Toast Stephen Wells

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Congrats to Wells on this acknowledgement and achievement:

Geelong’s long time recruiting and list manager Stephen Wells’ contribution to the game has been recognised by the AFL Coaches Association, who have awarded him their Lifetime Achievement Award.

Wells began his career with the Cats in 1984 when he moved to Echuca to become a development zone officer. This was back in the days that clubs still had zones for recruiting purposes.

Then recruiting manager, Bill McMaster (former Cats premiership player who also coached the Cats in 1971-72 before becoming their first full time recruiting officer in 1973), realised early on that Stephen was very good at spotting talented footballers.

After two years in Echuca in the development officer role, Wells moved back to Geelong in 1986 where he had roles assistant coaching the U19 team (1986-1990), in football administration as assistant football manager (1991-1994), all whilst continuing to assist Bill McMaster with recruiting.

When McMaster retired at end of 1994 and Wells took on the role of recruiting manager. His first draft was in 1995 where the club selected the likes of Darren Milburn, Stephen King and Clint Bizzell.

At one stage during the mid-to-late nineties, Stephen actually held the role of football manager as well as recruiting manager.

Wells has continued to hold the role of recruiting manager to this date, and along the way added responsibility of also becoming the list manager as the recruiting & list management landscape evolved in 2000’s.

Wells is a life member of the Geelong Football Club and the AFL (???) and was lauded the Reg Hickey Award for services to football in 2008.

He was also an exceptional player. Wells started in local football with Geelong Amateur and Ocean Grove before moving to Geelong West in the VFA. He helped the Roosters to the 1979 VFA grad final and represented the VFA against South Australia in 1979.

Wells later moved to West Adelaide in the SANFL and then moved to Queensland where he helped Southport win its inaugural QAFL premiership in 1983.

“This is a tremendous honour, particularly in light of the fact it is now named in recognition Neale Daniher. I’d like to thank the AFLCA for this award.

“Being fortunate enough to spend so much of my life in the football industry and at Geelong has been a great reward in itself. The club has been very good to me over the years, and the fraternity within the AFL is very close and full of great people,” Wells said.

“I would like to thank all those I have worked with through the years. There are too many to mention, but I would like to draw attention to a few that have had a particularly strong impact on my time at Geelong.

“Bill McMaster gave me a great opportunity and has always been supportive. Brian Cook has been the CEO with us for over 20 years and has done great things for the club. And Neil Balme was and continues to be a great friend after working with him for eight years.

“I have loved working with six senior coaches in my time – Tom Hafey, John Devine, Malcom Blight, Gary Ayers, Mark Thompson, and Chris Scott. Our last four coaches have all coached the club to a grand final which is what we are striving for.”
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m.geelongcats.com.au

Wells receives lifetime achievement award

Stephen Wells has been recognised by the AFLCA.
m.geelongcats.com.au m.geelongcats.com.au
 

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Lets hope Wells is grooming a replacement for when he gives it away....he will be sorely missed.

A Cat man through and through.
 
Down at K Park said:
Isn’t andrew mackie working with him now?
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MAckie and T Sel.

Id say TSel is doing major senior scouting work - but regardless... this just gets Wells closer to his statue for mine. He's earned it.

And yes, the List Managment group has had some misses too.

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Close - Rookie pick
Atkins - Rookie pick from VFL
Blitz - B Rookie
MOC - B Rookie
Bews - Pick 77 F/S
Zuthrhe - Rookie pick.
Stewart - VFL listed plucked outta no where
Miers - Pick 57
Mengola - Pick 60 odd
Rohan - Pick 60 odd
Henry - Rookie pick 15.
Stengle - DFA

Yeah he's had misses too. Fog, Lang, Hamish McIntosh, Jack Steven...

But look at that list - 12 blokes that hav all played pivotal roles this and in the last several years.
This is part of why we are where we are. Giving blokes like this a shot and the time and space to develop.

Just amazing work.

IWWT

GO Catters
 
dazbroncos said:
Close - Rookie pick
Atkins - Rookie pick from VFL
Blitz - B Rookie
MOC - B Rookie
Bews - Pick 77 F/S
Zuthrhe - Rookie pick.
Stewart - VFL listed plucked outta no where
Miers - Pick 57
Mengola - Pick 60 odd
Rohan - Pick 60 odd
Henry - Rookie pick 15.
Stengle - DFA

Yeah he's had misses too. Fog, Lang, Hamish McIntosh, Jack Steven...

