ThirdLegUp
Premiership Player
- Apr 29, 2013
- 4,086
- 6,680
- AFL Club
- Western Bulldogs
I am writing this to try and help people bring everything into perspective, and help those who haven't fully recovered from this latest bulldog ripsnorter. Let us not focus on the infinite details, the bullets and the bombs as we huddle together in this trench. I post this for some acceptable clarity so that we can try and muster enough understanding and willpower to all leap out f the trench together. Not in dribs and drabs, none of us will make the next trench like that.
I feel the recent events are a lesson that we all must recognise and write down in stone. For we as supporters are not without guilt. I have done my soul searching and have found my blood lust again. Through the clarity of the all seeing red haze a lesson is there loud and clear.
Take out the board and the players and the supporters and the AFL if you need, but at the center, at the burning core you will see one error, two people, that caused all others to manifest in a domino effect which came to an end exactly where it began. The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions. The First Brick and the Last Brick was Captain Ryan Griffen
I will not go into the behind the scenes details which some have been told or informed with more or less clarity then others. What's done is done, going into it will only make things worse. But all our problems revolve around Griffen being made Captain.
Ryan Griffen is not a weak man, he is both couragous and brave, on the field, graceful and skilled too. We as bulldog supporters have seen this closer then all others over the years. and from what i hear he is a very likeable chap off field too. However he is aloof, not considered an intellectual by any stretch of the imagination and cannot be considered to take his football as seriously as Matty Boyd for example. None of these things are a problem of course, for Ryan Griffen is a soldier, a grunt, and he excels at this. But he was never born to be a man of Rank. We as supporters (yes many if not most cheered at his captaincy) as well as the club the players and the coach are guilty of taking Ryan's worst attribute, his quiet, timid nature, and placing it in the firing line to be abused at every opportunity.
All of the problems that have unfolded are quiet simply due to this, well intentioned, but disastrous move. With Ryan unable to be even a passable off field leader, who could speak, who could order or give a clip and who could be a figure others would be confident in approaching should anything arise requiring a leader to handle for them, the personalities that we have at our club were always going to become a problem.
Some could rightly argue that our last team to make a premiership run had more and greater personalities then this group can lay claim too. Yet Brad Johnson was at the Helm, and more then capable of bringing order to the court of the bulldog, not even the great AFL Loki " Acker" could bring about the clubs downfall, only his own ass being kicked out the door. When the smarmy, smart mouth, cocky natures of Minson, Cooney, higgins, Jones and so on (remnants of this time) are unleashed against our enemies it is a benefit to our football club and our team. The problem becomes apparent, when those very same assets become liabilites, as they are not truned off or curbed by fear of repurcussion should it be brought home to roost and fester. When the internal problems arose, the young had no where to go, their Captian stuck fat with his mates never taking a moment to assess how this would effect his duties as Captin.
Any communication between Coach and Captian was destined to go no further then betwen them, communication break down at the very first cup with a piece of string to it. This requires the couch to go to each player himself, which is not possible in todays climate. If a group go to the coach themselves, this is not little issue, it is a CRISIS! The Captain is vital.
Had something as simple as Matty Boyd remaining at the Helm,(something i and many others would have argued against) i am almost dead certain none of the drama which unfolded would have gotten off the ground. Boyd is a no bullshit type, all professional, no joing during business hours type. Any player young or old would have had their heads knocked back in at the moment their neck got a little long. And fued would have been mediated by Boyd and if need both would have been discaplined. Any player who felt they needed to speak would have had no reservation or hesitation to approach Boyd with Confidence he would do his part for them. The Coach, assisstant coaches, line managers, department heads all the way to PG himself would have had open communication lines. But with Grifffen, you have a deaf dumb and blind mute as the open line between players and everyone else... he just wants to play, not worry about all this other crap.
Macca's First mistake was even allowing Griffen to be an option for Boyd to approach. It was his first and last nail. Regardless of what people think of his ability, it is irrelevent. None of his genius or useless would have meant a thing had he not made that fatal error of allowing Griffen to be Captain, instead of Boyd, for one more year.
