Coach Stuart Dew - Where is the scrutiny?

[NewMelbournian]

This game looked like a bad team with a coach who at least has the players caring versus a team that doesn't care

 

[Rod Stroker]

As long as Cochrane and Evans are there it wont matter.

Why? How much influence do they really have on the Football Department?

 

[Rod Stroker]

One of our posters suggested Voss, with Leppa and Brad Scott as assistants, wouldn’t mind seeing that that’s a solid coaching corr

Of those 3, I reckon Leppa would make the best head coach. Which sounds funny given Leppa never got anywhere near finals as a coach compared to the other 2, but his involvement with the 3 Tigers flags would IMHO make him the more attractive choice.

 

[HairyO]

Why? How much influence do they really have on the Football Department?

The President and the CEO?

Id say 100%.

 

[Hammer#8]

Dew was a well credentialed assistant for the Swans under Longmire, playing an active role in getting the Swans to multiple GFs as well being a key figure in 2012 when the Swans won a flag they weren't expected to win. Having a good list, being apart of an organisation with a strong culture which drives standards complimented his ability at the time.

He was given the Suns senior coach position, and has clearly been seen to be at odds with his assistants whom have left for other jobs on the Gold Coast with the amateur teams like Southport. I feel that along with Dew, the assistant coaches are frustrated in not being able to deliver the results they want.

The problem with the Suns is they cannot develop talent at a rate that trends upwards. They bring in young players who are unable to be molded into elite players. The cycle seems to continue ad neuseum forever it seems. They keep banking on a formula that never worked the first time, drafting top tier draft picks that aren't ready made.

The only elite player they've ever attracted was Ablett on a multi-million dollar deal, no other player comes close to Ablett's status. I think they've overpaid average players who can't carry the younger players out of the wilderness. Greenwood, Weller and Ellis are depth players only, they don't headline a club.

Compare these 3 to the cream of the crop at other clubs:
Giants: Green, Ward and Whitfield.
Lions: Cameron, Neale and Zorko.
Cats: Dangerfield, Cameron and Hawkins
Dees: Petracca, Gawn and Oliver
Dogs: Libber, Bontempelli and MacRae
Port: Wines, Boak and Gray
Tigers: Dusty, Lynch and Riewoldt
Eagles: Kennedy, Kelly and McGovern

Outside of these clubs the talent pool dilutes where the teams struggle to make the top 8 and are just working on waiting for the youngsters to be the next big thing. If they find the next star they sign them and hope they don't leave.

The Suns have gone though this process over and again as we've seen. The talent comes in, marginally develops to only then go back to Victoria on a mega deal contract. Very hard to work at building a strong culture without the building blocks in place.

The players the Suns have whilst showing glimpses can't do all of the above. The journey to go from a talented draftee to being a match winner/star on a weekly basis whilst being developed takes time and is only realised over a 5 year span.

You add the above scenario to Suns players that are potentially homesick and the tide will never turn at the current rate. Either that or you have to expect inconsistency and below average outcomes.

I think the Suns and the AFL need to address the issue quickly. They need 2-3 more talented players or should throw out the kids rebuilding model entirely and aim to top up with mature, older bodied 25 and up aged recruits to keep them more competitive.

If you look at the list, you should also look at the coaches. What great coach was ever born out of the Suns? I can't think of many, and outside Rocket who has a long coaching history and perhaps Dew there aren't any coaches coming out of successful football programs.

You go one tier higher and look at the organisation at the top. Cochrane isn't really a football person like Eddie, Kennett or Cook are. Mark Evans was a good signing as CEO but its about filling quality all the way though from top to bottom at a club that counts.

It's not a great mystery of why the Suns aren't working, it's all there and plain to see.

 

[Sonny Hayes]

He has f’ed us

Yeah nah with how bad they are he definitely deserves criticism but this is a club wide issue.

 

[Sonny Hayes]

Why? How much influence do they really have on the Football Department?

Almost certain the Saints bending the Hawks over in that pick swap when trading for O’meara was down to Cochrane taking the reins and saying no to an offer from the Hawks, just to accept a worse offer at the deadline.

 

[HairyO]

Almost certain the Saints bending the Hawks over in that pick swap when trading for O’meara was down to Cochrane taking the reins and saying no to an offer from the Hawks, just to accept a worse offer at the deadline.

Yep. Cochrane declared it a win when the Sunds ended up with worse picks than Hawthorn first offered and thry showed their players how badly they would try to **** them up if they dared to leave.

Now THATS how to run a football team !

 

[The Nostradamus]

The President and the CEO?

Id say 100%.

CEO more so I’d say. Evans should arguably go before anyone there

 

[HairyO]

CEO more so I’d say. Evans should arguably go before anyone there

AFL installed him most likrly on massive coin but really nothing seems to have changed.

4 years should at least get some chsnges happening but what improvements could he point to ?

 

[eastfreo75]

It is surely obvious to everyone who follows AFL now that there isn't just ONE problem that can be just easily fixed before the club can be successfully in the future. I mean, this has been a club who has been around for the past 10 years of existence in the big time but has only finished ONCE above the bottom six bracket of the ladder. There are so many problems at the club right now such as on-field performance/development, player & coach recruitment/retention and off-field culture (just to name a few) that seriously questions me how a club can operate so badly on-field/off-field even with the amount of concessions the club has been receiving from the AFL these past 3-4 years such as extra draft picks, additional spots for players & free access to Darwin-based academy players.

The only benefit that has occurred from the AFL creating the Gold Coast Suns has been that it's improved the participation rates of people (Junior/Senior) wanting to play Australian Rules Football in Queensland and this is basically the main reason why Gil and the rest of his muppets will keep backing the club in for however long it takes them to become a respectful club in the league, only just for the long-term benefits/gains in the next 40-50 years, which don't get me wrong is a very good move for the league in developing more Queensland players to the sport and in the professional league.

