Sharp Axes

[meenies]

Re: Sharp Axes

15. Bailey Smith to hit a target inside 50 that's wearing red,white and blue

Ask him to aim for the opposition player when kicking it forward?

[D Mitchell]

Re: Sharp Axes

Lay of young Smith. This young bloke wins his own ball, the hallmark of the 2016 team. That's the quality that has disappeared from the team ethos, why a team that should be verging on top 4 is unlikely to make top 8. OK, he's not, yet, Nathan Buckley, the best deliverer into the forward line I've ever seen but will anyone ever be that good ? 4 times U 22 selection.

[D Mitchell]

Re: Sharp Axes

Thanks, Boots. I don't like his penchant for social media, 'tache or mullet but I love his footy.

[mjp]

Re: Sharp Axes

No idea, that?ll be decided by a selection panel of experienced people who a) know the landscape and who has had what roles at other successful clubs and b) will be privy to an application/presentation from said person as to their vision for the club.

Your standard punter, ie me & presumably everyone else here - will never know but that doesn?t mean there?s not a number options there. Did you know anything about Bev or say Mccrae before they were appointed? I sure didn?t.

There?s a number of guys who, from the outside, have had key roles at successful clubs ie Carr, Chaplin, Yze, etc who could all be options

I mean no disrespect but this whole line of thinking reminds me of the "I'm someone else" scene from the Simpsons where Homer is elected as the manager of sanitation or whatever it is in Springfield - on the sole basis that "he's someone else". I do 100% agree that we (well, not you and me but the footy club) should work out whether or not Bevo is 'the man' and THEN look at the market vs doing what GC have done and appoint a coach without testing the market but at the same time, if we assume that the sum total of any coaches value is on display each Saturday afternoon then we're probably kidding ourselves. That might sound stupid after we've lost to the 16th and 18th placed teams two weeks in a row but...

I'll say it again but I can see reasons for Bevo to stay but at the same time understand why so many are frustrated with him right now - essentially I'm not scared of a change. But saying you want a coach (sorry, I refuse to say head coach 'cos it's just too American for me) who doesn't make as many 'shit decisions'...I kind of feel the opposite. I want a coach who is willing to risk it for the biscuit - I laugh about some elements of the Bevo era (and what I have called selection Bingo does drive me crazy) but say what you will, his willingness to be different is behind a lot of our success.

O'Donnell is the latest example but there have been a lot over the journey.

I mentioned this a few weeks back but in many ways I wish Bevo would RETURN to some of his old philosophies where we rotated so many more players through the centre square (Champion Data basically invented a position - mid forward - because of this back in 2015) rather than put so much load onto so few - but I suspect his lack of trust in the non-Bont brigade is part of this...In short - I think Bevo has the capacity within him to orchestrate a turn-around...but unity throughout the club - board, admin, footy staff and players is the first step. If that can't be achieved with him at the helm then I might be persuaded just to vote for 'someone else'.

[D Mitchell]

Re: Sharp Axes

I'm with MJP here. I remember when we "rotated so many more players through the centre square (Champion Data basically invented a position - mid forward - because of this back in 2015)" a time when he turned a rising full back and an iffy tall forward into Premiership winning ruckmen, more for their work around the ground, particularly in the case of Boyd. I don't know what's going wrong but it can't be as simplistic as to blame the coach, especially this coach.

[lemmon]

Re: Sharp Axes

I mentioned this a few weeks back but in many ways I wish Bevo would RETURN to some of his old philosophies where we rotated so many more players through the centre square (Champion Data basically invented a position - mid forward - because of this back in 2015) rather than put so much load onto so few - but I suspect his lack of trust in the non-Bont brigade is part of this...

Not on topic of the thread, but it's a totally bizarre change in philosophy when you consider that on-paper, the midfield/midfield players we've put out throughout 2023 is far superior to the midfield that played most of 2015.

The guys rolling through the midfield in the 2015 Elim Final against Adelaide were a second-year Bont, a third-year Macrae, Mitch Wallis, Picken, Dalhaus, Minson and Lin Jong. On paper at least, I don't think that midfield lays a glove on Treloar, Bont, Libba, Smith, Daniel, English and Macrae (though he's not what he was).