And in this, we here are all just as guilty. So you can hate on Griffen, for his faults and his inherant weakness of leadership which ultimately lead him to run from disputes, run form criticism, run from anything other then playing on the weekend and piss farting around in his spare time and keep running from anything outside that. The only thing that keeps Ryan Griffen from being one of those surfie bums who lives of the government is his football ability.He runs from anything remotely requiring work he doesn't enjoy, as weak leaders do by nature. Or you can accept macca sealed his own fate with 1 error, greater then all others. This was a tiny domino that appeared very unassuming, but when it fell, there was no stopping the effect as each one fell after it, gaining speed until they came back around to where they started.
I post this as a lesson learned. We cannot ever choose a Captain that is a weak leader of men off the field, for it is clearly displayed just how brutal that story ends, It stirs up problems everywhere, cuts them of from lines of communications and they reach critical mass. Not just the coach going, but the players divided, the board divided and the fans divided, the club looking foolish. When discussing the order of a crime, you follow the money they say, but when looking for the problem at a football club, you look for the face that is present in every situation. At the end of the day, Griffens presence and absence when he should have been present in most if not ALL the events both hidden and aired since are clearly there.
Many of us supported Macca, and some did not, and a lot didn't know one way or the other, this is fine, and probably as it should be. But all parties need to accept that whether he could coach, build or develop is irrelevent now. He made a mistake and it travelled the world coming back to kill him. End of story. Finished.
We cannot afford to ever have another Ryan Griffen as Captain, they not only destroy the club through their inaction and inability to lead men of many walks, but their own reputations too.
In summery, Macca allowed Griffen to be Captain = Macca pays the price, everything on the sides and in between is no longer relevent. If the next Captain is a true Leader = Any spot fires that remain will be stamped out very quickly, or they will be following Griffen and Macca.
Thank ye muchly
I hope this simplification, back to basics of all the info i have, some of which i haven't told and never will, as an approach can give you some peace if you are still anguishing. it is time to pick ourselves of the mat, and put the fists up, because the AFL and the new modern way is going to need a l lot of punches before we conquer it. Sure we still might lose, and vanish, but i'll be ****ed if i go down without a fight.
@BeMoreBulldog
I feel the recent events are a lesson that we all must recognise and write down in stone. For we as supporters are not without guilt. I have done my soul searching and have found my blood lust again. Through the clarity of the all seeing red haze a lesson is there loud and clear.
Take out the board and the players and the supporters and the AFL if you need, but at the center, at the burning core you will see one error, two people, that caused all others to manifest in a domino effect which came to an end exactly where it began. The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions. The First Brick and the Last Brick was Captain Ryan Griffen
I will not go into the behind the scenes details which some have been told or informed with more or less clarity then others. What's done is done, going into it will only make things worse. But all our problems revolve around Griffen being made Captain.
Ryan Griffen is not a weak man, he is both couragous and brave, on the field, graceful and skilled too. We as bulldog supporters have seen this closer then all others over the years. and from what i hear he is a very likeable chap off field too. However he is aloof, not considered an intellectual by any stretch of the imagination and cannot be considered to take his football as seriously as Matty Boyd for example. None of these things are a problem of course, for Ryan Griffen is a soldier, a grunt, and he excels at this. But he was never born to be a man of Rank. We as supporters (yes many if not most cheered at his captaincy) as well as the club the players and the coach are guilty of taking Ryan's worst attribute, his quiet, timid nature, and placing it in the firing line to be abused at every opportunity.
All of the problems that have unfolded are quiet simply due to this, well intentioned, but disastrous move. With Ryan unable to be even a passable off field leader, who could speak, who could order or give a clip and who could be a figure others would be confident in approaching should anything arise requiring a leader to handle for them, the personalities that we have at our club were always going to become a problem.
