A MESSAGE FROM BRENDAN MCCARTNEY Round 7

[bornadog]

14 May 2013

This week’s game against North Melbourne, we saw some residual effects of a tough physical encounter six days prior in Perth, where it was evident that late in quarters, some of our decision making not only cost us scoring opportunities but conceded some scoring opportunities — and North Melbourne were able to take full advantage of that.

We were of the full belief that by three quarter time of that game, we should’ve been in front on the scoreboard, had we been a little more composed with the ball. Instead we were two or three goals down.

No doubt the late quarter lapses nearly always revolved around poor decision making, either with the ball in hand, or where to position yourself in relation to your opponent — and that’s a combination of fatigue and a developmental opportunity.

We are scoring more freely, but we want to find a better balance. You can encourage people to be a bit braver with the ball at times but that does have an inherent risk to it. We want to give our players the licence to make good decisions with the ball and execute well, but we know they might not be able to do that all the time, at the moment. So do you take the licence from them? The answer is, no. You’ve got to keep working with and encouraging them to keep doing it in games, and keep working at it during the week.

Our season so far for me is encapsulated like this, we’ve had a pretty tough draw that we can’t do anything about, but we have also carried a fair amount of injury to some very important players, in particular some experienced players — having said that, we have a good opportunity over the next three weeks, that if we play better for longer, we’ll give ourselves a really strong chance to win.

We will keep rewarding people at the lower level, so you will see young people come in more often, adding different positional capacities and skill sets to them. We will keep educating our players about the way we want to play. We will ask them, what do we do when we play well? What does it look like? What strengths come out in your game? How are you helping the team function better?

What we really respect in our supporter base at the moment is that there is an understanding of reality and an appreciation when we are having a real go at the game. We have also enjoyed the past couple of matches at Etihad Stadium, when we have had momentum and we’re in the game, how excited and on the journey you are with us.

We are all on a journey, which inevitably will have its bumps and also good times, but we are on the path to developing the right players here, and we’re building a team that will be strong for a long period of time.

The crazy thing about the game is that sometimes you need bad days to actually make that experience complete. What I’m really confident about, is that we are going to have a big group of young players here who are just developing a real hatred of being beaten and when they get more mature and bigger and stronger, they’re going to want to give some of that back.

Thank you for your continued support.


Brendan McCartney

[Scorlibo]

The crazy thing about the game is that sometimes you need bad days to actually make that experience complete. What I’m really confident about, is that we are going to have a big group of young players here who are just developing a real hatred of being beaten and when they get more mature and bigger and stronger, they’re going to want to give some of that back.

Most of the message is same old, same old, but I really enjoyed this bit.

There needs to be a winning culture about the club, and I wasn't sure that B-Mac was fostering that, but this is encouraging.

[boydogs]

The crazy thing about the game is that sometimes you need bad days to actually make that experience complete.

As true in life as it is in footy.

[Ghost Dog]

Article in theage (http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/perceptions-punish-demons-but-dogs-are-none-too-rosy-20130514-2jklt.html) talks about fact we have not enough experienced players in key positions, to mark the ball. This forces our smaller players to have to cover more ground.


Coach has to put some runners behind the ball to create a bit of movement. Happy for some of the younger ones to have a crack at Gold Coast this round. Winnable. GC are favorites just.

[jeemak]

Here's the article GD is referring to:

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/perceptions-punish-demons-but-dogs-are-none-too-rosy-20130514-2jklt.html

First impressions are often accurate, and lasting. The first impression of Melbourne this season was not pretty nor was it inaccurate - a 79-point loss against Port Adelaide. And it has been lasting.

As first impressions go it was like walking in on your grandmother in the shower - some images you can't get out of your head.

Some first impressions also flatter to deceive. Like the Western Bulldogs. The Dogs accosted a Brisbane Lions side that come round one retained a bloated and misguided pre-season optimism.

Melbourne has won one game; the Western Bulldogs have won one game. Melbourne has lost five games by 10 goals or more, the Bulldogs three games by 50 points or more. Admittedly, two of those Melbourne losses were by more than 15 goals. But for all of the excitement of the Western Bulldogs' first-round victory, the stark reality is this: the Dogs have won one of their last 18 matches.


