- Jan 30, 2014
- 4,006
- 9,125
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
After reading the thoughts of many on the road the HFC has taken with regard to list management leading up to and through the draft, I'll post my own.
The HFC chose Sam Mitchell as its coach because they liked his work with young players. Whether that was teaching, or leading on match day, or his man management when they came up short in their execution, they felt he was the person to drive our Club's next assault at success.
Looking at our playing list, it would have been apparent that the established senior playing group were incapable of launching that assault.
Even under perhaps our greatest ever coach, the ones that had been chosen to continue carrying the baton post premierships seemed unable to sustain their efforts producing at or near the very top level of their possible performances. Once our truly great players left, most lingered at competitive, not winning their positions. When asked to be the new leaders and drive new standards, they stalled.
I won't mention player names, there are too many fan bois on here who love the individual and defend them above actual results, but what they served up was what we have come to accept as Hawthorns level the last 4-5 years.
Nothing has changed over that time to suggest they could find new ability or deliver different results.
So the Club watched, and internally I'm sure argued and schemed and made new plans and struggled and juggled those plans with Clarko to find the spark to return to being greater than the sum of it's parts.
Meanwhile, a former champion who went to another Club and by all accounts was given nearly as much credit for it's rise back to Premiers as the Head coach, returned to us. Our younger players were enamored of his teaching and ability to integrate.
And there were results to be seen and could be measured in the improvement of those younger players.
And yet, he was unable to unearth more from our most senior players. Titch gave his all, but found the team could not capitalize on it and in fact his play stalled any and all other systems to find a different way forward to success. JOM was simply above average, when we needed above the best we were facing.
A too old and physically degenerating Captain gave what he could, but the tank was running on vapors.
Pup never took his game to another level. Gunners was too often missing on the field, as was Impey and Wingard. Daniel Howe, once seen as the next anything, was just a bit part.
As a totality, instead of leading the next wave of talent on the list with their very best form week in week out, they seemed to be going 90% and certainly not acting as multipliers of other younger player efforts when Clarko gave them their trial.
So we've moved them on.
Those same players who couldn't take us where we need to go, most other Clubs - in fact 16 of them - decided two Banana Sunday Cherries would not make enough difference to their teams to deviate from taking a young 18 year old draftee in the Top 40-50 or so kids in the land.
Just three teams total for two of our best performing players, and we were offering to pay salary.
Let that sink in.
And those 'buying' teams were happy to walk if we demanded more than they were willing to give.
Some on here talk about being more devout or stoic or manipulative or convincing to procure better returns on their departures. As though to say they know it could have been completely different with a machiavellian figure manning our meetings.
It's such dumb chest thumping.
Don't forget, we are a Club currently engulfed in distressing and disturbing back stories of mistreatment of past players. Whether that narrative is true and warranted or not, we must very clearly be seen to be a professional and supportive organization that doesn't simply inform a player where he has to go regardless of his wishes.
And In attempting to give 'clean air' to our new coach and bring in fresh talent, we are navigating a difficult path that the headless chook media and reflexive supporters on here pretend is merely a game that can be won or lost with intent.
We are choosing as a Club to empower the youthful players to be leaders today, not tomorrow or 12 months from now.
They're chomping at the bit to do it, not fearful of some 70's style Collingwood rough housing because that game doesn't even exist anymore.
Our future is today. It's Sam Mitchell and his ability to create a collective will and game style that wins enough that it is self fulfilling and energizing. Because young players don't know and won't believe there are limits, unlike those older players we just moved on who realized their own quite some time back.,
The draft picks? Well, this place is hilarious for the ever moving goal posts.
One day we have to give everything up to move up 4 spots because we need to be in pick 2 range to be assured of a difference making player, irrespective of the fact any one of them in the draft could end up being just that. Does our entire draft history not tell you that?
Next it must be top 10, or top 15, because after that....well, who knows???????
Then it MUST be a first rounder, like pick 14 is mathematically more assured than pick 22, in complete disagreement with previously insisted upon Top 2/Top 10 shtick.
I think we retrieved what was available to us in trade return, no more no less. If you think we didn't ask/insist/make our faces red/whisper entreaties/dream up reasons/cuckold....well, maybe not the last....to get the most we could, you're just a blowhard.
When you next sell your house tell us what you got, I can't wait to piss on your payday and tell you you got shorted 60k, or after you negotiate your next promotion inform you that you could of had 6 weeks extra annual leave in the Maldives if only you knew what the hell you were doing.
Because there's ALWAYS that character who shows up saying the same dumb s**t, with zero actual insight and knowledge, dying to convince you they know better.