Some could rightly argue that our last team to make a premiership run had more and greater personalities then this group can lay claim too. Yet Brad Johnson was at the Helm, and more then capable of bringing order to the court of the bulldog, not even the great AFL Loki " Acker" could bring about the clubs downfall, only his own ass being kicked out the door. When the smarmy, smart mouth, cocky natures of Minson, Cooney, higgins, Jones and so on (remnants of this time) are unleashed against our enemies it is a benefit to our football club and our team. The problem becomes apparent, when those very same assets become liabilites, as they are not truned off or curbed by fear of repurcussion should it be brought home to roost and fester. When the internal problems arose, the young had no where to go, their Captian stuck fat with his mates never taking a moment to assess how this would effect his duties as Captin.
Any communication between Coach and Captian was destined to go no further then betwen them, communication break down at the very first cup with a piece of string to it. This requires the couch to go to each player himself, which is not possible in todays climate. If a group go to the coach themselves, this is not little issue, it is a CRISIS! The Captain is vital.
Had something as simple as Matty Boyd remaining at the Helm,(something i and many others would have argued against) i am almost dead certain none of the drama which unfolded would have gotten off the ground. Boyd is a no bullshit type, all professional, no joing during business hours type. Any player young or old would have had their heads knocked back in at the moment their neck got a little long. And fued would have been mediated by Boyd and if need both would have been discaplined. Any player who felt they needed to speak would have had no reservation or hesitation to approach Boyd with Confidence he would do his part for them. The Coach, assisstant coaches, line managers, department heads all the way to PG himself would have had open communication lines. But with Grifffen, you have a deaf dumb and blind mute as the open line between players and everyone else... he just wants to play, not worry about all this other crap.
Macca's First mistake was even allowing Griffen to be an option for Boyd to approach. It was his first and last nail. Regardless of what people think of his ability, it is irrelevent. None of his genius or useless would have meant a thing had he not made that fatal error of allowing Griffen to be Captain, instead of Boyd, for one more year.
And in this, we here are all just as guilty. So you can hate on Griffen, for his faults and his inherant weakness of leadership which ultimately lead him to run from disputes, run form criticism, run from anything other then playing on the weekend and piss farting around in his spare time and keep running from anything outside that. The only thing that keeps Ryan Griffen from being one of those surfie bums who lives of the government is his football ability.He runs from anything remotely requiring work he doesn't enjoy, as weak leaders do by nature. Or you can accept macca sealed his own fate with 1 error, greater then all others. This was a tiny domino that appeared very unassuming, but when it fell, there was no stopping the effect as each one fell after it, gaining speed until they came back around to where they started.
I post this as a lesson learned. We cannot ever choose a Captain that is a weak leader of men off the field, for it is clearly displayed just how brutal that story ends, It stirs up problems everywhere, cuts them of from lines of communications and they reach critical mass. Not just the coach going, but the players divided, the board divided and the fans divided, the club looking foolish. When discussing the order of a crime, you follow the money they say, but when looking for the problem at a football club, you look for the face that is present in every situation. At the end of the day, Griffens presence and absence when he should have been present in most if not ALL the events both hidden and aired since are clearly there.
Many of us supported Macca, and some did not, and a lot didn't know one way or the other, this is fine, and probably as it should be. But all parties need to accept that whether he could coach, build or develop is irrelevent now. He made a mistake and it travelled the world coming back to kill him. End of story. Finished.
We cannot afford to ever have another Ryan Griffen as Captain, they not only destroy the club through their inaction and inability to lead men of many walks, but their own reputations too.
In summery, Macca allowed Griffen to be Captain = Macca pays the price, everything on the sides and in between is no longer relevent. If the next Captain is a true Leader = Any spot fires that remain will be stamped out very quickly, or they will be following Griffen and Macca.
Thank ye muchly
I hope this simplification, back to basics of all the info i have, some of which i haven't told and never will, as an approach can give you some peace if you are still anguishing. it is time to pick ourselves of the mat, and put the fists up, because the AFL and the new modern way is going to need a l lot of punches before we conquer it. Sure we still might lose, and vanish, but i'll be ****ed if i go down without a fight.
@BeMoreBulldog
