Top Dogs and Player Sponsors Night

[GVGjr]

Just spent an enjoyable hour at the club listening to Brendan McCartney sharing his vision of where the club is. It was a very analytical presentation and one of the better ones I have seen.

He explained the matrix that they use to assess each player. This is standard stuff but he is very committed to it.
He talked about how premierships lists are built and the time required.
He did a lot of player comparisons especially with the Geelong boys.
He talked at length about our boys and how they are developing.
Griffen and Higgins are being asked to do the heavy lifting to help out their younger team mates.
He explained in detail the reasons why we ran out of puff in so many games in the 2nd half of the season.
Tutt is still on the list and he compared him to a well known player.
Talked about Howard, Roughead, Cordy and Liberatore.
Really values what the rookie list can offer.

Boyd, Cross, Picken, Wallis and Smith just to mention a few are very much respected by our coach.

I don't want to go into too much detail because I know they are running a couple more of these nights and many WOOFers will be there.

While I didn't agree with all of his comparisons I'm genuinely committed to the message and the vision he presented.

The club and the coach need all of our support to make this work though and I'm fully behind them.

[Dry Rot]

He explained the matrix that they use to assess each player. This is standard stuff but he is very committed to it.


Can you please expand on this?

[GVGjr]

Can you please expand on this?

4 boxes (two up and two down) that rate a players position on the list. This ranges from learning with the right attitude to being someone who isn't improving to players like Boyd and Cross etc that exhibit all the right qualities you want in a player.

North, South, East and West of these boxes are core values detailed.

I'll expand on it a bit more once the sessions are completed.

He is very committed to giving players with the right attitude as much training as we can throw at them to get them up to speed. Used Geelong's Tom Lonergan as an example of someone that the Cats stuck with because he worked so hard. Believes they may not have won their last flag without him.

[GVGjr]

I should add that there has been 17 players at training so far this week and McCartney has been impressed by the ethic of the group.

McCartney talked about the number of training sessions Smith completed before his first game with us. You will be surprised how low of a number that was. No wonder he had a full body cramp in the game against West Coast.

[Go_Dogs]

Great post GVGjr, a good insight.

[GVGjr]

Great post GVGjr, a good insight.

The club should record a night like that and have it on their website in 10 minute lots.
I'm sure it would ease the minds of a lot of supporters. Not all but a lot.

[Dry Rot]

Just spent an enjoyable hour at the club listening to Brendan McCartney sharing his vision of where the club is. It was a very analytical presentation and one of the better ones I have seen.



I've never seen stuff like this so I'm quite curious. This was one of the better ones you have seen?

Have you seen many? And what is an example of a better one?

[G-Mo77]

Wanted to get to one of these but just don't have the time to get there. Thanks for sharing GVGJr.

[Go_Dogs]

The club should record a night like that and have it on their website in 10 minute lots.
I'm sure it would ease the minds of a lot of supporters. Not all but a lot.

Agreed, it's a good idea at this point in time particularly. I think the coach is very good at selling his message and I like his approach for the type of hard working and teachable players he is after. Hopefully the results do start to follow soon for him because it's a ruthless industry.

[GVGjr]

I've never seen stuff like this so I'm quite curious. This was one of the better ones you have seen?

Have you seen many? And what is an example of a better one?

I have been to a few.

I went to an Accenture function a few years ago and Alistair Clarkson was the main presenter. He gave a fantastic insight to how they recruited, how they managed their list why they moved on a star player like Peter Everitt. He talked about the culture that he had to create and the level of professionalism he had to get into the playing group once they moved to their new facility at Waverly.
Clarkson talked at length on why they had Roughead in front of Franklin at the draft and how Roughead presented himself on their Kakoda trek. Impressive that a youngster was so willing to do the heavy lifting and especially helping out vastly more experienced team mates.

Recently I listened to Gary Pert talk about how they built up Collingwood and turned them around from a debt laden club to a powerhouse.

Clarksons was the best sporting presentation I have heard and McCartney's effort today had a very similar message. He's coming form a long way back though.