In this season, Melbourne might have quickly and cringingly re-established itself as a poor side, but the Western Bulldogs' slide has continued without anything like as much scrutiny. The difference between the teams and the disparity in the criticism they have deservedly drawn is because the biggest discrepancy between the sides has not been win-loss but effort and competitiveness.

The Bulldogs have escaped serious criticism because, first, there is always a more compellingly pathetic option to focus on (Melbourne) and because the players have appeared largely to be trying. They have been competitive in each of their games - bar the West Coast loss - even when the margin has blown out late in matches, such as occurred again at the weekend against North. They have also played better sides than Melbourne has and pushed them harder (Geelong recently).

Against that, Melbourne deserves its lumps because from the opening minute of its game against Gold Coast at the weekend it plainly was not there to play. Or it was there to play, it's just that the game the Demons wanted to play was not football.

Over 100 missed tackles says enough about their limp effort. But it also in part is a reflection of the fact the Demons were missing six of their best 22 players. This week Colin Sylvia's knuckle-headedness means it will be seven (Trengove, Grimes, Watts, Clark, McDonald and Jamar). Few good teams can afford to lose that number of their best players and still be competitive. When poor sides lose that number the result is grim.

The Western Bulldogs mind, have had the bulk of their best side out there each week. Bob Murphy and Matthew Boyd have both missed three games, Daniel Giansiracusa and Ryan Griffen two each and Shaun Higgins has gone for the year. But Adam Cooney, Daniel Cross, Dale Morris and Luke Dahlhaus have played every game.

The Bulldogs' problem is not that the players have lacked effort but they have constructed a side around a game plan which is skewed towards big contested ball-winning midfielders but seemingly at a cost to players with polish in disposal and foot speed to cover the ground. Coach Brendan McCartney has acknowledged this ground cover problem recently.

The Bulldogs' further problem is that those senior players - save for the experienced Will Minson - do not occupy key positions. This has magnified a problem of covering the ground for when there are not the big players to mark the ball, the smaller players have to work that much harder.

Melbourne's problem over the Bulldogs is that its issues are not restricted to the misery on the field. The chief executive has been pushed out the door, the board has proven itself well-meaning but flawed and now the dark touch of Dank has drawn the Demons into the ugly AFL investigation.

All of these matters further pollute the idea of the club beyond what is occurring on the field. Unlike at Essendon where what is happening on the field is salving the wounds off it and galvanising the club, at the Demons it is only painting a starker picture of chaos and incompetence


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/perceptions-punish-demons-but-dogs-are-none-too-rosy-20130514-2jklt.html#ixzz2THEkspox


A key area he's failed within, whilst acknowledging our overall competitiveness across certain portions of games is by attempting to marry up this - Melbourne has lost five games by 10 goals or more, the Bulldogs three games by 50 points or more. Admittedly, two of those Melbourne losses were by more than 15 goals - as something comparable between the two clubs.

He also fails to mention Melbourne's rebuild that has to this point lasted six years or so, without three consecutive preliminary finals preceding it, for a reason more scrutiny is befalling them. I'd expect that in four years time that if our performances were comparable to Melbourne's over the last six years that we'd get completely lambasted for it.

Agreed we need to develop players into key positions, but that takes time, and journalists need to portray some understanding of list development and acknowledge that sides that lose young players like Ward and Harbrow, whilst having limited access to top draft talent (our wasted picks aside) are a fair chance to bottom out.

Once again, another limited space filler without enough in depth scrutiny of the overarching issues relevant to the topic. Thanks for posting jeemak.

[jeemak]

As for Macca's message, I think he is communicating well but IMO he'd have more impact doing so every fortnight or once a month.

We're clearly not fit enough to match it for four quarters, and a lot of work needs to be put into developing the fitness base of our younger players as quickly and responsibly as possible, otherwise we're no chance of working across four quarters.

[Remi Moses]

Just read that article .
Pretty much right on the money. Dare I say it " we're cracking in"

[Ghost Dog]

As for Macca's message, I think he is communicating well but IMO he'd have more impact doing so every fortnight or once a month.

