McCartney urges patience

[bornadog]

link (http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/westernbulldogsnewsfeatures/newsarticle/tabid/4112/newsid/136088/default.aspx)

Western Bulldogs Senior Coach Brendan McCartney is not just a developer of players - he is a developer of people.

From the moment he arrived at Whitten Oval, McCartney has been focused not only on playing a good brand of football but also helping build a strong culture of teamwork around the footy club.

A true believer of a team orientated approach, McCartney puts his faith in decent individuals - people willing to work hard, put their head over the ball and help out their teammates.

McCartney highlights that a lot of the emerging talent on the Bulldogs list fulfil that criteria as opposed to just showing talent on the footy field.

“I urge a little bit of patience and I urge… don’t look at young forwards in terms of what they don’t do, look at what they are trying to do,” McCartney told Triple M Radio.

“Find out a little about their character and personality, how driven and how ambitious they are, how much they want to be better at the game and learn and listen and then make some assumptions.”

The ambition and drive of these young men combined with their skills and abilities out on the track is what buoys McCartney’s optimism and solidifies in his mind that the Bulldogs are on the rise.

“The reason I am optimistic with some of those kids is you just see them do things at games and in training and go ‘that is not average, that is really, really, really good play’ but then it disappears for five minutes because they are playing on blokes that are a bit more experienced,” he said.

McCartney says a prime example is forward Jarrad Grant, setting him the challenge repeatedly coming back into the contest - a concept Grant was foreign to.

“There is one thing we have worked on with Jarrad and I have done edits with him every week myself, it is just to come back into the contest and when the ball lands and bounces actually come back to the ball,” he said.

“The measuring stick for him is when the ball is in dispute I need to see him back around the ball and back in the contest area.

“That will get him his tackles and that will get him his ground balls and that will get him involved in the game.”

The result of their hard work is beginning to emerge - 10 of Grant’s 13 disposals against North Melbourne were contested as were two of his three marks.

So far this year Grant has also laid 22 tackles, more than half of the total tackles he laid in the entire 2011 season.

Further proving Grant’s growth as a team player, in six games he has amassed 11 one percenters (denoting a defensive act such as a block, bump, shepherd or smother) as opposed to only contributing 15 last year.

Another player McCartney iskeeping a close eye on is Shaun Higgins who he believes can be a mentor in the forward line and has the talent to be a game breaker if he does the small things well.

“One thing is Shaun Higgins is a fantastic person and this Club means a lot to him and how we progress as a Club is important to him - he is very much a part of what we do,” McCartney said.

“I have known Shaun as a person for a long time since he was a little boy, I played footy with his dad and have seen him grow into a beauty.

“He is adding stronger contests to his game, he is helping the young forward group learn more about the game and he is setting the forward line up.

McCartney says Higgins must take the pressure off himself to be the match winner and instead focus on doing the little things well.

“It is probably resetting for Shaun how he wants to be seen and understanding that he doesn’t have to be the match winner, he doesn’t have to go into games and tear the game apart because he has enough talent to do it if he does the little things well,” McCartney said.

The development of players and the development of people takes time but McCartney is well on the way.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Grant and Higgins are certainly performing a lot better.

It hasn't translated into big numbers or bags of goals (yet), but they are contributing much more, especially defensively.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

Grant and Higgins are certainly performing a lot better.

It hasn't translated into big numbers or bags of goals (yet), but they are contributing much more, especially defensively.

I am still to be convinced. Probably our two weakest players at the moment. When both Grant and Higgins play at better than 60% capacity I will very happily to change my opinion. Our lack of depth keeps them in the team.

[Maddog37]

And their talent. Hard work is what the coach wants and obviously some of the measures show marked improvement.

[LostDoggy]

link (http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/westernbulldogsnewsfeatures/newsarticle/tabid/4112/newsid/136088/default.aspx)



So far this year Grant has also laid 22 tackles, more than half of the total tackles he laid in the entire 2011 season.