[GVGjr]

Wanted to get to one of these but just don't have the time to get there. Thanks for sharing GVGJr.

Very hard for supporters based in the country or in other states to fully understand what direction the club is heading in.

I'm sure after a few more reports we can give you an even better insight.

[LostDoggy]

Thanks for sharing GVG, looking forward to hearing more!

[Redemption97]

Just spent an enjoyable hour at the club listening to Brendan McCartney sharing his vision of where the club is. It was a very analytical presentation and one of the better ones I have seen.

He explained the matrix that they use to assess each player. This is standard stuff but he is very committed to it.
He talked about how premierships lists are built and the time required.
He did a lot of player comparisons especially with the Geelong boys.
He talked at length about our boys and how they are developing.
Griffen and Higgins are being asked to do the heavy lifting to help out their younger team mates.
He explained in detail the reasons why we ran out of puff in so many games in the 2nd half of the season.
Tutt is still on the list and he compared him to a well known player.
Talked about Howard, Roughead, Cordy and Liberatore.
Really values what the rookie list can offer.

Boyd, Cross, Picken, Wallis and Smith just to mention a few are very much respected by our coach.

I don't want to go into too much detail because I know they are running a couple more of these nights and many WOOFers will be there.

While I didn't agree with all of his comparisons I'm genuinely committed to the message and the vision he presented.

The club and the coach need all of our support to make this work though and I'm fully behind them.

This is why I'm on woofnet. For posts and insight like this. Thanks GVGjr. Really appreciate it.

[BulldogBelle]

Just curiously, who is the well known player Tutt is being compared to?

Thanks heaps for all the info, really insightful and positive

[GVGjr]

Just curiously, who is the well known player Tutt is being compared to?

Thanks heaps for all the info, really insightful and positive

I left that out because so many others will be going to the next night. Be patient and I'll be happy to share a bit more. It's not a great comparison but I was glad to hear him say Tutt was still on the list.

[bornadog]

Thanks GVGjr, I am going to the Thursday night one, so will be interesting to hear Macca.

[GVGjr]

By the way, the before and after photo's particularly of our boys is a trip down memory lane.

I forgot how skinny the likes of Murphy and Cordy were when we drafted them.

They showed both pictures of Bartel (who McCartney rates as a great player) and the work that we need to do to get our boys strong enough to compete over 4 quarters.

[bulldogsman]

Thanks for sharing GVG. Looking forward to hearing more!

[LostDoggy]

Thanks for the information GVGjr, am interested if Brendon gave an insight into his thoughts on kicking skills, I get the feeling with the Smith pick up that he may think he can fix kicking but can't fix effort and ball winning. Might kind of give an insight into the coming draft.

[w3design]

Just curiously, who is the well known player Tutt is being compared to?

Thanks heaps for all the info, really insightful and positive

Montagna from memory.

I had similar thoughts to the night as the OP.

[KT31]

Thanks GVG, being so far away now it is great to be kept updated.
Look forward to more info once the nights have finished.

[GVGjr]

Thanks for the information GVGjr, am interested if Brendon gave an insight into his thoughts on kicking skills, I get the feeling with the Smith pick up that he may think he can fix kicking but can't fix effort and ball winning. Might kind of give an insight into the coming draft.

Kicking skills, marking and strength was a common theme amongst the presentation and the requirement that Smith's kicking needs to improve was certainly mentioned. He mentioned that if Smith had better kicking skills he wouldn't have been available at pick 17 last year.

I also heard a whisper that Rohan Smith might be an assistant coach next season. This was not part of the presentation.

[chef]

Thanks Gary, look forward to reading your full review in time.

Much appreciated.

[Mantis]

He explained in detail the reasons why we ran out of puff in so many games in the 2nd half of the season.


Are you able to expand on this one?

[w3design]

Are you able to expand on this one?

He mentioned that a young team will always be beaten by an older team in the 2nd half of the year. Said if you're betting man that's where you should head. :)

North was his example this year, early in the year due to injuries they had a fairly young team, towards the end when they had seniors players back their season kicked on.

