Heat on Bevo?

[GVGjr]

Sam Lansberger from the HUN

HEAT ON BEVO?

The likely changes from last year’s top eight are — IN: Fremantle, Carlton, Collingwood, Richmond; OUT: Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide, GWS and Essendon. Giants coach Leon Cameron is gone while Ken Hinkley (Power) and Ben Rutten (Bombers) have faced scrutiny all season. So where does that leave Bevo and football boss Chris Grant? Unlike those other coaches, Beveridge has a premiership. But while the 2017 freefall was forgiven by supporters who had waited a lifetime for 2016, impatience has returned. The Dogs — 19 points up in the third quarter of last year’s grand final – are an average side who had the makings of an extraordinary list. Luke Hodge described Beveridge as a “broken man” at the post-game press conference where the coach questioned his club’s drop in preparation. Was that a whack at the professionalism of the players? The fitness department? Or is there a disconnect with the coach? Consecutive losses totalling 94 points is the club’s worst two-week patch since 2018. Beveridge said last week the alarm bells weren’t yet ringing. But the language on Friday started to shift to being encouraged by where this team can eventually get to. Sharp improvements from Tim English, Ed Richards and Rhylee West standout as the positives and Sam Darcy might join that conversation this month. After their worst six-and-a-half quarters for the season it is appropriate to start thinking about 2023 because this won’t be their year.

Also

BULLDOG BACKLINE

Two questions came to mind watching forward Mitch Hannan line up as an intercepting defender after three months out with concussion and a couple of quarters in the VFL backline. 1) How badly did the Dogs want to drop Tim O’Brien? 2) Have they moved on from premiership player Zaine Cordy? Footage of Hannan not watching Isaac Heeney at a centre bounce — costing the easiest of goals — was damning, perhaps more so for the coaches than Hannan, given his lack of craft and defensive mindset could’ve been anticipated. What was O’Brien thinking, having crossed as a free agent to play that role? Adam Treloar was also surprisingly deployed in defence as the Dogs conceded 100 points for the third time in four games. The midfield didn’t help on Friday night, and looked slow with Bailey Smith, but the brittle backline is statistically easy to beat one-on-one and easy to transition against. Sydney had 35 scoring shots – eight more than North Melbourne had been giving up on average.

[Grantysghost]

I thought the same, what must O'Brien be thinking and what did he do wrong against the Lions to condemn him to the seconds for an average forward who is returning from a massive lay off.
It beggars belief but we all knew it was coming.

Buckleup Buckeroos it's Bevo's selection lotto!

[comrade]

I thought the same, what must O'Brien be thinking and what did he do wrong against the Lions to condemn him to the seconds for an average forward who is returning from a massive lay off.
It beggars belief but we all knew it was coming.

Buckleup Buckeroos it's Bevo's selection lotto!

I’d love to get an explanation why Hannan was selected in an unfamiliar role in such an important game. Obviously the coaching staff had a plan and put thought into it but from the outside it defies logic and seemed destined to fail. What do they see & understand that we don’t? Will never happen but would be great to know.

[azabob]

This has been mentioned in other threads but what was very clear when the camera would zoom in on our coaches box on Friday night highlighted just how inexperienced our assistant coaches are.

I truly hope Beveridge and the footy department recognise this and spend the money required to get some AFL experience in the box.

[bornadog]

This has been mentioned in other threads but what was very clear when the camera would zoom in on our coaches box on Friday night highlighted just how inexperienced our assistant coaches are.

I truly hope Beveridge and the footy department recognise this and spend the money required to get some AFL experience in the box.

There was only one assistant with no experience.

[Grantysghost]

There was only one assistant with no experience.

Webb was Lyon's man at Freo wasn't he.

[bornadog]

Webb was Lyon's man at Freo wasn't he.

From Wiki

Coaching career

In 2011 he entered coaching, serving as an assistant coach at Subiaco. He was appointed head coach of Claremont before the 2012 WAFL season and led the Tigers to a premiership in his first year.[4] In October 2013 he joined Fremantle in the Australian Football League as a development coach.[5] In 2016 he was appointed as midfield coach.[6] In 2021 he joined the coaching staff of the Western Bulldogs as midfield coach.[7]

[azabob]

There was only one assistant with no experience.

