Sharp Axes

[SonofScray]

Re: Sharp Axes

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2024/09/07/questions-answer-themselves-whateleys-harsh-thoughts-on-bulldogs-coach/?

Regardless of my position, I think this article is where the conversation goes from now.

Appreciate that folk feel this year was enough to see it out, I was almost ready to go that way if we won a final.

Now though, I don?t see why we?d delay. Different contexts but in the NHL there?d be no question about moving on now.

[DOG GOD]

Re: Sharp Axes

For mine, it’s not only beveridge but the playing list needs to really be looked at, especially the mids. And sanders is not going to be the answer to the biggest problem….pace.

[GVGjr]

Re: Sharp Axes

Yet we kicked the second highest points for , for the year.

Stats at the high level can be misleading.
It's actually very close to what we scored last year with Bont and West having a sharp increase ain the goals they kicked and the emergence of Darcy that really moved the needle.

Naughton (in 23 then 24)
44 goals, 35 goals (-9)
Ugle-Hagan
35 goals, 43 goals (+8)
Weightman
34 goals, 27 goals (-7)
Darcy
0, 38 (+38)
Lobb
24 goals, 5 goals (-19 but a lot less games and a positional move)
Bontempelli
19 goals, 32 goals (+13)
English
16 goals, 14 goals (-2)
Treloar
13 goals, 16 goals (+3)
West
7 goals, 25 goals (+18 and 9 extra games)

Sure some of the games the player completes can change the scores but I've called out the major differences.

I could go deeper but to me there is a sameness about who's kicking the goals and part of the reason why our % is stronger and also misleading when it comes to how people view our forward line is because Daniel Pratt has been able to tighten up our defensive unit. I'd also think that we often filled our goal tally against some very weak teams this year.

I don't agree with any assessment that our forward line is fine because we still aren't improving that much with goal kicking accuracy and it just hurts us when it counts. It seems to me that we lack some team work and leading patterns there as well.
I don't think we can't blame Spangher for this but the effectiveness for our forward line does need to be reviewed.

[Hotdog60]

Re: Sharp Axes

I fine our forward line is always congested and on a whole we don't lead to the ball carrier that much so I think the system is up the putty somewhere so that's why I'm heading Spangher. Should there be more spread more movement.

[jeemak]

Re: Sharp Axes

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2024/09/...lldogs-coach/?

Regardless of my position, I think this article is where the conversation goes from now.

Appreciate that folk feel this year was enough to see it out, I was almost ready to go that way if we won a final.

Now though, I don?t see why we?d delay. Different contexts but in the NHL there?d be no question about moving on now.

The problem with Whately's comments, and this is often reflected in media commentary, is that he seems to want to punish the coach for the things he himself got wrong.

- We started the year inconsistently after changing personnel on/ off-field and game/ approach

- We then started to play more consistent, high quality football and beat some good teams. But we still lost to Brisbane by a LOT at home and shat the bed twice in Adelaide

- Irrespective of the evidence showing we remain susceptible to lapses, Whately and his media mates anoint us preliminary final or premiership chances

- We improve our win/ loss versus last year, and visibly improve some areas. Our weaknesses in leg speed and quality around the wings/ flanks have been addressed to an extent, but not enough and can't be any further until the post season. Our inexperienced forwards in JUH and Darcy are still exactly that, but will be better off after last night (well, they should be). Naughton plays his part with three. Jones shows what a 34 year old might look like, Lobb plays really well. Our midfield shits the bed, with less being said about our ruckman the better

- We don't win the final. The media irrespective of all the above, just wants to blame someone so the coach gets it? The two major moves that really improved us this year were coaching related

How about we get media that actually understands what's happening? If Whately wants to talk about patterns then let's talk about patterns. We lose an elimination final or two in a row, we end up making a grand final pretty soon after. I'll be happy enough if history repeats itself.

[FrediKanoute]

Re: Sharp Axes

I thought we were a small too short in the forward line. It came out of our forward so quickly all night. We never kept it in there.

I'm not going to say that West not playing would have made a difference, but he is a pressure player and I can't help but think that we made a mistake there if he was fully fit.

We talk about being one paced, but to me Harmes is Macrae - maybe a little better defensively, but less able to find the footy.

Can't help but think that as we got closer to September we erred towards seasoned players rather than some of the guys who had played well to get us there.....Garcia (I know in and out, but his speed and pressure would have been great); Poulter - another who plays a role, has pace.

Also can't fathom playing Bramble up the field when he has been great n the backline.

If I had a concern its the way we lost - our pressure game wasn't there. Just like it wasn't there against Adelaide, Brisbane, Port Adelaide and a number of other losses this year. Just like the letting teams get a run on problem that emerged post the 2021 GF, this seems to be our main affliction. The thing is too you can almost spot from the first bounce. I don't think its a coach thing.

In terms of Bevo - he did better than I thought this year. Not just because of the finals, but because the way we played, who we beat was quality. We saw players develop. We saw the old guard take a step back. I like what I saw and I want us to step it up again next year. If we do he gets his extension.

[azabob]

Re: Sharp Axes

The problem with Whately's comments, and this is often reflected in media commentary, is that he seems to want to punish the coach for the things he himself got wrong.