[Dry Rot]

I have been to a few.

I went to an Accenture function a few years ago and Alistair Clarkson was the main presenter. He gave a fantastic insight to how they recruited, how they managed their list why they moved on a star player like Peter Everitt. He talked about the culture that he had to create and the level of professionalism he had to get into the playing group once they moved to their new facility at Waverly.
Clarkson talked at length on why they had Roughead in front of Franklin at the draft and how Roughead presented himself on their Kakoda trek. Impressive that a youngster was so willing to do the heavy lifting and especially helping out vastly more experienced team mates.

Recently I listened to Gary Pert talk about how they built up Collingwood and turned them around from a debt laden club to a powerhouse.

Clarksons was the best sporting presentation I have heard and McCartney's effort today had a very similar message. He's coming form a long way back though.

Thanks for that. Interesting that Clarkson was kind of talking about quality people like Macca does.

[Mantis]

He mentioned that a young team will always be beaten by an older team in the 2nd half of the year. Said if you're betting man that's where you should head. :)

North was his example this year, early in the year due to injuries they had a fairly young team, towards the end when they had seniors players back their season kicked on.

I would have thought an 'in detail' response would have had more substance than 'we had a young team in'.

[jazzadogs]

Are you still able to sign up for the nights, or has that time passed (I remember getting information about it but thinking I couldn't go, but I'm now free and can't find the information).

[bornadog]

Are you still able to sign up for the nights, or has that time passed (I remember getting information about it but thinking I couldn't go, but I'm now free and can't find the information).

If you are a reserve seat holder, then ring up the club for tomorrow nights session. Over 600 have accepted

[jazzadogs]

If you are a reserve seat holder, then ring up the club for tomorrow nights session. Over 600 have accepted
Thanks BAD.

Also, in relation to GVGJr's suggestion earlier that the club should record and release the info from the presentations, it appears they are trying something similar with the membership packs.

These all include a disc containing an interview with McCartney which aired on Fox Footy earlier this year. It does a very good job of selling the message and selling the improvement that is to come, so hopefully it gets the message across to some people.

[always right]

Attended a function today which featured a presentation from Paul Roos on the topic of "Leading for success". It was incredibly interesting to hear him talk about what underpinned the Swan's success under his coaching reign as well as John Longmire's. It seems there are many similarities to McCartney's philosophy.

Two pieces of his presentation stood out for me;
1. At the end of each season he got the entire swans list to rate their team mates according to their ability to uphold the on and off-field behaviours the team had identified as being non-negotiable. Even at the end of 2005 (premiership year) they identified two players who had lost the trust of the playing group. He didn't say what happened to these two but the inference was they were not at the club the next year.
2. I asked Roos about accommodating strong individual personalities in a team structure and whether someone like Jason Akermanis could ever have played for the Sydney Swans. He gave quite an expansive answer but at the end his response was "no". He believed Akermanis was simply someone who was unprepared to accept criticism....from anyone. He quoted Leigh Matthews who said that in his days as coach of Brisbane, Akermanis was more of a consultant than a member of the team.

Our club has taken on board the "Leading teams" philosophy...as the Swans did. With all the speculation on this board as to which players we should hold onto and which ones we should trade, it seems that perhaps the decision may not necessarily come down to McCartney but whether the players retain any trust in those particular teammates.

[w3design]

I would have thought an 'in detail' response would have had more substance than 'we had a young team in'.

There was more detail was backed up with stats. Mentioned young players blow up after 3 games of AFL in a row. How he left out the likes of Hargrave for Fletcher late in the season, knowing Shaggy was to retire. Probably a few other things I forget, as I didn't take notes.

[Mofra]

Attended a function today which featured a presentation from Paul Roos on the topic of "Leading for success". It was incredibly interesting to hear him talk about what underpinned the Swan's success under his coaching reign as well as John Longmire's. It seems there are many similarities to McCartney's philosophy.

