Losing the faith/ a look in the rearview mirror.

[Dancin' Douggy]

Hi Woofers,
After the recent thread re 'What WOOF means to you' I have decided to make a concerted effort to contribute more to the site.

My head is often swimming with bulldog and footy related theories, conspiracies, musings, reminiscings, rants etc.
In fact, I realised, I even sometimes actually write things that I never post, sometimes because there's a shift in the wind and my piece no longer seems relevant. Here is something I found that I wrote in July last year, our season started to right itself not long after I wrote it so I never posted it.

But, anyway, I've decided to post it now, unedited, to get peoples thoughts. Maybe I wasn't the only one starting to feel this way.
I should add I feel quite optimistic now for the season(s) ahead and I think our list is really improving with the ins and outs we've made.

But here it is from July 2018

Losing the faith.

I’ve had this little worm squirming in my brain and it’s slowly getting bigger.
I’ve tried to ignore it, argue against it, and give myself little pep talks to rationalise it away……………… of course the 2016 flag is like a colossal PRO in the ‘pros’ vs cons.
But I believe I may be losing faith in Bevo.

I can accept losing, and I understand we have a shocking injury list, but I can’t accept the shambolic, disorganised, dispirited way we’re playing.

I can’t accept the same fundamental mistakes being made over and over and over again.

There is a big black hole in our forward line, right between centre half forward and full forward.

We ALWAYS kick it there, usually a long high bomb, yet we never ever EVER have a tall player there.
We sometimes have Luke Dalhaus flying against 3 or 4 opposition talls. That’s about the best we can muster.
And the opposition defenders all line up like Grizzly bears in a salmon stream, just waiting for the salmon to arrive. They just grab the ball, bang it straight up the guts and it’s a goal to the opposition.

Then we, and they, do it again, and again, and again.

We’re literally better off kicking it out on the full in the pocket. Actually, yes, we are.

It’s like a pinball machine. We just hit that sweet spot on the the machine. And BANG the score starts rolling. But it’s them that’s scoring not us.

I see players running around and just popping up at random doing the best they can for their little moment then it’s the next player popping up doing their best in their little cameo, then the next, but none of it seems to be connected, or planned for. It’s all down to a random collection of individual efforts, haphazardly nailed to the next one, then the next one. If we manage enough, we can score. But there’s no fluidity, no pattern or streamlined teamwork.

As far as disorganisation goes, can you get more disorganised than Caleb Daniel being one out with the Eagles RUCKMAN in the opposition goal square? This is just woeful. Who takes the blame for that?

And I can’t believe Tom Boyd’s marking technique continues to be as hopeless as it is.

He puts his hands near the ball. That’s about the best way I can describe it. He PUTS his HANDS NEAR THE BALL.
It should be improving. He should be being coached by someone like Gary Dempsey. If Tom gets his marking technique happening, all of a sudden we have a serious weapon on our hands, but until then……………….. (owls and crickets)

(I’ll give him this though, at least he marked ‘em when it counted).

I can’t believe some of the players we’ve retained on the list, and given bewildering contract extensions to, only to never ever play them. And I believe ‘Stringergate’ was just so badly handled.

And the fact that there’s even rumours about a fall out with Mitch Wallis. I mean, he is solid red white and blue citizen number 1. NUMBER 1.

My patience is being tested.

[bornadog]

Thanks for your thoughts DD. Do you feel you have more faith going into 2019?

[Dancin' Douggy]

Thanks for your thoughts DD. Do you feel you have more faith going into 2019?

Yes I do Bornadog, because I saw some major changes in the second half of the year.
The performance against Richmond was really invigorating and gave me hope. Our fringe 22 players are really impressive. Bailey Williams, Brad Lynch and Lipinski in particular are all good size, great movers, good thinkers and nice strong kicks, as these guys transition into regular senior players I think our team is going to become very very strong. It's really hard working out who to leave out when trying to name best 22. Which is a great position to be in.

Never thought I'd say this but I'm glad to see the back of Dalhaus, he was woeful last year, and was a pretty blunt tool in the midfield.

