The Odd Couple

[GVGjr]

Those of us with a bit of grey flex through the hair might remember a TV show about two vastly different guys drawn together by circumstances.

One neat, tidy and proper (Felix) the other disorganised, untidy and with a questionable attention span (Oscar). Polar opposites but somehow they we able to make the relationship work for their mutual benefit.

I'm wondering if we are seeing an Odd Couple of sorts at the Kennel at the moment?

It's fair to say that the last 5 weeks of football has been pretty good for the club. We have been competitive in all games and have managed a couple of wins when we have been the clear underdog.

6 weeks back there was still some question marks on the careers of two people at the club.
Brendan McCartney had some doubters about his coaching credentials and if his patient vision of the playing group was accurate.

6 weeks back there was some serious questions being asked if Jarrad Grant would be at the club beyond this year. He was underachieving to his ability and was still displaying some questionable laconic character traits.

Perhaps out of desperation, McCartney called Grant back into the side and suddenly everything has clicked.
All of a sudden McCartney's position is under no pressure and Grant is seen by all and sundry as a long term player at the club with some serious match winning abilities.

While this unlikely alliance has been great for each other, the big winners are of course the Bulldog fans.

I'm certainly in no hurry to see this relationship end. Insert the Odd Couple theme at your leisure.

[always right]

The thing I notice about Grant is he appears to be really enjoying his footy....no real surprise when you're playing well but I just sense he's feeling good about himself and more importantly the style of footy he's playing. Has anyone noticed how much his teammates run to him after a goal or impressive passage of play? It tells me he is doing things his teammates appreciate...not just the flashy things he's done in the past.

Grant is our Stevie J :)

[LostDoggy]

One passage of play last night where Grant busted his arse to get to the ball only to see it go over the boundary had me thinking he's a different man. Two Years Ago Grant wouldn't have done it. Today Grant looks promising.

[mighty_west]

One passage of play last night where Grant busted his arse to get to the ball only to see it go over the boundary had me thinking he's a different man. Two Years Ago Grant wouldn't have done it. Today Grant looks promising.

I think he's starting to realise that playing with a certain intensity and desperation is paying off immensely.

[Scorlibo]

Really good description GVGjr. That's exactly the way I see it, it's a working relationship, it has been a compromise to get to this level of mutual respect we see now. Grant realising that the coach has his best interests at heart, the coach realising that Grant might be a different beast to the highly coachable, hard-nosed guys who form much of the rest of the team.

A lot of people are taking the line that Grant has finally pulled his finger out, that the team mentality and the intensity has just clicked with him. To a certain extent that's true, but for mine it definitely runs both ways with changed attitudes. I couldn't be happier with how things appear to be working out.

[Before I Die]

I think consistency of message has been important for Grant. He wants to be successful but he needed to understand the path to success was not the way he imagined it would be. Success is through team actions, not individual actions. He had been told he needed to focus on certain things and that if he did that he would be rewarded and success would follow. He did what was asked at Williamstown and was promoted, even though he hadn't been dominating. And lo and behold, success!

I have to admit that I have been an acolyte of Maccas from pretty much day one, but you could not be a Dogs fan and not love what we saw yesterday.

Now if only Macca can work his magic with Vez........

[BornInDroopSt'54]

There's a saying in English politics that ironically it's the Tories who implement a liberal (i.e.Labour) policy. Like maybe we will become a republic under the Liberals (i.e. the conservative loyalists) rather than Labour (the liberal republicans); the attraction and dynamic of opposites. It takes Felix McCartney to beget the successful Oscar Grant.

[Mofra]

The presser from Macca was interesting - reading between the lines, they've clashed over the past 18 months but Grant has now bought into the Macca message and it's paying off.

Macca actually gives a lot more away in press conferences which is pleasing - Grant is playing career best football. Most importantly, he seems to be in the game for 100% of the time, his concentration levels are much higher than before.

[Ghost Dog]

When you have natural talent, the tendency is to identify that as being where your value is, and trade on your individual brilliance. After all, all your junior footy life, you get people praising your skills.
This is maybe what gets you into a club, but not what keeps you in it, over a period of time.

As Ash Hansen said, he doesn't have to think of himself as the traditional mark / kick / goal forward.
The coaches want to see an even effort, across the board - whole footy.
Realising that the club will value him regardless of how many goals he kicks, provided he gives in to 'total footy', takes a weight of his mind. He relaxes, plays with passion, and the goals come anyway.

The bonus of 'total footy' is that it brings in other players. He's only playing better now, because of the team. He's feeding off them more and looking out for them more than before.

His improvement is a credit to him, but as much about the support he's getting.

[always right]

Did anyone notice in the first wam-up yesterday how Grant was with Shannon Grant (I think) practicing kicks around the corner from the same place he has missed goals from in recent weeks using a conventional approach? This sort of fine tuning is great coaching.