Do you truly believe we have an experienced coaching group?

[bornadog]

Do you truly believe we have an experienced coaching group?

They are experienced, but maybe not all the right group.? As I said in another thread, love Leon to come back.

I heard the same arguments on WOOF a few years ago. People had a go that no one was challenging Bevo, blah blah blah, yet we find out when they are leaving that guys like King and Hansen continually challenged him, and now people are lamenting their loss.

Yes, they are experienced except Spangher.

[Happy Days]

I think they deserve some slack for essentially getting deserted by two long term senior assistants very late in the piece (in what was honestly pretty poor stuff from Hansen in particular).

But running back the exact same game plan with no real personnel improvements was a really lazy and arrogant choice after our faults were so plainly laid bare in the GF. So yeah, some heat for sure.

[Sedat]

I’d love to get an explanation why Hannan was selected in an unfamiliar role in such an important game. Obviously the coaching staff had a plan and put thought into it but from the outside it defies logic and seemed destined to fail. What do they see & understand that we don’t? Will never happen but would be great to know.

Bevo reminds me of Plough circa 1999-2002. He seems to preference left-field selections and match-ups over a rigid but reliable system, and he relies on the overall talent at his disposal to overcome any game plan weaknesses and holes in specific parts of the ground. Plough did it with his small forwards being rotated out of the goal square to try and get a mismatch (eg: Johnno, Eagleton, Garlick, Brown all kicked big bags when isolated one-out). It would work on occasions but it was never consistent and would invariably fail when it mattered.

I think Bevo would benefit enormously from having a strong tactical 2IC on his coaching panel. He is brilliant at the cultural and motivational aspects but I feel like there are other senior coaches who currently have his measure on the tactical/chess piece aspects in game.

[ReLoad]

Interestingly I heard KWW is down to the last 3 in taking over from Gil.

[DOG GOD]

Interestingly I heard KWW is down to the last 3 in taking over from Gil.

Is KWW even a real person? I’m not so sure

[Sedat]

Interestingly I heard KWW is down to the last 3 in taking over from Gil.

Not surprising in the slightest. Disney shares many similarities with AFL HQ culturally - overwhelmingly dominant in their respective fields, gratuitously inflated sense of self-importance (they are both entertainment organisations and nothing more), bloated and inefficient corporrate structures, barely concerned with the day-to-day core business and unhealthily obsessed with/beholden to big picture/off-field brand protection and PR.

KW-W's globalist corporate background would fit in at City Hall like a hand in glove, just like a Richard Goyder is. She is actually a much better fit for the AFL than she is for a tribal, passionate footy club. Being president of the Bulldogs feels beneath her, judging by her complete and utter invisibility and lack of engagement in the role over a 2 year sample size.

[MrMahatma]

In his presser after Sydney without saying it, he strongly hinted that our preparation this season hasn't been good. This isn't 100% word for word... just me quickly typing as listening.

"you look at it as what's gone wrong, hurdles in the way that each team faces, or look at it that other teams have improved... I won't make excuses... there's some relativity around it. The margins are small, close wins, beat the top teams... it takes an enormous amount of conviction, enormous amount of preparation, enormous amount of sophistication with what you do. I still think the sophistication is there but whether it's the preparation or the capacity to do it is just not there at the moment. There's a number of factors, but ultimately the competition at the pointy end of the competition has gone past us. We're going through some change. Going through some evolution in the back end. We need to challenge ourselves to get the best template.

The now is absolutely important for us but the future is critical to lay some foundations to set ourselves up for what happens in the future. Part of that will ensue in the coming weeks, and we'll obviously still endeavour to beat those in front of us".

So he thinks the sophistication is there - IE: The coaching? The plan? The skills of the team?
The preparation and the conviction maybe not? Some people not giving 100% any more? Is preparation coaching? Individuals? Overall fitness program?

And the last bit more or less calls out that we're going to turn an eye to next year. He can't say "we don't care about winning" but he was pretty clear that we're looking to the future. You'd expect a few changes this week, and surely one of those is Darcy if he's physically up to it.