I think the main overall arching problem that suggests to me why the Gold Coast are still the basket-case of the league (10 years later) though, is that there is no real on-field/off-field culture that shows no real emphasis on development, improvement, sacrifice, commitment & leadership for players, coaches, board members and the club alike, with the club feeling like a washed up franchise, with no real soul/purpose and who is only really there to make up the numbers in the competition to be completely honest with you. You only really have to look at the club across the highway (Brisbane) to demonstrate to the Suns (again) how to truly rebuild a club properly (on-field/off-field) from the bottom down to a high-performance setting & culture which emphasises teamwork, leadership, development, improvement & sacrifice for everyone to be involved with, and this has been all thanks to what Fages, Nobes, Swanny & the rest of the peers have produced the past 5 years.

For example, instead of bringing up the best young talent every single year like they do, the AFL should help the Suns bring up experienced heads/players like Pendlebury, N.Jones, Hurn, T.Walker, Mayne or Gray to name a few for 2-3 years to help build the on-field/off-field standards & culture at the club down and also help provide match-day experience & development for the younger players at the club like Rowell, Anderson, Rankine, Lukosius & King for example. Hell, it might even want more good players from the other 17 clubs during the trade-period that wanted to join the Suns as a result cause they get the chance to play & train with those experienced superstars above.

The AFL will obviously be giving them more concessions in the future (in the form of draft-picks/more money) though, if this year becomes a disaster again, but one has to now wonder how long the AFL can keep doing this for before it comes too hard of a mission to save the club. Especially, when you look at the world today with COVID occurring and in the future, will the next CEO of the AFL be willing to fork out $25-30 million per year to a struggling club with no real soul or purpose still or will they use that money or something else and either broaden the horizens of the club (Northern Suns) or disband the club altogether pretty much.

If I was the CEO of the AFL right now, and the concessions still don't improve the club, I would be seriously considering informing the Kangaroos to merge with the Gold Coast like what was proposed 15 years ago to them (like it or not) to to help create the "Gold Coast Kangaroos" similar to how Fitzroy/Brisbane situation and install Noble as the head coach there as that leading father figure at the club, with Dew being an senior assistant there, while Tasmania can then receive their own stand-alone club license in the big league (Tasmania Devils) and help build the presence of Australian Rules Football in Tasmania like how it was in the past time, with the competition also staying at 18 clubs in the foreseeable future as well.

The club isn't dead yet at the moment don't get me wrong, but it is in a really bad coma that the AFL really needs to fix, otherwise this situation will become worse and worse until it is too late and the AFL will have to switch off the club's life machine, as it would become too hard to repair in the future.

100% about bringing in senior leaders with great work ethics and training standards.

Mayne - will not cost much and is a hard body and has played in all three areas and wants to coach.

Hodge did wonders for the Lions.

Hurn or Pendleberry would be great.

If you could get at least one senior player/coach on each line that would be great.

 

[Power Raid]

It has come to the point where no individual can be blamed for the Gold Coast's performance. The club has been a failure on the park, with the benchmark being its sister club of the Giants and its big brother the Lions.

The question is "where to from here?"

Tassie wants a side and 18 teams is probably too many let alone a 19th side which creates a bye.

Personally I was supportive of the expansion and remain so. So giving up on the Gold Coast is not my preferred option. The AFL must step in and work with the club from top to bottom.

Giving the club a heap of salary cap to attract mature 26-29yo leaders is a must to create competitiveness on the park and discipline off the park. Building the coaching panel and support team is the real key to turning this around. Then the board and business itself needs a review.


In short a whole solution rather than attacking individuals is required.

 

[The Nostradamus]

They should get Ross Lyon to replace dew

Ross will at least instil standards and keep players accountable

 

[RUNVS]

Rumour on reddit is that Lukosius has bought a $1.4 million property in Adelaide which if true is not a great sign.

 

[Chaisa]

Bizarre year, they've had some genuinely great wins but a lot of absolutely diabolical losses. They're still a young side I guess and injuries haven't helped but it's clearly a backwards year on 2020. Surely they need to be permanently on Clarkson's phone.

 

[adogsfan5]

Hi Clarko. Watch the AFL make him a QLD ambassador. Extra $1mil in the kitty.

 

[Chopperdave]

I feel for Dew because I think he has what it takes to be a senior coach and there have been quarters and even full games that have shown it working. They have been slammed by injuries and a poor list with no depth to cover it. If he does get the sack I would take him back at Port in a heartbeat especially if Voss gets a senior gig.

 

[RUNVS]

Hi Clarko. Watch the AFL make him a QLD ambassador. Extra $1mil in the kitty.

Gold Coast need a stabling influence on the club, just like Melbourne needed Roos.

 

[The Nostradamus]

Hi Clarko. Watch the AFL make him a QLD ambassador. Extra $1mil in the kitty.

Clarko seems ready for a well earnt year off

 

[Great8]

Deadset rabble, surely his last game in charge

 

[Strange Cat]

Deadset rabble, surely his last game in charge

I think it’s a bit unfair to lay it all on Dew, this club has always been like this …it’ll take a miracle to turn it around

 

[RowellAnderson12]

He’s playing the kids to be fair. Farewell game for harbs. I’m not his biggest fan but dead rubber game here, against my tip for the flag

 

[Bjo187]

I think they have to get rid of dew due to the risk of keeping him and there being an exodus if it's more of the same next year.

 

[Professor Knowall]

Clarko seems ready for a well earnt year off

... and Gold Coast will keep Dew for one more year ...

 

[The Nostradamus]

... and Gold Coast will keep Dew for one more year ...

They should get rid of dew now and bring in Lyon