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  1. #1
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    Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    Rodney Eade knows the questions are mounting at Whitten Oval, and most of them so far are unanswerable.

    On Saturday night he was asked who might kick the goals in Barry Hall's absence next year, a large enough question in itself.

    He couldn't answer because he doesn't know if he will be there, but that is only the first on a list of unknowns.

    The Dogs face considerable list management decisions in the coming months, ahead of what shapes as a period of unprecedented change.

    Barry Hall will not be at the club next year, and Callan Ward is increasingly likely to depart for Greater Western Sydney.

    Ben Hudson, 32 continues to be a warrior for this club but he has been dropped this year at times and is no certainty to play on.

    Read on here.

  2. #2
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    Not a lot to disagree with here

  3. #3
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    Well summed up by Jon Ralph.

    We all know things are going to get worse before they get better, but it reading it all one block like that makes you wonder how hard is it going to be.

    Does Eade have the temperament and know how in rebuilding a young list?

    Will Eade be able to tap the older blokes on the shoulder and tell them their time is over?

    Can Eade cope with the pressures from front office once the members start and perhaps sponsor ship dollar drops away as we are a middle of the road club for a few years?

    Having said all that does a younger coach have the all the tools needed to do the above?

  4. #4
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    Quote Originally Posted by azabob View Post
    Well summed up by Jon Ralph.

    We all know things are going to get worse before they get better, but it reading it all one block like that makes you wonder how hard is it going to be.

    Does Eade have the temperament and know how in rebuilding a young list?

    Will Eade be able to tap the older blokes on the shoulder and tell them their time is over?

    Can Eade cope with the pressures from front office once the members start and perhaps sponsor ship dollar drops away as we are a middle of the road club for a few years?

    Having said all that does a younger coach have the all the tools needed to do the above?
    I think Eade has demonstrated his abilities to do this previously when he first took on the job. For me the question is does the Bulldog Coach Review Panel think that Eade has the ability to do it again?

  5. #5
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    I STILL think Rocket IS the man for the job!!!!!

    I'm REALLY scared If we go for an UNTRIED coach & fail ( like we did with Rhode) our membership numbers will fall. We had 8000 members fail to join this year for what ever reason and we played in the Prelim last year, how many will drop off if we drop furher in 2012.

    I still believe injuries have been the major reason for our bad season!!!!

  6. #6
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    Are we close to a premiership? Is Rocket the man to do it?
    If we are not close, do we save the money that Rocket would command and choose a young coach with reputable Assistants?
    Plenty of questions...............

  7. #7
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    Quote Originally Posted by Desipura View Post
    If we are not close, do we save the money that Rocket would command and choose a young coach with reputable Assistants?
    Plenty of questions...............
    You get what you pay for though. Skimping on the most important job in the club is penny wise pound foolish for mine.

  8. #8
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    Quote Originally Posted by Lantern View Post
    You get what you pay for though. Skimping on the most important job in the club is penny wise pound foolish for mine.
    That was the reason why we chose Rhode.
    FFC: Established 1883

    Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.

  9. #9
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    Quote Originally Posted by bornadog View Post
    That was the reason why we chose Rhode.
    We chose Rhode because he was cheap and we were slashing footy department spending. No one is suggesting we do that, the suggstion is spreading money wider in the coaching department on more/better credentialed assistants rather than investing a large chunk of it on an experienced senior coach who may or may not do a better job
    Western Bulldogs: We exist to win premierships

  10. #10
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    Quote Originally Posted by Greystache View Post
    We chose Rhode because he was cheap and we were slashing footy department spending. No one is suggesting we do that, the suggstion is spreading money wider in the coaching department on more/better credentialed assistants rather than investing a large chunk of it on an experienced senior coach who may or may not do a better job
    Generally speaking, the senior coach is the key to the whole shebang -- 80/20 rule. If we are getting great assistants and a middling senior coach, maybe one of those 'great assistants' should be senior coach. Besides, the better quality assistants you get, the better your senior coach needs to be, not the other way round -- good assistants would either be gunning for the senior job if they head man is someone they can't respect, or won't stay for very long.