To have Dalhaus out and Richards and Bailey Smith on the list is a major righting of the ship, a major renovation in the midfield where we lacked pace and class. Naughton just looks fantastic and we did well to clear out our lumbering defender stocks as well. Even though short term we might be a little under manned for tall defenders we still have Young and Roberts who can at least clock on and do a days work down there.

I think we could be a real surprise packet this year but a lot revolves around Schache and English (and Boyd who may be out indefinitely)

But 2020 and beyond I can see us really being a powerhouse. Now is the time to draft or trade for quality talls.

But I'll scream this from every rooftop until something changes. BOYD NEEDS A MARKING COACH!!!

[bornadog]

When you win a premiership and don't play finals the following two years you do lose faith.

I am looking forward to 2019 as I do every year, and playing finals to me is an absolute must. I believe we still have the core to do that, but we are relying on the first year players from 2018 improving in 2019.

I am excited to watch The Bont again and having Libba back and watching Macrae go to another level, but equally excited to see what those 2nd year players can do.

[comrade]

Unfortunately, if Boyd can’t comfortably mark the ball at this point in his career it’s not going to happen. How someone can get to AFL level, let alone be the #1 pick with such a dysfunctional technique is pretty incredible.

Most weeks (if he ever gets fit again) he’ll be the ruck/bail out forward option who can make a contest for the small & mid sizes guys to clean up. Nothing more than that.

[mjp]

Cool post.

To be truthful though, I'm not exactly sure what Bevo was supposed to do. There were guys in the playing group - and Dalhaus is a good example - with 'STATUS' because of their performances in 2015/16. Despite the drop off, they would have been saying the right things behind closed doors, and whilst I disagree that they had been 'terrible', their performances had certainly dropped of by 10-15% in terms of match day impact...

It is pretty hard not to play those type of players.

What he did seem to lose is the magic trick of everything that ever happened at selection coming up roses...I think a few of us were completed baffled by some of the selections/positional choices in 2015/16 but the players would go out and make it work - so what exactly do you say? There is no doubt as a coach he 'flirts with form' - some of the tanking on interstate trips has been appalling - but at the same time when you make 5 (or was it 6) changes going into a final (like we did in 2016) which is completely contrary to all conventional wisdom AND it works, well, you probably feel that you should just 'go with your gut' forever and a day.

Bevo is a good coach. Setting the Richmond game aside (I don't think they were ever 100% invested) the last 6-8 games or so (everything after the Ballarat debacle) was pretty good and we should all be looking forward to a successful 2019. As for recruiting KPP's, well, we have just spent high draft picks on a ruckman (English), Defender (Naughton) and Forward (Schache) in the last 3- years...what else do you want?

[The Pie Man]

Don't think you were on your Pat there DD - I was pretty worried about where we were heading under Bevo until the last month of the year. Found it very interesting that he's mentioned the leadership group challenging him on playing guys to their strengths and our form picking up from there. It's positive that a) the guys feel they can do that & b) the coaching group took it constructively and responded accordingly.

It's a small sample, but they're good signs for a group going forward....and it looks like we might even have some (emerging) depth too.

I just didn't care enough last year to let our plight bother me that much...I'd leave games thinking 'at least we had 2016' + having a little kid with me these days at games is freaking distracting!

Oh and the Boyd hands thing - yeah it's baffling....how is it he gobbled everything up in the GF (except a chest mark in the opening seconds) and has struggled to catch anything in a contested situation ever since...something in the pomade October 2016? My Dad has asked me this word for word at least 10 times since he was recruited 'Why can't they get someone to show him how to mark the ball?'

[bulldogtragic]

When we were struggling to kick a goal in a half a footy, and sometimes not doing it, I think it's fairly natural to question absolutely everything. I think we had a good list management period, although I would've liked another KPF. But post draft to now is the best time to be a member/supporter. Hope is at its strongest, the mind races with thoughts of what the Naughton's, Williams, Richards, Dunkley's, Englishs and Schache's might do. Then what draftees might bolt into the best 22 like Smith, West, Cavarra and Young sounds great too. Can Lloyd & Duryea make an immediate impact with a point to prove that they are best 22 type players. Plus what a fit and firing Libba does to the engine room with Bonts, Dunk's, Macrae and others.