[bornadog]

I may have mentioned this in another thread, so I apologise. A few months ago I went to a luncheon in the city and Macca was talking about coaching and the players. In a team meeting, he noticed one of the assistants had put a pencil through a player. Macca asked the assistant, why have you done that, to which he replied, he is no good. Macca then suggested, to go back to the files and look up why this player was recruited, look at the positives, and work on those instead of being negative.

Now, Macca didn't mention who the player was and who the assistant was, but the first player I thought of was Grant. (could be a few players, like Howard, as I felt he was talking about a early draft pick).

This is the sort of positive stuff Macca works on in his teaching. I am glad the pencil wasn't through Grant. We know he has always had the talent, now he is gaining the confidence in himself as he gets older and becomes a more mature player.

[GVGjr]

Does anyone else think that McCartney is escaping a lot of media pressure largely based on what Grant has been able to add to the side?

Does anyone else think Macca has made Grant a valuable and respected commodity again?

It's taking a while but I feel these opposites have been very good for each other at what was a critical time for both of them.

[Scorlibo]

I may have mentioned this in another thread, so I apologise. A few months ago I went to a luncheon in the city and Macca was talking about coaching and the players. In a team meeting, he noticed one of the assistants had put a pencil through a player. Macca asked the assistant, why have you done that, to which he replied, he is no good. Macca then suggested, to go back to the files and look up why this player was recruited, look at the positives, and work on those instead of being negative.

Now, Macca didn't mention who the player was and who the assistant was, but the first player I thought of was Grant. (could be a few players, like Howard, as I felt he was talking about a early draft pick).

This is the sort of positive stuff Macca works on in his teaching. I am glad the pencil wasn't through Grant. We know he has always had the talent, now he is gaining the confidence in himself as he gets older and becomes a more mature player.

Sorry bornadog, I'm a little confused - were you part of this meeting or was it a club function or were you simply evesdropping? Seems very odd that an assistant coach should put a line through the name of any player.

[Twodogs]

A good partnership will often be an attraction of polar opposites. What one lacks the other makes up for. I think the key ingredient is respect and Grant seems to earned the respect of the coach.

[bornadog]

Sorry bornadog, I'm a little confused - were you part of this meeting or was it a club function or were you simply evesdropping? Seems very odd that an assistant coach should put a line through the name of any player.

Club Function.

[G-Mo77]

The presser from Macca was interesting - reading between the lines, they've clashed over the past 18 months but Grant has now bought into the Macca message and it's paying off.

Macca actually gives a lot more away in press conferences which is pleasing - Grant is playing career best football. Most importantly, he seems to be in the game for 100% of the time, his concentration levels are much higher than before.

Noticed that as well Mofra.

Here is the quote.

"I think we've had an interesting 18 months, Granty and I," McCartney said.

"I've got no doubt that this 12 months, and in particular, the last few months, the respect levels are very high, coach to player and player to coach. That's helped.

"We've had our good days and we've had our not so good days, coach to player, but he's coming out the other side. "

[westdog54]

Noticed that as well Mofra.

Here is the quote.

"I think we've had an interesting 18 months, Granty and I," McCartney said.

"I've got no doubt that this 12 months, and in particular, the last few months, the respect levels are very high, coach to player and player to coach. That's helped.

"We've had our good days and we've had our not so good days, coach to player, but he's coming out the other side. "

This is the bit that resonated with me. Coach to Player and Player to Coach. Nice touch.

[SonofScray]

Does anyone else think that McCartney is escaping a lot of media pressure largely based on what Grant has been able to add to the side?

Does anyone else think Macca has made Grant a valuable and respected commodity again?

It's taking a while but I feel these opposites have been very good for each other at what was a critical time for both of them.

I think so. What Grant as an individual adds to the team is a natural ability to sniff a goal, an area of the game we have been deplorable at. It has been exposed under Mac's mantra because the investment in winning the footy just wasn't being rewarded. Now we have a bloke turning half chances into scoreboard pressure, the investment is paying greater dividends.

I think Grant presented a great case in reflection for Mac. He loves his Leading Teams stuff, I reckon this has played out in their relationship.

'We often remind each other - the best test of your #leadership is the behaviour of your followers. (@LeadingTeams) '

[Ghost Dog]

Do you feel it's media pressure? or fascination with this player? Let's face it, not many people are banging down the door about Howard. He was a fairly high pick.

[jeemak]

Do you feel it's media pressure? or fascination with this player? Let's face it, not many people are banging down the door about Howard. He was a fairly high pick.

Grant was an extremely talented number 5 pick, whilst Howard was a pick 15 out of obscurity. Grant also had a very good 2010 where he kicked plenty of goals and influenced a few games. I'm not surprised Grant commanded a higher profile among the various pundits.

Refreshingly honest commentary from Bmac. Let's hope their relationship grows and Grant continues to get the best out of himself.

[bornadog]

Do you feel it's media pressure? or fascination with this player? Let's face it, not many people are banging down the door about Howard. He was a fairly high pick.

Howard hasn't shown the talent Grant as.

This from a few years ago

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