Further proving Grant’s growth as a team player, in six games he has amassed 11 one percenters (denoting a defensive act such as a block, bump, shepherd or smother) as opposed to only contributing 15 last year.

.

Something which caught my eye was Gia's goal either late in the 2nd term or early in the 3rd from the weekend. Not Gia's goal in particular, but Grant's attempt to sheppard an opponent so Gia could go on to kick the goal. This is something that he probably wouldnt have done last year.

[Raw Toast]

I like the point about Grant's one percenters. He assisted two goals against the Dees with great shepards, and had at least another very important one against the Roos.

[Raw Toast]

Something which caught my eye was Gia's goal either late in the 2nd term or early in the 3rd from the weekend. Not Gia's goal in particular, but Grant's attempt to sheppard an opponent so Gia could go on to kick the goal. This is something that he probably wouldnt have done last year.

My thoughts exactly B-RadB

[Remi Moses]

You could probably count on one hand the amount of blocks and shephards we do.
Non Negotiable and Jarryd and Shaun Higgins must bring that to the table

[jeemak]

I am still to be convinced. Probably our two weakest players at the moment. When both Grant and Higgins play at better than 60% capacity I will very happily to change my opinion. Our lack of depth keeps them in the team.

So the two of our forwards apart from Gia and Jones who rely extremely heavily on reasonable delivery are our two weakest players?

Can you imagine how good these guys would be if we managed to organise ourselves from defense, move the ball quickly and cleanly through the midfield to them as leading targets?

I'm glad Bmac gets it, because you certainly don't. Essentially, apart from Gia these two are playing the hardest positions to play on the field, they're working their arses off to get in to the game with contested possession and tackling and they have the crappest delivery in the league servicing them.

Do you think Paul Chapman and Steve Johnson would be half the players they are now if they didn't have the best midfield and defense set ups in the competition working for them to get them the football cleanly and quickly? If you put those guys in our team, how do you think they'd perform?

You say our lack of depth keeps them in the team, that's fair enough, it's your opinion. Do me a favour and look across any team that's performing well and tell me who they have in reseve that would be better than Grant or Higgins. While you're at it, have a look at the way those teams move the ball and tell me whether their forward players in their first 18 would do a better job than Grant and Higgins with some decent service.

You have some reasonable opinions about the game, I've read them more than once, but to say each of Grant and Higgins is only putting out 60% capacity in terms of effort or output is making your whole contention towards their poor performance ridiculous.

[Maddog37]

Any particular reason we need to be adversarial in our posts?

[Mofra]

I am still to be convinced. Probably our two weakest players at the moment. When both Grant and Higgins play at better than 60% capacity I will very happily to change my opinion. Our lack of depth keeps them in the team.
Do you actually think players go out there to not try and only play at 60% capacity?

Which two players would you have in the side ahead of Grant & Higgins?

Both are best 22 players as far as I'm concerned and Grant's tackling has been noticably better this season (as has been mentioned earlier on other threads).

[DragzLS1]

Do you actually think players go out there to not try and only play at 60% capacity?

Which two players would you have in the side ahead of Grant & Higgins?

Both are best 22 players as far as I'm concerned and Grant's tackling has been noticably better this season (as has been mentioned earlier on other threads).


Mofra I agree with you.

Grant and Higgens are playing alot better and imo we set standard way too high for them!

They are doing a good job and are performing alot better then last year.

I doubt they are going at 60% that is really not a fair judgement.

Grant has increased his tackling and chase really as higgens puts his head over the ball more often then he would have. Positive for both imo :)

[jeemak]

Any particular reason we need to be adversarial in our posts?

No, there isn't. I was really tired last night, and a little grumpy after a long day of work and uni etc.

Apologies to NBP if he's taken offence.

[BulldogBelle]

So the two of our forwards apart from Gia and Jones who rely extremely heavily on reasonable delivery are our two weakest players?

Can you imagine how good these guys would be if we managed to organise ourselves from defense, move the ball quickly and cleanly through the midfield to them as leading targets?

