Roast The leadership of the Port Adelaide FC

On field leadership - well lack thereof.

Friday night - last game of the year - unless a miracle happens, players have to get pumped up so that Dons don't pump them.

Best chance for a good start is for NTUA to be sung in full gusto, finishes and then umpire bounces the ball and hit the ball hard with the player's adrenaline running high.

What happens?? The crowd belt out the last 10 seconds or so with the sound turned down, AND THEY CAN NEVER (pause) EVER (pause) TEAR US APART. I'm fired up, expect to hear the siren and see the ball bounced, but no nothing, absolutely nothing.

Close to a minute of dead time and I say WTF is going on? Bloody umpires! Bloody Channel 7 running another ad! I'm pissed off as I know the players adrenaline level has dropped.

After the game I find out Ebert was named on the bench and stupidly runs out and puts himself in the middle before the first bounce and sends one of the kids to the bench. Emergency umpire picks it up, tells the main umpires, using the microphone and earpiece set up, whats going on, so there is this delay. Know the rules boys and girls!

It's nothing major, it didn't cost us the game, but just another utensil up of leaders not knowing what is going on.

The club tells us, as a crowd we can have an influence on the players. The NTUA 1 minute build up is as big an influence as we can regularly have. Non thinking individuals stuffed it up.

As I said, nothing major, but just symptomatic of our non thinking season.
 
Oct 12, 2007
30,500
52,047
The Hills
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On field leadership - well lack thereof.

Friday night - last game of the year - unless a miracle happens, players have to get pumped up so that Dons don't pump them.

Best chance for a good start is for NTUA to be sung in full gusto, finishes and then umpire bounces the ball and hit the ball hard with the player's adrenaline running high.

What happens?? The crowd belt out the last 10 seconds or so with the sound turned down, AND THEY CAN NEVER (pause) EVER (pause) TEAR US APART. I'm fired up, expect to hear the siren and see the ball bounced, but no nothing, absolutely nothing.

Close to a minute of dead time and I say WTF is going on? Bloody umpires! Bloody Channel 7 running another ad! I'm pissed off as I know the players adrenaline level has dropped.

After the game I find out Ebert was named on the bench and stupidly runs out and puts himself in the middle before the first bounce and sends one of the kids to the bench. Emergency umpire picks it up, tells the main umpires, using the microphone and earpiece set up, whats going on, so there is this delay. Know the rules boys and girls!

It's nothing major, it didn't cost us the game, but just another utensil up of leaders not knowing what is going on.

The club tells us, as a crowd we can have an influence on the players. The NTUA 1 minute build up is as big an influence as we can regularly have. Non thinking individuals stuffed it up.

As I said, nothing major, but just symptomatic of our non thinking season.

Is it me or do we, as a club, seem to be continually the least aware of the actual rules of the game/recruiting etc. etc.
 

Tredz

Club Legend
Apr 30, 2011
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On field leadership - well lack thereof.

Friday night - last game of the year - unless a miracle happens, players have to get pumped up so that Dons don't pump them.

Best chance for a good start is for NTUA to be sung in full gusto, finishes and then umpire bounces the ball and hit the ball hard with the player's adrenaline running high.

What happens?? The crowd belt out the last 10 seconds or so with the sound turned down, AND THEY CAN NEVER (pause) EVER (pause) TEAR US APART. I'm fired up, expect to hear the siren and see the ball bounced, but no nothing, absolutely nothing.

Close to a minute of dead time and I say WTF is going on? Bloody umpires! Bloody Channel 7 running another ad! I'm pissed off as I know the players adrenaline level has dropped.

After the game I find out Ebert was named on the bench and stupidly runs out and puts himself in the middle before the first bounce and sends one of the kids to the bench. Emergency umpire picks it up, tells the main umpires, using the microphone and earpiece set up, whats going on, so there is this delay. Know the rules boys and girls!

It's nothing major, it didn't cost us the game, but just another utensil up of leaders not knowing what is going on.

The club tells us, as a crowd we can have an influence on the players. The NTUA 1 minute build up is as big an influence as we can regularly have. Non thinking individuals stuffed it up.

As I said, nothing major, but just symptomatic of our non thinking season.

I thought the same thing when it happened and was watching it on tv - a real WTF moment. If we can't get basic things like that right, how many other things do we stuff up that go unnoticed?
 

ozph1870

Brownlow Medallist
Mar 3, 2014
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That's it, no other leadership group bs.

Young leaders, it's the right time to give them the reigns, take their game to the next level. Clearly defined leadership roles with no convoluted confusing groups of faux leaders.

They're the right blokes for the role.
 