Two pieces of his presentation stood out for me;
1. At the end of each season he got the entire swans list to rate their team mates according to their ability to uphold the on and off-field behaviours the team had identified as being non-negotiable. Even at the end of 2005 (premiership year) they identified two players who had lost the trust of the playing group. He didn't say what happened to these two but the inference was they were not at the club the next year.
2. I asked Roos about accommodating strong individual personalities in a team structure and whether someone like Jason Akermanis could ever have played for the Sydney Swans. He gave quite an expansive answer but at the end his response was "no". He believed Akermanis was simply someone who was unprepared to accept criticism....from anyone. He quoted Leigh Matthews who said that in his days as coach of Brisbane, Akermanis was more of a consultant than a member of the team.

Our club has taken on board the "Leading teams" philosophy...as the Swans did. With all the speculation on this board as to which players we should hold onto and which ones we should trade, it seems that perhaps the decision may not necessarily come down to McCartney but whether the players retain any trust in those particular teammates.
Very interesting. You have to wonder if the above philosophy was a contributing factor to Lake's departure.

[always right]

Very interesting. You have to wonder if the above philosophy was a contributing factor to Lake's departure.

Makes you wonder doesn't it? Also raises the question whether their existing culture allowed the swans to take such a hardline approach or whether the hardline approach created the culture? Chicken and the egg.

Interesting that Roos gave enormous credit to an unlikely person......Stuart Maxfield who was their captain at the beginning of this period.

[bornadog]

Attended a function today which featured a presentation from Paul Roos on the topic of "Leading for success". It was incredibly interesting to hear him talk about what underpinned the Swan's success under his coaching reign as well as John Longmire's. It seems there are many similarities to McCartney's philosophy.

Two pieces of his presentation stood out for me;
1. At the end of each season he got the entire swans list to rate their team mates according to their ability to uphold the on and off-field behaviours the team had identified as being non-negotiable. Even at the end of 2005 (premiership year) they identified two players who had lost the trust of the playing group. He didn't say what happened to these two but the inference was they were not at the club the next year.
2. I asked Roos about accommodating strong individual personalities in a team structure and whether someone like Jason Akermanis could ever have played for the Sydney Swans. He gave quite an expansive answer but at the end his response was "no". He believed Akermanis was simply someone who was unprepared to accept criticism....from anyone. He quoted Leigh Matthews who said that in his days as coach of Brisbane, Akermanis was more of a consultant than a member of the team.

Our club has taken on board the "Leading teams" philosophy...as the Swans did. With all the speculation on this board as to which players we should hold onto and which ones we should trade, it seems that perhaps the decision may not necessarily come down to McCartney but whether the players retain any trust in those particular teammates.

Thanks AR, always interesting to hear people speak. I personally don't like Roos, but great to hear about the way he went about it.

[always right]

Thanks AR, always interesting to hear people speak. I personally don't like Roos, but great to hear about the way he went about it.

He's a bit of a smartarse but there's no questioning the results.

[Cyberdoggie]

Thanks BAD.

Also, in relation to GVGJr's suggestion earlier that the club should record and release the info from the presentations, it appears they are trying something similar with the membership packs.

These all include a disc containing an interview with McCartney which aired on Fox Footy earlier this year. It does a very good job of selling the message and selling the improvement that is to come, so hopefully it gets the message across to some people.

Got mine in the mail today.

[bornadog]

He's a bit of a smartarse but there's no questioning the results.

hit the nail on the head.;)

[Pickenitup]

Im going tomorrow night its starts at 7pm how long does the Night gor for?

[LostDoggy]

Thanks for the feedback GVG. Can't go myself tomorrow night so really appreciate the insight. Will also look forward to hearing from others when they attend to. I like the message coming from the coach.

[GVGjr]

Im going tomorrow night its starts at 7pm how long does the Night gor for?


A bit over an hour

[GVGjr]

Are you able to expand on this one?


He displayed a chart for each game showing how many players we had with less than 40 games experience. In all bar two games (GWS and GC) we played more inexperienced players than the opposition.
As the year wore on, the number of youngsters we played increased and our results deteriorated. He went through the chart game by game and talked about where we let ourselves down.