    The exception to the rule that several clubs are trying out with less experienced coaches is someone with a big profile (you know, Hird, Buckley etc.) being backed up by a senior assistant, usually a formerly successful senior coach who doesn't want the hassle of the top job. Neil Craig is the one being talked about in footy circles, but I imagine there'll be a couple of others out there who could do as good a job as Bomber Thompson has done for Essendon this year. A Chris Grant, Scott West (or Chris Bond, for that matter) with a Neil Craig or Leigh Matthews backing him up would be an interesting prospect.

  11. #11
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    Quote Originally Posted by Lantern View Post
    Generally speaking, the senior coach is the key to the whole shebang -- 80/20 rule. If we are getting great assistants and a middling senior coach, maybe one of those 'great assistants' should be senior coach. Besides, the better quality assistants you get, the better your senior coach needs to be, not the other way round -- good assistants would either be gunning for the senior job if they head man is someone they can't respect, or won't stay for very long.

    The exception to the rule that several clubs are trying out with less experienced coaches is someone with a big profile (you know, Hird, Buckley etc.) being backed up by a senior assistant, usually a formerly successful senior coach who doesn't want the hassle of the top job. Neil Craig is the one being talked about in footy circles, but I imagine there'll be a couple of others out there who could do as good a job as Bomber Thompson has done for Essendon this year. A Chris Grant, Scott West (or Chris Bond, for that matter) with a Neil Craig or Leigh Matthews backing him up would be an interesting prospect.
    How do you know that someone will be a middling coach simply because their salary expectations are lower? Salaries are paid commensurate to experience, Eade commands a larger salary because he has substantial senior experience, a first time coach could well be leaps and bounds ahead of Eade in 2 years yet still be on half the wage. Eade himself was an untried coach at one point.
    Western Bulldogs: We exist to win premierships

  12. #12
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    Quote Originally Posted by Greystache View Post
    How do you know that someone will be a middling coach simply because their salary expectations are lower? Salaries are paid commensurate to experience, Eade commands a larger salary because he has substantial senior experience, a first time coach could well be leaps and bounds ahead of Eade in 2 years yet still be on half the wage. Eade himself was an untried coach at one point.
    Genuine question: do you think senior coach salaries are related to experience or to supply and demand? A coach in demand will command a higher salary, a coach on the scrapheap (or a first-time punt) will command a lower salary, regardless of experience, surely. I would imagine that performance bonuses and renegotiations/extensions after good performance knocks a coach's salary up, not simply experience.

    I would also argue that no coach is being paid below his market value -- a good coach being severely underpaid would be poached sooner rather than later.

  13. #13
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    ps. I'm not saying that an untried coach will not be better than Eade, but there's a reason untried coach's are paid less than a proven coach -- it's basically a risk discount. Are we the type of club that can take the risk of another debacle like Rohde? Would we survive an untried coach turning out to be shite? Of course he may turn out to be great, but it's a gamble and I'm not sure we're the right kind of club to be trying that kind of gamble.

  14. #14
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    The key question is this: Are we getting rid of Rocket to improve some specific, measurable aspect of the team, or just for the sake of getting rid of him because it's an easy fix.

    Much of the debate I've heard so far, even here on WOOF, consists of people mostly trying to convince themselves and anybody who'll listen that he needs to go because we've had a shit year and he's at the end of his contract.

    The facts are, he has great experience, proven ability (albeit unfortunately no flags YET) and his record with us over the entire journey is superb. He's taken a club well-known as perennial underdogs and transformed them into a professional force worthy of respect. Twice. Once at Sydney, and now with the Dogs. Perseverance is needed. For once in our history we need to give a bloke the time needed. Mick “The Greatest Coach In The World” Malthouse took 10 years to get the Pies there.

    I firmly believe Rocket will win a flag before he retires from senior coaching. The question is, will he win it with the Bulldogs?

  15. #15
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    Re: Questions mounting at Whitten Oval

    Quote Originally Posted by Lantern View Post
    You get what you pay for though. Skimping on the most important job in the club is penny wise pound foolish for mine.
    Skimping on Assistants is penny wise and foolish as well.
    Assistants play a key role more so these days.

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