We're clearly not fit enough to match it for four quarters, and a lot of work needs to be put into developing the fitness base of our younger players as quickly and responsibly as possible, otherwise we're no chance of working across four quarters.

Not sure about that. We matched it for fitness at Geelong. Their blokes were lying on the ground when the final siren went.
When teams kick away, we start to lose confidence. Leaking goals.

[whythelongface]

As for Macca's message, I think he is communicating well but IMO he'd have more impact doing so every fortnight or once a month.

We're clearly not fit enough to match it for four quarters, and a lot of work needs to be put into developing the fitness base of our younger players as quickly and responsibly as possible, otherwise we're no chance of working across four quarters.

I believe it is important to deliver his message on a weekly basis whilst the game is still fresh in our minds. Sure the message as a whole on a weekly basis could be construed as rehashing from one week to the next, however there are snippets each week where McCartney is providing insight as to what we did wrong or right in our last game. I think his message would be lost if he didn't do this weekly.

Whilst the jury is out on McCartney as to whether he will be with us long term and deliver us success I do like his ability to communicate with the supporter base this way. His messages are clear and concise and keep us supporters informed as to the general direction he plans to lead the team.

[LostDoggy]

So what annoys me a little, and is highlighted by that article, is that were not developing KP players at CHB or CHF on a regular basis.

Where is Fletcher Roberts in either of these positions?

FF (Jones) - CHF (?) - R (Minson) - CHB (?) - FB (Roughead)

With Talia being declared fit it opens up CHB for him to come into. Cordy is out for 6-8, so does Stringer take CHF? It's a high work-rate position so my thinking would be no until his base is better.

Austin hasn't worked, at either end. I'll reseve my judgement (positve or negative) on Markovic as a forward until he's played a few games forward, but with the aforementioned both failing in defence and Cordys' injury, Roberts and Talia have to start being developed in the respective KP roles.

[Bulldog Joe]

The Age article mentions our 3 losses by more than 50 and cites us as having "the bulk of our best side"

My calculation is that in 2 of those 50 point losses we were missing
Murphy, Giansiracusa, Griffen, Tom Williams, Higgins, Easton Wood. That compares with the listed 6 from Melbourne.

Our other 50 point loss is the game against North where we faded late after returning from Perth on a 6 day turnaround.

We are doing much better than Melbourne.

[bornadog]

Where is Fletcher Roberts in either of these positions?

FF (Jones) - CHF (?) - R (Minson) - CHB (?) - FB (Roughead).

He had an interrupted pre season and has only played two games at Willi.

[Cyberdoggie]

As for Macca's message, I think he is communicating well but IMO he'd have more impact doing so every fortnight or once a month.



I'd agree that the message becomes a little repetitive if it's out there every week.

Don't get me wrong it's good to hear these letter's but for Macca's benefit i think fortnightly would be a better timeframe and would give him more substance to write about rather than the same old rhetoric (ie good people, cracking in, play the way we want to play etc).

[G-Mo77]

We are doing much better than Melbourne.

Agree. The sad part for them is they've been down for so long and still look to be well behind. The next time a journo tries to lump us in with this basket case try and look at it a different way. We are at the start of a rebuild, this was expected, they should be at the end of it. Comparing us to Melbourne is weak journalism.

[SlimPickens]

I'd agree that the message becomes a little repetitive if it's out there every week.

Another way at looking at it, is it's consistent. Bmac has not strayed from his message one bit. Now he is adding to that to give us some insight or hope as to what is coming next.

As to what the age article is saying yes it's true our best players aren't key position but what is being missed and not clearly stated is pretty simple and that is that our best players aren't very good. If you look at it we have one A grader, Griffen that is all.

Unfortunately our list is void of quality players who have the experience to take us forward, this will take time and will need to be developed.

[boydogs]

So what annoys me a little, and is highlighted by that article, is that were not developing KP players at CHB or CHF on a regular basis.

FF (Jones) - CHF (?) - R (Minson) - CHB (?) - FB (Roughead)

The article is making the opposite argument


The Bulldogs' further problem is that those senior players - save for the experienced Will Minson - do not occupy key positions.

FF (Stringer) - CHF (Jones) - R (Minson) - CHB (Young) - FB (Roughead)