He also talked about giving the likes of Roberts another run at it rather than just bringing back in Hargrave.

[jazzadogs]

Im going tomorrow night its starts at 7pm how long does the Night gor for?
Are you sure it's 7? I thought it was 6.30?

[LostDoggy]

My Dad and I are top dog coterie members and we received the following from the club a week or 2 back (before Lake's departure), as my dad was unable to make the function last night and i am currently based overseas. It was great to get such detailed feedback from the club, and thought i should share it with you:

QUOTE
Thanks for the email Frank, it’s a pity as hearing from Brendan in depth (he will speak for more than an hour) at this event and have time for questions at the end will be a great opportunity I believe for all of our coterie members. He certainly gives away very little to the media, however is more candid within the inner sanctum.

We held the same presentation for the Westerners a few weeks back and the feedback was fantastic, in particular from those members who held similar reservations and concerns as you do. Don’t get me wrong the challenge is there in front of us and Macca knows this more than anyone else as he’s in the hot seat. If I can get the presentation on DVD (which I have heard is a possibility) I will make sure you get a copy.

Having listened to Brendan a few times already at the end of the season, I’m confident he will mould the playing stocks, in particular with the high draft picks with some talented tall, strong, quick midfielders with elite skills who have been proven goalkickers throughout their junior career. Now that he’s had a full 12 months to assess which players he wants to continue to develop and which he doesn’t think fit his criteria, a good 25% of our list will be turned over this year I would imagine and possibly again in 2013. Realistically, my view is our improvement should be gradual in 2013 with real promising signs in the latter part of the year so this time next year hopefully we’re talking about taking the next step again and playing finals in 2014 and giving it a real good crack. But at the same time providing our fans in 2013 something to cheer about on a more regular basis.

You look at the improvement in Mitch Wallis (25 games), Luke Dahlhaus (28) & Tom Liberatore (33) and then also Jordan Roughead (35) as a key back who could also possibly play forward and ruck at times. Then some of the new kids that got their chance later on like Jason Johannissen (3), Lin Jong (4), Michael Talia (4), Fletcher Roberts (2) as well as Clay Smith (16) and Tory Dickson (17). Some good signs there but they need 80 games into them to get a real strong AFL body that can withstand the rigours of a full season, so Wallis, Dahlhaus, Libba and co are still 2 full seasons away from that that milestone. Add to that picks 5, 6, 27, 46 & 47 in the National Draft and you can really see the list take shape. Potential father son pick with Lachie Hunter – we’ll find out on Monday whether we will select him in the draft but another exciting prospect.
UNQUOTE

[w3design]

Interested to see if the Thursday night is different. Certainly you guys going will hear more about the presidency.

[GVGjr]

Thanks Teddy, nice addition to the discussion

[GVGjr]

Are you sure it's 7? I thought it was 6.30?

The presentation starts at 7pm but they want people to start coming in at 6.30pm.
Thursday nights crowd will be around 600 and if you want to get something to eat the Cheer squad will be doing a sausage sizzle.

[LostDoggy]

Thanks for your post Teddy. Really enjoyed it and its nice to see the coach and administration clearly supportive of one another.

[Desipura]

The presentation starts at 7pm but they want people to start coming in at 6.30pm.
Thursday nights crowd will be around 600 and if you want to get something to eat the Cheer squad will be doing a sausage sizzle.

It's really unfortunate that AFL members like myself are unable to attend this event.
Would have loved to hear BMac speak.

[azabob]

It's really unfortunate that AFL members like myself are unable to attend this event.
Would have loved to hear BMac speak.

Why do you chose AFL membership over a club one?

[Desipura]

Why do you chose AFL membership over a club one?

Better value for money especially as it gets you in to all home and away games. Finals tickets pretty much paid for and guaranteed a grand final ticket if we ever make it......sigh

[GVGjr]

There is another night on Monday the 3rd of December at Etihad where McCartney will speak to the members and obviously present the new players.

I think it's called a Social Club end of season event.