I still have immense faith in Boyd as a decent young man, and a talented player. But this back issue of his screams all sorts of warnings.

Scoring is still the question mark to me that seems the obvious question mark. But if Bevo can do something with the gameplan to address it, then we might be looking ok this year. If not, then there's still development and experience to be had with a young group. But right now, I start optimistic and see where we go from here.

[mjp]

My Dad has asked me this word for word at least 10 times since he was recruited 'Why can't they get someone to show him how to mark the ball?'

That's the coaches lament right there...this comic strip sums it up!
https://alexbellars.wordpress.com/2015/03/07/ililc5-teaching-my-dog-to-whistle-dominic-mcgladdery/

[The Pie Man]

That's the coaches lament right there...this comic strip sums it up!
https://alexbellars.wordpress.com/2015/03/07/ililc5-teaching-my-dog-to-whistle-dominic-mcgladdery/

Haha yes it does!

[The Pie Man]

I can’t accept the same fundamental mistakes being made over and over and over again.

There is a big black hole in our forward line, right between centre half forward and full forward.

We ALWAYS kick it there, usually a long high bomb, yet we never ever EVER have a tall player there.


Wish I could remember the specific game last season, but in the post match presser Bevo mentioned they went deliberately small in the forward line in the 2nd half to almost 'force' the mids to lower their eyes entering F50.

But it kept happening in plenty of games.

High ball into the 50, marked by a defender. And we kept doing it. It was insane.

[bornadog]

Oh and the Boyd hands thing

He can do it, but is it a matter of confidence in himself?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwRu9VctBtQ

[bornadog]

Of course Tom's brilliant Grandfinal - what a star

(Includes Pickens incredible highlights as well)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxMc22UBWVM

[GVGjr]

DD, thanks for the thread. Great thought starter

I'm certainly not in the losing the faith group and very much see the next 2 years as a chance to relive at least the spirit of 2015/16

My concerns for 2019 are well known, a lack of key position depth and question marks around if we can keep players fit enough
My optimism is around a great draw, a young and inspiring list, strong leadership and I think a massively improved attitude and focus.

I don't want to turn this into another thread about Tom Boyd but I think we have misused him by not playing him more in the position we recruited him for. Other teams like the Cats didn't give up on Hawkins like we did. Collingwood had a gem in Josh Fraser but used him in the ruck and when he was better suited in other positions and ultimately they never utilised his talents.

So yeah, I'm expecting a lot of improvement in 2019 but deep down knowing it won't be all smooth sailing. We need to keep on playing some of the younger guys and get back that hunger for a contest.

Bevo will sort out the playing style and he's already flagged the skills being a focus and hopefully we can take advantage of the new rules especially the kick ins.

I'm genuinely excited about this season.

[GVGjr]

Wish I could remember the specific game last season, but in the post match presser Bevo mentioned they went deliberately small in the forward line in the 2nd half to almost 'force' the mids to lower their eyes entering F50.

But it kept happening in plenty of games.

High ball into the 50, marked by a defender. And we kept doing it. It was insane.

I'm racking my brains to remember which game that was and it must have frustrated him no end

Perhaps with Lloyd, Gowers and Dickson up forward the midfielders might be forced into lowering their eyes more.

[The Pie Man]

I'm racking my brains to remember which game that was and it must have frustrated him no end

Perhaps with Lloyd, Gowers and Dickson up forward the midfielders might be forced into lowering their eyes more.

Found it - North in August last year. Quote from the clubs twitter feed below.

LB: We went in with a smaller forward line (in the second half). We forced ourselves to use the ball better.

[jeemak]

I think the performance of our club over the past few years is an excellent example of how football is struggling with tension between some aspects of sport and corporatisation.

We are performing exceptionally well on the corporate and administrative side of things, but ironically the enabler to do so has suffered because we've put too much faith in the methods and people that enabled us in the first place.