When in fact, they're the least informed person in the room.
The HFC chose Sam Mitchell as its coach because they liked his work with young players. Whether that was teaching, or leading on match day, or his man management when they came up short in their execution, they felt he was the person to drive our Club's next assault at success.
Looking at our playing list, it would have been apparent that the established senior playing group were incapable of launching that assault.
Even under perhaps our greatest ever coach, the ones that had been chosen to continue carrying the baton post premierships seemed unable to sustain their efforts producing at or near the very top level of their possible performances. Once our truly great players left, most lingered at competitive, not winning their positions. When asked to be the new leaders and drive new standards, they stalled.
I won't mention player names, there are too many fan bois on here who love the individual and defend them above actual results, but what they served up was what we have come to accept as Hawthorns level the last 4-5 years.
Nothing has changed over that time to suggest they could find new ability or deliver different results.
So the Club watched, and internally I'm sure argued and schemed and made new plans and struggled and juggled those plans with Clarko to find the spark to return to being greater than the sum of it's parts.
Meanwhile, a former champion who went to another Club and by all accounts was given nearly as much credit for it's rise back to Premiers as the Head coach, returned to us. Our younger players were enamored of his teaching and ability to integrate.
And there were results to be seen and could be measured in the improvement of those younger players.
And yet, he was unable to unearth more from our most senior players. Titch gave his all, but found the team could not capitalize on it and in fact his play stalled any and all other systems to find a different way forward to success. JOM was simply above average, when we needed above the best we were facing.
A too old and physically degenerating Captain gave what he could, but the tank was running on vapors.
Pup never took his game to another level. Gunners was too often missing on the field, as was Impey and Wingard. Daniel Howe, once seen as the next anything, was just a bit part.
As a totality, instead of leading the next wave of talent on the list with their very best form week in week out, they seemed to be going 90% and certainly not acting as multipliers of other younger player efforts when Clarko gave them their trial.
So we've moved them on.
Those same players who couldn't take us where we need to go, most other Clubs - in fact 16 of them - decided two Banana Sunday Cherries would not make enough difference to their teams to deviate from taking a young 18 year old draftee in the Top 40-50 or so kids in the land.
Just three teams total for two of our best performing players, and we were offering to pay salary.
Let that sink in.
And those 'buying' teams were happy to walk if we demanded more than they were willing to give.
Some on here talk about being more devout or stoic or manipulative or convincing to procure better returns on their departures. As though to say they know it could have been completely different with a machiavellian figure manning our meetings.
It's such dumb chest thumping.
Don't forget, we are a Club currently engulfed in distressing and disturbing back stories of mistreatment of past players. Whether that narrative is true and warranted or not, we must very clearly be seen to be a professional and supportive organization that doesn't simply inform a player where he has to go regardless of his wishes.
And In attempting to give 'clean air' to our new coach and bring in fresh talent, we are navigating a difficult path that the headless chook media and reflexive supporters on here pretend is merely a game that can be won or lost with intent.
We are choosing as a Club to empower the youthful players to be leaders today, not tomorrow or 12 months from now.
They're chomping at the bit to do it, not fearful of some 70's style Collingwood rough housing because that game doesn't even exist anymore.
Our future is today. It's Sam Mitchell and his ability to create a collective will and game style that wins enough that it is self fulfilling and energizing. Because young players don't know and won't believe there are limits, unlike those older players we just moved on who realized their own quite some time back.,
The draft picks? Well, this place is hilarious for the ever moving goal posts.
One day we have to give everything up to move up 4 spots because we need to be in pick 2 range to be assured of a difference making player, irrespective of the fact any one of them in the draft could end up being just that. Does our entire draft history not tell you that?
Next it must be top 10, or top 15, because after that....well, who knows???????
Then it MUST be a first rounder, like pick 14 is mathematically more assured than pick 22, in complete disagreement with previously insisted upon Top 2/Top 10 shtick.
I think we retrieved what was available to us in trade return, no more no less. If you think we didn't ask/insist/make our faces red/whisper entreaties/dream up reasons/cuckold....well, maybe not the last....to get the most we could, you're just a blowhard.
When you next sell your house tell us what you got, I can't wait to piss on your payday and tell you you got shorted 60k, or after you negotiate your next promotion inform you that you could of had 6 weeks extra annual leave in the Maldives if only you knew what the hell you were doing.
Because there's ALWAYS that character who shows up saying the same dumb s**t, with zero actual insight and knowledge, dying to convince you they know better.
When in fact, they're the least informed person in the room.
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