It might be an opportunity for other members to get a chance to hear our coach speak.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

There is another night on Monday the 3rd of December at Etihad where McCartney will speak to the members and obviously present the new players.

I think it's called a Social Club end of season event.

It might be an opportunity for other members to get a chance to hear our coach speak.

I went to this last year and it was a good event -- definitely recommend going.

[jazzadogs]

The presentation starts at 7pm but they want people to start coming in at 6.30pm.
Thursday nights crowd will be around 600 and if you want to get something to eat the Cheer squad will be doing a sausage sizzle.
Thanks for the info GVGJr. Really looking forward to it after reading these reports!

[choconmientay]

I went tonight. Apparently there were more than 600 registrations for the night. The training hall were full and it must have been everyone who registered were there. Congratulations to the club to organize events like this. It was informative, insightful and bring the supporters a bit closer to the club. The 'new' president gave a brief speech continued by BMac presentation and Q&A. Simon Garlick gave a short speech and the presentation was closed off by the Operation Manager?!.

I sat next to an aged gentlemen. He made the 2 hours trip from Bendigo to attend the presentation. Loved his dedication. I hope the club will continue with all these initiatives. This does give me hope and belief into the direction where we are heading.

[anfo27]

Was at Whitten Oval tonight to hear Macca speak & found it very interesting. My dad did fall asleep during maccas presentation though.

Peter Gordon was also there & spoke for about 10 minutes. If you heard his interviews or have red the articles in the papers he pretty much said the same stuff. He did mention that a group of wealthy supporters & himself were going to help boost the football department with their own money.

Reading GVGJr posts it sounds like the presentation was the same.

He did talk about Cordy & mentioned that he has put on 22kgs since being drafted & we're asking him to take on that weight & play the same way as he did before. He said its going to take Ayce time to get used to that weight & start to take marks over peoples heads again. He said he spoke to Brad Ottens & asked him how long it took him to get used to playing with an extra 20kgs & Brad said 3-4 years.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I went too. He gave a pretty good presentation and as GVG has already noted, drew some comparisons with players from other clubs and from when they were first drafted. For example, Wallis stacks up extremely well to Boyd, Dahlhaus to Ablett from a statistical standpoint at the same time of their careers. Peter Gordon spoke first, and spoke very well. Recollected some memories of his earlier days, noted how far the club had come and acknowledged David for that. Said there were still plenty of challenges, but that the club was in a much different position than it was to 95/96 and of course 89. He speaks really well and I think he'll be a great replacement. Garlick spoke last and reiterated some of what was already spoken, including building upon the Western suburbs and highlighting that they have the AFL's support unlike in previous decades.

McCartney addressed free agency among other things. He did say things were being kept 'inside' the club a lot better than they were previously, when info regularly leaked, and that this was a good thing. Added that despite little 'paper talk', we were still interested in free agency and trading for a KPF if we can. If not, we'll head to the draft. I suspect the interest in two key forwards we have are Gumbleton and perhaps Brown?

Cooney is being sent to Germany for treatment on his knee on Sunday.

Probably left a bit out if anyone wishes to elaborate.

[GVGjr]

Did he mention Lenny Hayes at all ?

[choconmientay]

Did he mention Lenny Hayes at all ?

I think he did. Something along the line ... young kids playing against guys like Lenny Hayes and benefit from the experiences ....

[anfo27]

Macca did briefly talk about the 100 point system that we will be using for the first time come draft day. 40 points was allocated for what a player can do on the field. 15 points was allocated for where a player was at mentally. I think 5 or 10 points was allocated on what type of upbringing the player had. I can't remember the rest of the point allocations.
Macca also mentioned that if player x had 60 points & someone wanted to use pick 6 on him, then that wasn't going to happen as 60 points is what we look at for the 3rd round of the draft. He didn't say how many points you need to be drafted in the first round though.

[Dancin' Douggy]

Was at Whitten Oval tonight to hear Macca speak & found it very interesting. My dad did fall asleep during maccas presentation though.