I'm glad Bmac gets it, because you certainly don't. Essentially, apart from Gia these two are playing the hardest positions to play on the field, they're working their arses off to get in to the game with contested possession and tackling and they have the crappest delivery in the league servicing them.

Do you think Paul Chapman and Steve Johnson would be half the players they are now if they didn't have the best midfield and defense set ups in the competition working for them to get them the football cleanly and quickly? If you put those guys in our team, how do you think they'd perform?

You say our lack of depth keeps them in the team, that's fair enough, it's your opinion. Do me a favour and look across any team that's performing well and tell me who they have in reseve that would be better than Grant or Higgins. While you're at it, have a look at the way those teams move the ball and tell me whether their forward players in their first 18 would do a better job than Grant and Higgins with some decent service.

You have some reasonable opinions about the game, I've read them more than once, but to say each of Grant and Higgins is only putting out 60% capacity in terms of effort or output is making your whole contention towards their poor performance ridiculous.



Josh Hill has played some very reasonable matches for West Coast this season in their forward line being on the end of some laces out passes

[1eyedog]

I am still to be convinced. Probably our two weakest players at the moment. When both Grant and Higgins play at better than 60% capacity I will very happily to change my opinion. Our lack of depth keeps them in the team.

Fair comment. These two are probably in the top 5% for talent but bottom 5% for application. I actually think this is a product of Higgins' injury run and Grant's ongoing development. You'd have to agree that they have improved their basics even if they aren't kicking as many goals as we'd like.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

Grant and Higgins are certainly performing a lot better.

It hasn't translated into big numbers or bags of goals (yet), but they are contributing much more, especially defensively.


No, there isn't. I was really tired last night, and a little grumpy after a long day of work and uni etc.

Apologies to NBP if he's taken offence.

There isn't any offence jeemak as we all have our own opinions. My frustrations have been that both Grant and Higgins have now been at the Club for 5-6 years and both lack consistency and that under the extreme pressure of League football today that they can perform at the optimum level. An example would be how well Dahlhaus has been able to perform so well each week by comparison and yet playing in a similar role at half forward.
There is little doubt that BMcC has been able to make both Grant and Higgins have a stronger attack on the ball, however to be a really good team, I believe they are capable of being
much better. I continue to read your thoughts with interest.

[LostDoggy]

Grant and Higgins were the great white hopes of the club, Grant being a no.5 pick and Higgins exciting us all after his first couple of seasons. They have undoubtedly failed to live up to those expectations, and probably never will, so we need to change our standards for them somewhat -- if we ask if they played like superstars or game-changers, the answer will generally be 'no', but if we ask the question of whether they were solid contributors on the weekend, this year at least it has generally been a pass mark, if nothing more.

No doubt they are doing the one-percenters a bit better than they were, but it was a very, very low base they were coming from on that front. Also, I suppose we have always wanted more than one-percenters from these first round picks.

You can see they are doing their best, but Higgins looks incredibly, incredibly slow these days, his first three or four steps away from a pack look like he's wading through treacle.. often he would be put into space by lovely little handballs, only for him to have to hurry his disposal because he runs out of time so quickly. It's really sad his injuries have reduced him to this -- I remember him bursting through traffic only a few years ago.

[Mofra]

You can see they are doing their best, but Higgins looks incredibly, incredibly slow these days, his first three or four steps away from a pack look like he's wading through treacle.. often he would be put into space by lovely little handballs, only for him to have to hurry his disposal because he runs out of time so quickly. It's really sad his injuries have reduced him to this -- I remember him bursting through traffic only a few years ago.
I guess that's the rub - they are doing the best they can with the physical limitations they have, which why I think some fans get frustrated at the abuse they cop during the game - I don't know how anyone can honestly say they aren't trying.
Higgins on current output is in our best 22

[LostDoggy]

Josh Hill has played some very reasonable matches for West Coast this season in their forward line being on the end of some laces out passes

He's also working a lot harder, and seems to have rectified the attitude problem (to a certain extent, anyway). I'm happy he's turned it around somewhat and resurrected his career.