Wrote this back on September 25th 2014 in the Travis Boak Captain Coutrageous thread when things looked very rosy in response to a comment from Eddie Woloschek

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/travis-boak-captain-courageous.1023603/page-9#post-35309795
Eddie Woloschek said↑
Travis just continues to astound me with his leadership both off and on the field. He is the best captain in the AFL right now and by the time he is done, (stand by for big statement) may be the best our club has ever had. We might have to retire the Number 1 !!!

His mum Chicki in an interview on ABC radio footy coverage (The Inquistion) on Mother's Day- which is linked somewhere on this forum - said she didn't think he had much leadership qualities and was amazed how well he has done.

Someone at the club obviously thought he had something that could be worked on, because they appointed ex Governor and Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce as his mentor about 12 months after he got to the club.

I reckon Ablett is a better captain because he is coaching the kids out on the ground but its a toss up between Boak, Hodge and Selwood as to who is next.


In 2014 Boak had the support of Kornes, Cassisi, Monfries, Schulz and Carlile as older more experienced players. Cassisi retired just before the finals, Kornes after about rd 8 2015, Monfres played 1 more game after 2015 season ended, Schulz 7 games after 2015 ended, and Carlile 2 games after 2015 ended.

2015 was a down year and seen as an aberration and we ended the year 12-10 with 4 wins we would climb back up the ladder.

So a leader whose mother didn't think he had much leadership qualities, loses key old wise heads around him, who aren't really replaced, starts to decline on field, is asked to play a new role, has a lot more headaches to deal with on and off field, crumbles under the pressure. I guess its not surprising when you look back on it.

He can't weave and dodge like he used to, to get out of trouble, he gets caught holding the ball too often, has lost his zip and acceleration whilst maintaining a decent top pace, is usually fatigued because is asked to do a lot of useless running and therefore when he tries to go and do some inspirational team lifting stuff, he usually falls short and there is nobody else to take his place.

All part of the missing leadership puzzle.
 
The biggest issue I have with Boak's game at the moment is he's now largely unnoticeable, in a "you wouldn't even realise he played" sort of way. I blame it on his role more than anything. He played more midfield minutes later this year and though he looked rusty in that role - it was the most damaging he looked in years.
 

rogerjames

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 7, 2014
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We are too nice from within because we cop it so much externally. Nobody in the country gives us a warm pat on the back ever and it grinds everyone down day by day week by week year by year. So this regime set about building a strong base and establishing something that could be respected, but we stopped building on that. Essentially we are too nice which is a problem many of us have realised in many different areas. I made a post the other day about how ugly it is that we have put all these non-negotiables in place that end up hurting us. Bigging up Ollie as next captain wont keep a fire burning under his ass, you don't want to make it at age 23 in a lazy system or you'll regress. Pretending Ebert is too good for SANFL and sticking with that no matter what happens. Not being able to drop your captain cos its your captain and people would laugh at us. Don't mean to heap s**t on individuals, they are only a part of this nice system. Brad Ebert didn't know he'd come here and stop learning anything new, remember how he was brought in to lift standards? He's become nothing. Nobody at the PAFC has taught that man a single new thing since we got him back from WCE, how ****** is that? Dixon didn't think a real club would pick him up but then not teach him how to play real footy or correct his vision or whatever's wrong with him. Dixon in lesdership group?! Nothing against the man, again I am looking at the system, I could almost believe he was put in the leadership group because he has a beard and looks good in promo shots next to the other lads.

This s**t the club keeps coming back to about how they don't teach skills because anyone in the system can already play footy is ridiculous. They don't focus on the basics cos the players should "just know them". That's exactly why we look like a joke.
Agree with so much of this.
 
Apr 6, 2014
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Does leadership include the recruiters and fitness boss (otherwise known as the head of high performance spew spew)? I've tired watching us be so small in frame and weak at heart. I would welcome having an Australian Football fitness guy at the helm and a change to the recruiter or the blueprint of our recruiting.
 

Magus

Cancelled
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Why was Boak moved off the ball? Didnt we try Monfries in that high HF position in 2015 and he similarly went missing completely? We seem to be robbing players of their natural position and reducing their impact significantly.
 

PAFC66

Down a dark alley
Feb 5, 2007
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Why was Boak moved off the ball? Didnt we try Monfries in that high HF position in 2015 and he similarly went missing completely? We seem to be robbing players of their natural position and reducing their impact significantly.

He's not fast enough on the spread outside anymore.. his defensive game lacks. He's good in bursts
 
Mar 1, 2014
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How would that work? The only two we have any power to remove are Thiele and Fiacchi. As I posted elsewhere there are five members of the Board who had zero experience at running a football club prior to 2012. Those five people form a majority on the Board and George Fiacchi and Neville Thiele, the only two we can vote off, are not among the five.

I think it's Trevor Thiele, if it is Neville I reckon he would have probably run through a few of the campaigners by now. ;)
 

Magus

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He's not fast enough on the spread outside anymore.. his defensive game lacks. He's good in bursts

He looks a lot better on the odd occasion he's put there.
 

