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Last edited by G-Mo77; 15-07-2023, 07:39 AM. -
Re: Sharp Axes
What we got wrong was only brining in Lade(from an average program) after having so so called serious look at ourselves internally at the end of last year.
The right thing to do was to back Bevo in but with minimal change we all now sit here again ask the same questions. Is it Bevo? Is it his assistants? Is it the fitness staff? the list?Grant?.
They should have cleared the decks with the assistants and the fitness staff and then we would have a much clearer view of where we are at. We are now at round 18 and we still have no answers for those questions. That's the big issue for mine.Comment
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Re: Sharp Axes
This is a very complicated question to answer.
The soft cap restrictions really upset us and I guess most other clubs and we lost a couple of good people like Joel Corey and Ben Graham and we had to let Dale Morris go who we had in place as a development coach.
We lost King to the Suns and had Hansen in place as the 2IC but even with a contract in place we also allowed him to move to Carlton. This meant we had to look for a couple of assistants and brought in Webb and Spangher.
When the AFL allowed clubs to put a bit more into the cap we then added Lade as the 2IC but in a confusing reshuffle we lost the experienced and calming influence of our GM of football Chris Maple replacing him with Dave Newton and expanded the role of VFL coach Stewart Edge and I believe Lade picked up some extra work and on top of that even Chris Grant picked up some additional duties from Maple. We also added Stef Martin as a development coach and changed the role of Marc Webb to focus more on our stoppages set-ups and opposition analysis.
With the history I've detailed that hopefully explains a bit of where we are now out of the way I'll try and answer your question of if we have the right support around Bevo.
In my opinion we don't have the right set-up around Bevo but there are some reasons why.
Losing Chris Maple I believe is a big blow to the footy department of the club and splitting the role across a number of others is far from ideal. I heard that Maple had started to challenge some of our coaching and selection decisions last year which created a bit of unrest and at the end of last season he quickly left. There was no transition period like there was when Graham Lowe moved on.
When the soft cap restrictions were implemented we lost coaches when other clubs clubs coaching teams were more prepared to take some pay cuts to keep as much of the group together.
The reduced head count played a part in a very frustrated Bevo last year and with an expanded team we've seen a vastly more relaxed Bevo in the media this year.
Some suggestions to put the right level of support around Bevo would include:
We need a strong GM of Football and be prepared for the coach to be challenged in a positive sense along the way.
We need to challenge our sports science team to see if we can get this team fitter because we don't appear to be as fit as some other sides like Collingwood and Adelaide.
We need some better list management decisions that don't see us maintaining marginally talented players for 2 years too long.
Bevo is a very good coach but he doesn't have an optimal footy department that challenges our performances the way they should.Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"Comment
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Re: Sharp Axes
We lost by 2 points. Yep it was a game we should have won.
Looking at the season as a whole its been disappointing, though there have ben some bright spots.
Rnd 1 & 2 - we got it tactically wrong - Bevo put his hands up and took responsibility
Rnd 3 to 10 - we win all bar one and beat some decent opposition along the way. We also lose JJ and Ed Richards to injury and are on the verge of the top 4
Rnd 11 to 13 we lose 3 in a row. One to the Suns which was disappointing. One to Geelong our bogey team and then to Port who are 2nd and we lose Jones to injury
Rnd 14 to 16 we beat North and then break the bye hoodoo and beat Freo
Rnd 17 & 18 we lose to the top team, Collingwood by 12 and a resurgent Swans by 2 in a game that could have gone either way
In terms of disappointing and unexpected losses, the Suns and Swans games stand out, but aside form that we have been pretty good, despite the injuries we have had. Don't underplay them, Jones is irreplaceable on our list. JJ off halfback gave us so much forward momentum we were looking at Dale and wondering why his form had dipped.
The challenge now is to win every game from here and challenge for the top 4. We can still do it and I think we have a list that can compete.Comment
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Re: Sharp Axes
We cant kick straight for goal , fix that please
Now we have no one to replace English , as sweet wont be played and Lobb is part tine ruck
If Maple left due to selection differences then i question the development of our players, and the selection as well.
Our skill level has gone backwards.
We jusr drop our marbles at the end of second quarter and teams get a run on goals.
Our game plan seems exhausting and teams just wait for the turnover in the fwd line to kick a run of goals against us.
Are we not fit enough or is it our game plan is exhausting?
We have too many ordinary footballers who fumble ir cannot kick: mccomb, McNeil and.VDM
Other than Arty , i dont see anyone else with X factor on our list.
The collingwood, geelong and sydney game just shows we are not a top 4 sideComment
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But then again, I'm an Internet poster and Bevo is a premiership coach so draw your own conclusions.Comment
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Re: Sharp Axes
Re Jones - yeah a 30 year old very experienced player who made an immediate impact on our back half structure something we had tried to address with Keath, Gardner and a host prior to that.
Re JJ - beyond me why the coach decided for 3 years he wasn't a half back and could be better deployed forward. Smacked of the very short lived move of Wood forward.
Regardless of what they were doing in previous years, this year they were a big part of our surge through that round 3 to 10 period . Losing them, Treloar for a few, Ed Richards for a few as well basically killed the momentum for the season and meant we had to play more of McNeil, VdM, Hannan, Baker, Poulter etc. Our injury list hasn't been overly long, but it has had some key players on it.
Where we are now is back with the pack, but we are a better side than our ladder position suggests. Ed's back. JJ and Jones in a month. We shape up as a much much better side. Agree top 4 is likely gone (2 games and % out) and we are in a sh*t fight for the last remaining 4 spots in the 8. Win games is the solution.Comment
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