Peter Gordon was also there & spoke for about 10 minutes. If you heard his interviews or have red the articles in the papers he pretty much said the same stuff. He did mention that a group of wealthy supporters & himself were going to help boost the football department with their own money.

Reading GVGJr posts it sounds like the presentation was the same.

He did talk about Cordy & mentioned that he has put on 22kgs since being drafted & we're asking him to take on that weight & play the same way as he did before. He said its going to take Ayce time to get used to that weight & start to take marks over peoples heads again. He said he spoke to Brad Ottens & asked him how long it took him to get used to playing with an extra 20kgs & Brad said 3-4 years.

That is a substantial difference .

For anyone who doesn't know what that means, go to your nearest hardware store and pick up a 20kg bag of cement.

Then run around with it................ for a year.

[Maddog37]

He mentioned we will not be drafting skinny kids and that we want players with some size about them.

As previously mentioned, Cooney going to Germany for a week and that the new treadmill helps his fitness.


Very enjoyable night and if I was considering downgrading my membership I certainly am not now.

[Maddog37]

Also mentioned 12000 kids in the western region signed up for Auskick and 24% barrack for the Dogs.

[bornadog]

Also mentioned 12000 kids in the western region signed up for Auskick and 24% barrack for the Dogs.

There is a challenge in itself, ie to get the other 76% on board.

[Cyberdoggie]

Also mentioned 12000 kids in the western region signed up for Auskick and 24% barrack for the Dogs.

Were they boasting about that?

I guess it's not bad considering our lack of success but i remember auskick in Glen Waverley in the 80's and out of 20 kids, maybe 15 were hawks and bombers, throw a couple of blues and tigers and 1 bulldog.

I would think you would want 40-50% in our heartland?,

[GVGjr]

Were they boasting about that?

I guess it's not bad considering our lack of success but i remember auskick in Glen Waverley in the 80's and out of 20 kids, maybe 15 were hawks and bombers, throw a couple of blues and tigers and 1 bulldog.

I would think you would want 40-50% in our heartland?,

It's funny that you mention the word heartland. It's very much about getting back in touch with out Bulldog heartland out in the West.

[Maddog37]

I would have thought that 24% was excellent but who knows.

[GVGjr]

I would have thought that 24% was excellent but who knows.

It is in my opinion.

[bornadog]

I planned to go tonight but unfortunately I had some work issues and couldn't get away on time.

From what I have read and each of the posters feedback, its great the club has taken this on board to communicate to the supporters the plans going forward.

I am glad to see we aren't trying any quick fixes as we really are not at that stage with the young group we have.

Hopefully this draft coming up we recruit some really good players to add to the team and make us a very competitive side in the future.

[Raw Toast]

Thanks for all the reports.

Two things jumped out at me this time.

The first is that I think the campaign to win the west as our heartland continues to be vital - burgeoning growth corridors and all that, and 24% is a good start.

Secondly, I'm rapt that we're sending Cooney off to Germany. No guarantees, but if the treatment for his knee can do what it did for Kobe Bryant then the optimism will start flowing much more freely.

[MrMahatma]

Great reports everyone. A very good read.

[LostDoggy]

Thanks for all the reports.

Two things jumped out at me this time.

The first is that I think the campaign to win the west as our heartland continues to be vital - burgeoning growth corridors and all that, and 24% is a good start.

Secondly, I'm rapt that we're sending Cooney off to Germany. No guarantees, but if the treatment for his knee can do what it did for Kobe Bryant then the optimism will start flowing much more freely.

Thanks for all the reports looking forward any more details that come!

Do we know if this is Cooney's first try at Germany treatment or has he had it previously ?

[jazzadogs]

One of the most intriguing presentations I've ever been to. I guess it helps that the subject matter was entirely Bulldogs...

McCartney basically accepted responsibility for the breakdown of the relationship with Williamstown. Said that he might have pushed too hard for change before the club was ready for it, and that midway through the season he wasn't getting a lot of smiles when he went to Willy games. Views the VFL side as integral part of the development of our club and our players.