Visenfest

Chasing stability
Oct 3, 2013
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I think it's now abundantly clear that the off field administration of our club needs to be replaced. The club has become a shambles, and is deteriorating rapidly. The off field administration have no ability to stop the decline, and are in fact an active liability. If we're going to gut the club, let's do it properly.
 
Jul 1, 2014
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I think it's now abundantly clear that the off field administration of our club needs to be replaced. The club has become a shambles, and is deteriorating rapidly. The off field administration have no ability to stop the decline, and are in fact an active liability. If we're going to gut the club, let's do it properly.

Completely agree. This club is toxic from the top down. Hinkley and CD are both so far out of their depth, and the ones above them (Koch and KT) must be held accountable.
 
Sep 3, 2002
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Off field all this is true, but the escape of Boak and Ebert, as long term leaders, whilst we’ve been s**t, from being in the firing line is more s**t the club has wrong. Piss off our players who could be there for our next flag tilt and keep those who’ve failed over and over.
 
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Jan 5, 2013
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Everyone who was in the process that granted and agreed on the conditions of Ken Hinkleys contract extension should be sacked by the end of the year. I’ve been done with KT and Koch for a number of years now. Want them out of this club.

Hinkley will never get this club to a position where we are a top 4 team year in and year out, I think that is clear for most level headed supporters, so I ask what is the point of continuing with him as head coach. He has done nothing in his time here. Even 2014, we should had absolutely finished top 4 that year but we blew our chances late in the season and probably cost ourselves a premiership. But other than that one year we have been mediocre.

Our leaders on field time and time again fail to win close games. I don’t know how to fix this. It is concerning.

I’m still okay with the co captain role, I can see it working in the long term but right now you would have to say it’s been a failure.

Crowds are and will continue to drop if change doesn’t occur. It’s crazy that it has been 5 years of mediocrity and no consequences have happened
 
Now we have formalised things with the ADF, next October anyone in a leadership position goes and spends 4 weeks training with the bloody SAS in the WA desert.

That might be the only we we can fast track leadership. Use real bullets and real hardships - so that's Koch, the board, senior management.all the coaches, any player who is over 25 and anyone under 25 who says they want to be a leader. Stuff the AFLPA rules.

No going to Vegas or the NBA or NFL games. No Euro vacation and going to an EPL game. No Bali Bender.
 
May 26, 2017
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Everyone, KT, David Koch, Hinkley, Boak. All of them weak. It starts from the top.

Happy to be a part of the competition and just being mediocre.

On and off field we just continue to make terrible decision after terrible decision. Whether that be game plan, contracts, selection, media. Just doesn’t end. How this administration and leadership team can still be in charge of our club is beyond a joke.

Overrated bunch of trash.

I can’t wait until you’re out of my club.

Rant end.
"The leadership of the Port Adelaide FC" or the lack thereof, to be more precise.

President, CEO, head coach, captains... Not one single leader among them! At least, not of the kind we need now.

Now we have formalised things with the ADF, next October anyone in a leadership position goes and spends 4 weeks training with the bloody SAS in the WA desert.

That might be the only we we can fast track leadership. Use real bullets and real hardships - so that's Koch, the board, senior management.all the coaches, any player who is over 25 and anyone under 25 who says they want to be a leader. Stuff the AFLPA rules.

No going to Vegas or the NBA or NFL games. No Euro vacation and going to an EPL game. No Bali Bender.
Let's put them all blindfolded in a bus and make them listen the Richmond's song... Oh, wait!

Seriously, you don't build leadership, you discover it. There are different kinds of leadership, and there are circumstances that suit one more than the others.

If you do this, you would need to test people for all types of leadership. Besides, people must be free to quit without suffering much consequences.

Of course, if you quit everything, people would know you are not a leader of any kind — which is not a bad thing. It may be absolutely fine.

One can still be really good and relevant (even indispensable) while not being a leader. They simply cannot be in a position of leadership.

The Peter's principle is a thing; a very harmful thing...

----
We could have a list of all these "I have lost faith in..." threads. We may be missing some people...
 
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JUSTWORK

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Aug 25, 2013
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Now we have formalised things with the ADF, next October anyone in a leadership position goes and spends 4 weeks training with the bloody SAS in the WA desert.

That might be the only we we can fast track leadership. Use real bullets and real hardships - so that's Koch, the board, senior management.all the coaches, any player who is over 25 and anyone under 25 who says they want to be a leader. Stuff the AFLPA rules.

No going to Vegas or the NBA or NFL games. No Euro vacation and going to an EPL game. No Bali Bender.

4 weeks ? are you serious ? They'd be lucky to last 4 days with the SAS
 
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