There's varying levels of sophistication within the AFL industry, our level on and off the field enabled us to hit the pinnacle for a short time and reap financial benefits as a result (which is no mean feat, in fact, it's elite given the nature and the evenness of the competition), but wasn't sophisticated enough to ensure the game side and personnel side of things evolved to keep up or stay ahead of the times. Within a year, we were left with good financial performance - which I am grateful for - and a complete mess on the field. By complete mess, we won as many games in 2017 as Hawthorn did in 2009, and had a dramatic shift in list balance in 2018 that mitigates our position somewhat.

It troubles me that we haven't turned over coaching staff to the extent I believe we should have, and while I'm actually happy with our recruiting generally - and of key position players - I'm disappointed that we have thought over the course of the last couple of years unconventional set ups with a constantly changing 22, has been the way to go, over utilising ready made players in conventional positions (alongside others in conventional positions). Sure, young players got games but did so without selection pressure or really having to earn it, and I've never thought that was the best approach. Aiming to win is always the best way to go and you can't tell me that's been the objective of our coaching staff these past 12-18 months.

Last year I decided to take a break from attending games, as I wasn't sure doing so was making me happy. I still and will continue to be a member, but I can't honestly say I will return to attending games. At games I don't like to sit, and I don't want to stand at the facilities provided. I've found that being at home and watching for the most part in comfort is what I like to do. Now I'm in Vietnam, I've not ever felt so detached from the game, as you could all sympathise with WOOF is keeping me interested - and I thank you all for the efforts you put in to make that so.

So have I lost the faith? No. But I think there's a thesis to be written about sporting fans who witness a freak occurrence of success and an immediate medium to sharp decline thereafter. We've all done the reasons to death, my view is we just need to accept what we're dealing with as part of the cycle that is the byproduct of an over-hyped, increasingly shallow and highly competitive competition where highs are underrated, and lows are overexposed.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

I think the performance of our club over the past few years is an excellent example of how football is struggling with tension between some aspects of sport and corporatisation.

We are performing exceptionally well on the corporate and administrative side of things, but ironically the enabler to do so has suffered because we've put too much faith in the methods and people that enabled us in the first place.

There's varying levels of sophistication within the AFL industry, our level on and off the field enabled us to hit the pinnacle for a short time and reap financial benefits as a result (which is no mean feat, in fact, it's elite given the nature and the evenness of the competition), but wasn't sophisticated enough to ensure the game side and personnel side of things evolved to keep up or stay ahead of the times. Within a year, we were left with good financial performance - which I am grateful for - and a complete mess on the field. By complete mess, we won as many games in 2017 as Hawthorn did in 2009, and had a dramatic shift in list balance in 2018 that mitigates our position somewhat.

It troubles me that we haven't turned over coaching staff to the extent I believe we should have, and while I'm actually happy with our recruiting generally - and of key position players - I'm disappointed that we have thought over the course of the last couple of years unconventional set ups with a constantly changing 22, has been the way to go, over utilising ready made players in conventional positions (alongside others in conventional positions). Sure, young players got games but did so without selection pressure or really having to earn it, and I've never thought that was the best approach. Aiming to win is always the best way to go and you can't tell me that's been the objective of our coaching staff these past 12-18 months.

Last year I decided to take a break from attending games, as I wasn't sure doing so was making me happy. I still and will continue to be a member, but I can't honestly say I will return to attending games. At games I don't like to sit, and I don't want to stand at the facilities provided. I've found that being at home and watching for the most part in comfort is what I like to do. Now I'm in Vietnam, I've not ever felt so detached from the game, as you could all sympathise with WOOF is keeping me interested - and I thank you all for the efforts you put in to make that so.

So have I lost the faith? No. But I think there's a thesis to be written about sporting fans who witness a freak occurrence of success and an immediate medium to sharp decline thereafter. We've all done the reasons to death, my view is we just need to accept what we're dealing with as part of the cycle that is the byproduct of an over-hyped, increasingly shallow and
highly competitive competition where highs are underrated, and lows are overexposed.
Thank you for your honest assessment highlighting the dramatic demise in the past two years. Our over reliance on the likes of Picken Liberatore Tom Boyd Roughead Clay Smith and Dickson in our Premiership year who for different reasons fell away in 2017/18, led to two frustrating years. This has been particularly evident in our midfield unit and attack. We badly lack on field leaders at the moment. The emergence of Naughton Richards English and Greene augers well for the future but at the moment we lack experienced quality match winners.