But look at that list - 12 blokes that hav all played pivotal roles this and in the last several years.
This is part of why we are where we are. Giving blokes like this a shot and the time and space to develop.

Just amazing work.

IWWT

GO Catters
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Late picks can only find success if early picks are failures
 
dazbroncos said:
Close - Rookie pick
Atkins - Rookie pick from VFL
Blitz - B Rookie
MOC - B Rookie
Bews - Pick 77 F/S
Zuthrhe - Rookie pick.
Stewart - VFL listed plucked outta no where
Miers - Pick 57
Mengola - Pick 60 odd
Rohan - Pick 60 odd
Henry - Rookie pick 15.
Stengle - DFA

Yeah he's had misses too. Fog, Lang, Hamish McIntosh, Jack Steven...

But look at that list - 12 blokes that hav all played pivotal roles this and in the last several years.
This is part of why we are where we are. Giving blokes like this a shot and the time and space to develop.

Just amazing work.

IWWT

GO Catters
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It's as good as you could expect really.

I'd challenge anyone to do better....especially without the benefit of hindsight.
 
Lana said:
Late picks can only find success if early picks are failures
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Funnily enough wells R1 picks since selwood have been somewhat underwhelming in totality: taylor mitch brown menzel smedts guthrie thurlow lang cockatoo danger (trade) henderson (trade) clark stephens sdk holmes.

Obviously a lot of those guys would have been better if not for injuries (menzel clearly but also thurlow brown cockstoo and smedts are in that category). Taylor will be a hall of famer guthrie a good 300 gamer, danger was an inspired trading and the reason why we kept contending after 2015,hendo serviceble,sdk and holmes look like they will be 10 yr A graders, clark got us conway so too early to tell there.

What it does say though is outside of his inability to get us a better ruck than rhys sincd ottens retired his trades and late picks have been outstanding,best in the league. Taylor pods stewart atkins close mengola etc have all been outstanding mature age for what we paid as has danger. TK went for reasons beyond our control but he was an inspired ballsy pick and the TK trade got us cameron (and if we win the flag this year that will be a big reason why). Hes found diamonds in the rough with late u18 picks like bews close atkins zuthrie simpson henry blicavs moc kolo miers etc and while we would have won more flags with a better ruck than stanley he will still play close to 150 games here so its a good trade. Pound for pound hes the best recruiter in the league i reckon.
 
What shouldn't be lost on us is the importance of the development phase. Some of those names are average footballers who have been turned into AFL standard by those responsible for development and integration.

BTW: Stephen's record with early picks isn't as impressive. And I know there's been a paucity of 1st rounders. Still!!
 
He's done an outstanding job with later picks, and no doubt our development works hand in hand to get these guys to the level they've become.

That being said I've always scratched my head why he took Thurlow over Grundy, Cockatoo over Lever and to a lesser extent Stephens over Georgiades when all three that we overlooked were positions of need with fairly obvious choices staring us in the face on draft night (not hindsight).
 
I have a theory that our approach to development is the best in the league by a country mile. There’s simply no way those very late picks develop at half the clubs in the competition - they’d be spat out in two years. Our success in development of players highlights some of our perceived fails at higher draft picks.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
 
TheCattery2007 said:
I have a theory that our approach to development is the best in the league by a country mile. There’s simply no way those very late picks develop at half the clubs in the competition - they’d be spat out in two years. Our success in development of players highlights some of our perceived fails at higher draft picks.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
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I think the recruitment strategy here is based a lot more on attitude and how coachable you think they will be rather than underlying talent.

That's my explanation anyway
 
TheCattery2007 said:
I have a theory that our approach to development is the best in the league by a country mile. There’s simply no way those very late picks develop at half the clubs in the competition - they’d be spat out in two years. Our success in development of players highlights some of our perceived fails at higher draft picks.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
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Disagree. We have a lot of players who were mature aged or developed at other clubs. Wells has been ahead of the game with mature aged recruits.
 
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