I'd have expected that with more talented midfield players on the park, you'd be more inclined to run more of them through the middle

[Bornadog]

Re: Sharp Axes

Not on topic of the thread, but it's a totally bizarre change in philosophy when you consider that on-paper, the midfield/midfield players we've put out throughout 2023 is far superior to the midfield that played most of 2015.

The guys rolling through the midfield in the 2015 Elim Final against Adelaide were a second-year Bont, a third-year Macrae, Mitch Wallis, Picken, Dalhaus, Minson and Lin Jong. On paper at least, I don't think that midfield lays a glove on Treloar, Bont, Libba, Smith, Daniel, English and Macrae (though he's not what he was).

I'd have expected that with more talented midfield players on the park, you'd be more inclined to run more of them through the middle

I said this a month or so ago, but do we think with Lade coming in and coaching midfield, that we have changed for the worst? Something is different this year and he is one change that I can think of that would influence midfield.

[D Mitchell]

Re: Sharp Axes

Whilst it's not for me to be interpreting another bloke's posts, it's the Coach's work rather than the quality or experience of the players. Bev is prepared to push boundaries. Maybe an Eade is a better coach for this group than a Bev. Bev won us a flag in his second year.

[SonofScray]

Re: Sharp Axes

John and Eade's defence of Bevo didn't fly with me.

Gist was, he should stay and, that if he can re-invent himself, change his methods, change his message, then we'll be ok.

Excuse me?

"Eade suggests Beveridge still has plenty to offer, but only if he can evolve, tweak things on the run and change his messaging."


He can still be a good coach, Bevo, all he has to do is stop being Bevo.

Strikes me that no-one linked to the club wants to be the one to shoot Bambi.

[Danjul]

Re: Sharp Axes

Lay of young Smith. This young bloke wins his own ball, the hallmark of the 2016 team. That's the quality that has disappeared from the team ethos, why a team that should be verging on top 4 is unlikely to make top 8. OK, he's not, yet, Nathan Buckley, the best deliverer into the forward line I've ever seen but will anyone ever be that good ? 4 times U 22 selection.

All Smith has to do to be a consistent champion Is slow down. His focus on speed is the problem.

[JanLorMill]

Re: Sharp Axes

He can still be a good coach, Bevo, all he has to do is stop being Bevo.

Strikes me that no-one linked to the club wants to be the one to shoot Bambi.

Baines and KWW have been proved to be either be invisible or not wanting to rock the boat.
Darcy and Grant are too close to Bevo.

[Boots]

Re: Sharp Axes

So following the media stories and that ridiculous BigFooty thread, it seems like the most likely outcome is:

- Bevo stays
- new assistants, including perhaps one ex-senior coach if we're lucky
- possibly some change in the higher-level off-field execs

That feels like a good compromise! A bit of stability, a bit of change, the chance of a Hardwick-like recuperation or resurrection for Bevo, the possibility of a less frustrating season in 2024.

[JanLorMill]

Re: Sharp Axes

So following the media stories and that ridiculous BigFooty thread, it seems like the most likely outcome is:

- Bevo stays
- new assistants, including perhaps one ex-senior coach if we're lucky
- possibly some change in the higher-level off-field execs

That feels like a good compromise! A bit of stability, a bit of change, the chance of a Hardwick-like recuperation or resurrection for Bevo, the possibility of a less frustrating season in 2024.

A new senior assistant to replace the current senior assistant who is contracted for next year?

[jeemak]

Re: Sharp Axes

The comparisons to Hardwick's situation in 2016 aren't fantastic. I mean I'd love for there to be a transformation and for us to win three flags, but a bit of respect is due given Bevo has actually won a flag, made an additional grand final, and another five finals series placing him as our best ever coach - or at least most successful.

[angelopetraglia]

Re: Sharp Axes

Beveridge was overruled on long-time assistant Smith’s exit
Jake Nial

The Western Bulldogs hierarchy overruled senior coach Luke Beveridge in their decision to part with long-time assistant and popular former player Rohan Smith.