[Mofra]

I still have immense faith in Boyd as a decent young man, and a talented player. But this back issue of his screams all sorts of warnings.

Scoring is still the question mark to me that seems the obvious question mark.
Disagree, and agree.

I;'ll be honest, I was against the Schache pick-up because it seemed so last minute and a desperate attempt to salvage something from the 2017 trade period and now I'm one of his biggest advocates.
Sure he's not going to get himself suspended every third week because he's not a traditional 'aggressive' KPF but he covers so much ground for a guy his size he just presents and keeps presenting, something Boyd just doesn't / can't do.

I have zero faith in Boyd being a 'decent' KPF and think this year is already a write-off on the injury front.

I do think we have problems in the front half and 'solving it' in the short term means playing Bontempelli forword of the ball a lot which robs us in the midfield as he's the best inside-50 kick in our side.

Next best solution? Gowers as a permanent forward. He has swagger and attitude, we sorely need that.

As for Bevo - I think he experimented a lot last year and we played our best football once he seemed to 'find' combos and positions that worked. We go into 2019 knowing a lot more about the newer guys than we did at the start of 2018 and I expect a more settled line up and position selections this year.

[bornadog]

As for Bevo - I think he experimented a lot last year and we played our best football once he seemed to 'find' combos and positions that worked. We go into 2019 knowing a lot more about the newer guys than we did at the start of 2018 and I expect a more settled line up and position selections this year.

I see the Bevo experimenting a big positive, a coach who is prepared to try something new in order to get the results. Sure, Wood up forward or JJ up forward didn't work. So what, I can see what Bevo was trying to do. We haven't been kicking goals, so he tried something different. It didn't work, so he readjusted.

This year we have more options and bringing in Lloyd, and a fit Dickson will help us up forward. I don't really want to see The Bont up forward for more than 30% of his time. We need him in the midfield and I agree Gowers is the other option up forward.

With Schache having another preseason up his belt, and settling into the club, he needs to become the dominant bigman forward.

[bulldogtragic]

Disagree, and agree.

I;'ll be honest, I was against the Schache pick-up because it seemed so last minute and a desperate attempt to salvage something from the 2017 trade period and now I'm one of his biggest advocates.
Sure he's not going to get himself suspended every third week because he's not a traditional 'aggressive' KPF but he covers so much ground for a guy his size he just presents and keeps presenting, something Boyd just doesn't / can't do.

I have zero faith in Boyd being a 'decent' KPF and think this year is already a write-off on the injury front.

I do think we have problems in the front half and 'solving it' in the short term means playing Bontempelli forword of the ball a lot which robs us in the midfield as he's the best inside-50 kick in our side.

Next best solution? Gowers as a permanent forward. He has swagger and attitude, we sorely need that.

As for Bevo - I think he experimented a lot last year and we played our best football once he seemed to 'find' combos and positions that worked. We go into 2019 knowing a lot more about the newer guys than we did at the start of 2018 and I expect a more settled line up and position selections this year.

Brad Lynch. There's 30 on the list better on the half back flank now. But the Richmond game up forward he showed that burst pace, was very good in traffic (hands/side step), tackling and goal kicking. If he can replicate that across this year, we've found our quick (hopefully high pressure) small forward.

I understand most re Boyd. But I strongly back my personal picks until the end. Be it Eagleton, Jarrad Grant or Tom Boyd. It's not usually an easy, popular thing to do. But I'm loyal to the end. Which might not be a long way off if he's missing 12-18 months with a back injury that we can't fix. I worked with a lot of coppers with not treatable back injuries, and it looks bloody hard to go through. Most ended up at a desk or forced ill health retirement. Seeing them up close, I can't imagine them then playing a contact sport. If we can't get on top of it soon with Tom, my life experience makes me think his career as it a serious cross road. I hope our medico's can turn it around. Sure the huge salary saving could let us raid a seriously good free agent, but I'd prefer to see Tom reach his potential. But I won't bet on it right now. But my fingers are crossed hard.

