. So in some respects we have this time to invest in his body and get some really good mechanics going that will put him in a really good stead.

Zach Reid has had a tough start to his AFL career. Picture: Jono Searle/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Zach Reid has had a tough start to his AFL career. Picture: Jono Searle/AFL Photos/via Getty Images
JC: Where will he play?

BR: Forward and back, it will probably start to settle him down back to begin with, but we saw this time last year he played a little bit in our forward line, and he has played a bit of both, but he is one of those guys who will be able to adapt to whatever role he needs to.

JC: Jake Stringer update? Did he hurt his groin?

BR: Very minor, this time of year, and Kyle Langford (shoulder) is the same, they didn’t quite get up to the full session but both of those guys have done a power of work in pre-season. If there is an opportunity to be a fraction more conservative, this time of year that is kind of the decision we have made on both those guys, nothing to be too concerned about.

JC: Good luck, Ben.

BR: Thank you.
 
Initially I was worried about him impregnating cows, but that faded into insignificance when I realised they've poisoned his mind with empathy courses.

The best coaches are/were all psychopaths. Building relationships might be a good if you're trying to get pregnant, but it doesn't win you the World's Cup.
 
yodellinhank said:
Initially I was worried about him impregnating cows, but that faded into insignificance when I realised they've poisoned his mind with empathy courses.

The best coaches are/were all psychopaths. Building relationships might be a good if you're trying to get pregnant, but it doesn't win you the World's Cup.
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Ted Lasso disagrees with this.
 
yodellinhank said:
Initially I was worried about him impregnating cows, but that faded into insignificance when I realised they've poisoned his mind with empathy courses.

The best coaches are/were all psychopaths. Building relationships might be a good if you're trying to get pregnant, but it doesn't win you the World's Cup.
Click to expand...

Are you genuinely suggesting empathy isn't a good thing for coaching? There are thousands of successful coaches in the world who choose empathy over psychopathy lol
 
Petrify said:
Are you genuinely suggesting empathy isn't a good thing for coaching? There are thousands of successful coaches in the world who choose empathy over psychopathy lol
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Yodell's posts should be taken as 100% sarcasm unless signposted otherwise imo
 
Bowakawa said:
honestly it raises an interesting point though - to be a successful coach at the highest level requires a high level of both ruthlessness and emotional intelligence - a duel-attribute that is probably not all that common in people
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There was a study a few years back about the weighting of various elements to be a successful coach in the AFL, from memory relationships was pretty close to the most important.
 
yodellinhank said:
Be interested if you could dig it out. How was the study conducted?
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It's been posted on BigFooty before, can't dig it up via Google. From memory it was ~ 10 years or so ago, conducted on / with AFL head coaches, might have been with Victoria University.

Someone like Lore would have read it if I was to take a guess?
 
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