According to two well-placed club sources familiar with the situation who requested anonymity because of its sensitivity, Beveridge had wanted Smith to be retained in the coaching panel, but the club’s football boss Chris Grant, with the backing of chief executive Ameet Bains, ruled that change was needed in the coaching panel for 2024 after a disappointing season.

Beveridge, however, has accepted that Smith, a 300-game star of the 1990s and 2000s, would not be offered a contract for next year, one club source explained. Smith had been the club’s back-line coach for several years, a role he also filled during the Bulldogs’ extraordinary 2016 premiership.

Beveridge’s resistance to the Smith call is viewed as consistent with his fierce loyalty to those he works with.

That Beveridge was forced to accept the hierarchy’s wishes for change in his coaching panel is a measure of how the senior coach’s control of football decisions has been reduced to an extent during what the Bulldogs acknowledge has been a disappointing season to date.

As the club’s only premiership coach since 1954 and only coach to reach a grand final since 1961 (he’s reached two), Beveridge has wielded significant power within the football department, but the Bulldogs believe change around him is necessary for the club’s sake.

The Bulldogs have chosen to address their failings by making changes in the football department, including to the coaching panel, to better support Beveridge, who has lost the experienced assistant coaches Ash Hansen (Carlton), Steven King (Gold Coast), Daniel Giansiracusa (Essendon), Joel Corey (Fremantle), Jordan Russell and Dale Morris since 2020. Hansen, King and Giansiracusa all departed to advance their careers, leaving the Dogs light on for experience and arguably increased the reliance and strain on Beveridge in a less-resourced football operation.

Corey, Russell and Morris were casualties of the COVID cutbacks to football budgets.

The Bulldogs have publicly backed Beveridge to remain senior coach for next year, as put on the record by Grant on Monday on SEN radio.

Beveridge is contracted to coach the Bulldogs for another two years, but, as with most other clubs, there is protection for the club if there’s an earlier parting. He signed a two-year contract extension in December, having coached the club since 2015.

Beveridge retains significant support from the board, especially from football director and former star and media commentator Luke Darcy, who was on the panel that recommended Beveridge as senior coach.

The Bulldogs view is that the team has under-performed, relative to its talent, and that some players have not played at their usual stellar levels, including gun midfielder Jack Macrae, rebounding playmaker Caleb Daniel and, to a degree, hard-running midfielder Bailey Smith.

While Smith is under contract for next year, there remains doubt about whether he wants to remain at the Bulldogs, with rival clubs monitoring his situation. Smith likes to play midfield, but has sometimes been deployed on the wing and had fewer centre bounce appearances this year when used as a high half-forward.

The Bulldogs, while disappointed with the win-loss tally and especially with the losses to Hawthorn and West Coast over the past fortnight, believe they have been close to much better results, having been within eight points of their opposition in the final quarter of every game since round two, barring the Collingwood game of round 17.

Bains recently put on record that the Bulldogs believed they had a top-four-capable playing list. Internally, however, there is recognition that their depth is not at the level of some teams, that their midfield – while highly credentialed and boasting a generational player in Marcus Bontempelli – has little leg speed and that they don’t have the same level of star quality in defence as some top teams. They were hurt by the absence of full-back Liam Jones for several weeks.

Elite talents Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Sam Darcy, the son of Luke, are only in the infancy of their careers.

The Bulldogs, criticised for recruiting Rory Lobb from Fremantle to fill a forward/ruck hole, contend that Lobb’s presence has been beneficial to Tim English in the ruck and to Ugle-Hagan’s development.

Beveridge fights tears over Smith’s departure; Danger says commission not in his plans; Isaac Smith to retire
Making change while retaining the coach is a template that was followed by Collingwood in 2017, before their rise to a grand final, and Richmond in 2016, before the 2017 flag, when Nathan Buckley and Damien Hardwick were forced to accept changes in the football department and in their methods. A key difference is that Beveridge’s position is not under threat and that he already has a premiership.

Beveridge, who did a media conference on Friday and was busy preparing for Saturday’s crucial game against the Cats – which can put the Dogs back inside the eight before Greater Western Sydney play Carlton on Sunday – did not want to comment on the Rohan Smith situation on Friday when contacted via the club. Smith was unavailable for comment.