[Twodogs]

Brad Lynch. There's 30 on the list better on the half back flank now. But the Richmond game up forward he showed that burst pace, was very good in traffic (hands/side step), tackling and goal kicking. If he can replicate that across this year, we've found our quick (hopefully high pressure) small forward.

I understand most re Boyd. But I strongly back my personal picks until the end. Be it Eagleton, Jarrad Grant or Tom Boyd. It's not usually an easy, popular thing to do. But I'm loyal to the end. Which might not be a long way off if he's missing 12-18 months with a back injury that we can't fix. I worked with a lot of coppers with not treatable back injuries, and it looks bloody hard to go through. Most ended up at a desk or forced ill health retirement. Seeing them up close, I can't imagine them then playing a contact sport. If we can't get on top of it soon with Tom, my life experience makes me think his career as it a serious cross road. I hope our medico's can turn it around. Sure the huge salary saving could let us raid a seriously good free agent, but I'd prefer to see Tom reach his potential. But I won't bet on it right now. But my fingers are crossed hard.

Regrading bad backs. My dad had really bad back problems but he was a real "suck it up sweetheart" type and he never complained. Basically the only time I ever saw him look even close to being annoyed/upset/angry about was when my son and I would play kick to kick and his back just wouldn't let him go at the ball. Don't underestimate the competitive juices in some people. Play now, worry later!

[mjp]

Brad Lynch. There's 30 on the list better on the half back flank now. But the Richmond game up forward he showed that burst pace, was very good in traffic (hands/side step), tackling and goal kicking. If he can replicate that across this year, we've found our quick (hopefully high pressure) small forward.

But BT, if he can't play forward AND back, then he just isn't going to play.

I am not sure about '30 better' than him off half back - he would certainly be in the mix for a defensive role - but he is certainly not a walk-up as a forward. If Fergus plays, if Lipinski plays, if Lloyd plays, if Cavarro plays, if Dickson plays, if Wallis plays forward...where exactly does Lynch fit in as a forward?

He is going to have to prove that he is capable of doing it at both ends - and even more importantly, taking a turn in the midfield - if he wants to play AFL footy.

Now, I am 100% not saying he was 'gifted' games in 2018 - but teams are always harder to get OUT of than they are to break IN to...he got in the side as we were playing OK and held his position (to some extent) because of that. He is another of our players who has shown enough to make us all think we might just maybe kinda have 'SOMETHING', without actually proving ANYTHING. Very interested to see how his season goes.

[bulldogtragic]

But BT, if he can't play forward AND back, then he just isn't going to play.

I am not sure about '30 better' than him off half back - he would certainly be in the mix for a defensive role - but he is certainly not a walk-up as a forward. If Fergus plays, if Lipinski plays, if Lloyd plays, if Cavarro plays, if Dickson plays, if Wallis plays forward...where exactly does Lynch fit in as a forward?

He is going to have to prove that he is capable of doing it at both ends - and even more importantly, taking a turn in the midfield - if he wants to play AFL footy.

Now, I am 100% not saying he was 'gifted' games in 2018 - but teams are always harder to get OUT of than they are to break IN to...he got in the side as we were playing OK and held his position (to some extent) because of that. He is another of our players who has shown enough to make us all think we might just maybe kinda have 'SOMETHING', without actually proving ANYTHING. Very interested to see how his season goes.

There's some good points. My 30 players was a throw away line, it's more like 7-8 which is a little problematic if we don't get injuries... (Touch wood). My concern with him was after starting well in the team, opposition teams worked him out pretty quickly as a HBF and he didn't have a plan b in his tool kit then. He probably should've been dropped, but we had no one in the cupboard so it was maybe good that he got a few more. Maybe he's worked on that plan b over summer, hopefully so. For me, ahead in the queue at HBF is Daniel, JJ (inj), Suckling, Crozier, Duryea, Richards, Williams etc.

I think that very, very sample size as a forward was interesting to see if he can replicate that, with a plan b if opposition teams shut him down again. With his raw speed and neat disposal, maybe taking turn at high half forward and wing might be where he needs to get to. He's certainly one of the more curious players to watch this year, I've not read anything about where/which group he's training with so far. Certainly where his best spot in the afl team seems an open question.