- We started the year inconsistently after changing personnel on/ off-field and game/ approach

- We then started to play more consistent, high quality football and beat some good teams. But we still lost to Brisbane by a LOT at home and shat the bed twice in Adelaide

- Irrespective of the evidence showing we remain susceptible to lapses, Whately and his media mates anoint us preliminary final or premiership chances

- We improve our win/ loss versus last year, and visibly improve some areas. Our weaknesses in leg speed and quality around the wings/ flanks have been addressed to an extent, but not enough and can't be any further until the post season. Our inexperienced forwards in JUH and Darcy are still exactly that, but will be better off after last night (well, they should be). Naughton plays his part with three. Jones shows what a 34 year old might look like, Lobb plays really well. Our midfield shits the bed, with less being said about our ruckman the better

- We don't win the final. The media irrespective of all the above, just wants to blame someone so the coach gets it? The two major moves that really improved us this year were coaching related

How about we get media that actually understands what's happening? If Whately wants to talk about patterns then let's talk about patterns. We lose an elimination final or two in a row, we end up making a grand final pretty soon after. I'll be happy enough if history repeats itself.

jeemak, not sure if you listened to the audio rather than just reading the transcript, it wasn’t the worst discussion on our position going into next year. The club has a lot to think about.

https://megaphone.link/NTETP3625836195

[Scorlibo]

Re: Sharp Axes

Whateley is spot on. He's not purely saying that we should move Bevo on, he's saying don't go into a season with the coach having one year left on his contract.

We should be giving someone 3 years, and I reckon that someone should be Bevo. Honestly the decision on this should have been made at the end of last year. The list has already started the process of being transitioned, this is a new team and new era for the club. Next year Bont may be the only remaining Bullgod as a regular in the seniors.

This year has been a year of experimentation, and to have found the form/profile we did was nothing short of amazing. Maybe there was expectation externally to perform but internally they've been throwing magnets around and changing the way we play, knowing that we wouldn't challenge with the same team and setup.

If we were to take Bevo in with one year left on his contract, the pressure that creates on performance would be counter-productive to the experimentation and rebuild that needs to continue. Inertia is not an option.

[GVGjr]

Re: Sharp Axes

Whateley is spot on. He's not purely saying that we should move Bevo on, he's saying don't go into a season with the coach having one year left on his contract.

We should be giving someone 3 years, and I reckon that someone should be Bevo. Honestly the decision on this should have been made at the end of last year. The list has already started the process of being transitioned, this is a new team and new era for the club. Next year Bont may be the only remaining Bullgod as a regular in the seniors.

This year has been a year of experimentation, and to have found the form/profile we did was nothing short of amazing. Maybe there was expectation externally to perform but internally they've been throwing magnets around and changing the way we play, knowing that we wouldn't challenge with the same team and setup.

If we were to take Bevo in with one year left on his contract, the pressure that creates on performance would be counter-productive to the experimentation and rebuild that needs to continue. Inertia is not an option.

The club will know if they genuinely have an intention or a wish to keep Bevo at the club beyond 2025 and if that is the case then they should get something in front of him very soon. If they are unsure or they would prefer to test the market they should have that discussion with him now because an unsigned coach is a massive distraction for the club especially after every loss.
A wait and see approach to see how the season turns out before committing or not won't work that well.

We basically owe it to Bevo to communicate our intent on extending his contract or not and it needs to be done by quickly.

[westbulldog]

Re: Sharp Axes

The loss is still raw but we could look to trade Duryea, Harmes, Macrae and Daniel for starters. Weightman and Ugle-Hagan's performance was woeful and they need a rocket for not showing up on the big stage.

[Bornadog]

Re: Sharp Axes

The loss is still raw but we could look to trade Duryea, Harmes, Macrae and Daniel for starters. Weightman and Ugle-Hagan's performance was woeful and they need a rocket for not showing up on the big stage.

Duryea is untradeable - he will be 34 at the start of season next year.

[GVGjr]

Re: Sharp Axes

The loss is still raw but we could look to trade Duryea, Harmes, Macrae and Daniel for starters. Weightman and Ugle-Hagan's performance was woeful and they need a rocket for not showing up on the big stage.

Duryea has no trade value and he is out of contract anyway. Harmes is locked in for 2 more years and given his output this year wasn't impressive it's unlikely he would even want to be traded or there is an interested club. Macrae and Daniels might consider offers but we won't get much in a trade for them unless we contribute some of their contract to an interested club.

[westbulldog]

Re: Sharp Axes

Duryea has no trade value and he is out of contract anyway. Harmes is locked in for 2 more years and given his output this year wasn't impressive it's unlikely he would even want to be traded or there is an interested club. Macrae and Daniels might consider offers but we won't get much in a trade for them unless we contribute some of their contract to an interested club.

So who do you think goes off the list for 2025 ?

[GVGjr]

Re: Sharp Axes

So who do you think goes off the list for 2025 ?

I've done something on the list management thread

[Topdog]

Re: Sharp Axes

We had a huge review of everything, came 6th and lost our only final.
In reality we played 1 month of really good football, for me that simply is not good enough. I would be looking to move Bevo on now.