Great to hear that we are sending Cooney away for extra treatment. I'd be interested to hear exactly what procedure/treatment he is receiving while there.

The matrix and 100 point score for draftees were great insights, and should ease some concern over our drafting this year. Certainly plenty of weighting placed on the mental strength and overall character of players, as much as it is on their playing ability.

Really enjoyed the comparisons to previous club's drafting methods, and how nobody gets a 100% strike rate. The slides which compared our current players to the early years of some stars also made interesting reading...obviously there would be just as many examples of players with better/similar starts who amounted to nothing, but it shows that there is plenty of potential there.


A really great night, and I highly commend the club on the initiative required to put it on. It wouldn't have been anywhere near as good without the honesty and insights of McCartney though. All round top effort.

[strebla]

Were they boasting about that?

I guess it's not bad considering our lack of success but i remember auskick in Glen Waverley in the 80's and out of 20 kids, maybe 15 were hawks and bombers, throw a couple of blues and tigers and 1 bulldog.

I would think you would want 40-50% in our heartland?,

I grew up in Braybrook in the Eighties and think we would have been lucky to have 10 % 24% is great in my mind.

[Eastdog]

I grew up in Braybrook in the Eighties and think we would have been lucky to have 10 % 24% is great in my mind.

Who were the most supported teams where you grew up strebla?

[choconmientay]

T
Do we know if this is Cooney's first try at Germany treatment or has he had it previously ?

The club did say that this is the first time Cooney is getting knee treatment in Germany. Apparently the methods are different.

So as the 100.000A$(Garlick words) treadmill we purchased recently for players with knee injury like Cooney to work on without having pressure putting onto their crooked knee. I think this was used last season to help Cooney running freely in the last 2 games.

[ReLoad]

I was in rural SA yesterday at a school there and asked the kids who they barracked for, 24 kids crows, 2 power and one hawk.

Wouldnt it be nice to have those numbers doing for us in the west of Melbourne :)

[LostDoggy]

Were they boasting about that?

I guess it's not bad considering our lack of success but i remember auskick in Glen Waverley in the 80's and out of 20 kids, maybe 15 were hawks and bombers, throw a couple of blues and tigers and 1 bulldog.

I would think you would want 40-50% in our heartland?,

That's 3000 kids that will (hopefully) buy a membership in ten years time, or even better, pull on the guernsey.


The club did say that this is the first time Cooney is getting knee treatment in Germany. Apparently the methods are different.

So as the 100.000A$(Garlick words) treadmill we purchased recently for players with knee injury like Cooney to work on without having pressure putting onto their crooked knee. I think this was used last season to help Cooney running freely in the last 2 games.

I'm sure they're leasing it. Spending $100,000 on an asset like that would be horrible business sense, especially since it will likely be obsolete when the “next big thing in treadmills” comes out. :)

[Bulldog4life]

I would have thought that 24% was excellent but who knows.

I thought so too.

[Bulldog4life]

I was in rural SA yesterday at a school there and asked the kids who they barracked for, 24 kids crows, 2 power and one hawk.

Wouldnt it be nice to have those numbers doing for us in the west of Melbourne :)

With only two teams in SA those figures don't surprise me.

[LostDoggy]

The club did say that this is the first time Cooney is getting knee treatment in Germany. Apparently the methods are different.

So as the 100.000A$(Garlick words) treadmill we purchased recently for players with knee injury like Cooney to work on without having pressure putting onto their crooked knee. I think this was used last season to help Cooney running freely in the last 2 games.

Good to hear, thanks mate

[strebla]

Who were the most supported teams where you grew up strebla?

Lots of pies,hawks and bombres but the blues and the tigers from memory.I myself was a north supporter untill about 13 and most of my family were swans but now all passionate doggie supporters and mostly members.

[The Coon Dog]

Lots of pies,hawks and bombres but the blues and the tigers from memory.I myself was a north supporter untill about 13 and most of my family were swans but now all passionate doggie supporters and mostly members.

Just curious Strebla, I can recall the rest of the clan as South Melbourne fans, but why were you a Roo & what prompted the change?