Coaches and club out of excuses ahead of 2021 season

[GVGjr]

Kane Cornes (https://www.sen.com.au/news/2021/02/26/kane-cornes-names-the-players-coaches-and-club-out-of-excuses-ahead-of-2021/) has listed the following clubs and coaches that are running out of excuses this year
Bevo is mentioned but lets face it Cornes does try to grab a headline

The start of the AFL season is less than three weeks away and Kane Cornes has outlined the players, coaches and clubs who are out of excuses this year.

Inspired by a segment from The Bill Simmons podcast, Cornes spoke at length about the various people and clubs in the game who are under pressure in 2021.

Here’s who he nominated:

Simon Goodwin (Melbourne)

“He is out of excuses,” he said on SEN’s The Captain’s Run.

“I know Ben Brown and Sam Weideman are injured, but there are no excuses left. You have revamped your coaching structure, you’ve done documentaries, you’ve got the big fitness guru in (Darren Burgess).

“They’ve recruited heavily, you have Steven May and Jake Lever – this is it.

“There are no excuses.”

Joe Daniher (Brisbane)

“Injured, talented and now left Essendon,” he said.

“He has a new club, they’re a powerful club now and they have a great midfield and list.

“Joe Daniher, you are out of excuses.”

Luke Beveridge (Western Bulldogs)

“Luke Beveridge is out of excuses,” he said.

“His record since 2016 is under 50 per cent (win record), it’s been really ordinary.

“Adam Treloar comes in, the squad is ready to go and some are saying it’s the best midfield in the competition.

“Luke Beveridge, you are out of excuses.”

Carlton

“There are no excuses left for Carlton,” he said.

“I think a par result for the Blues is to make finals (this year), but a birdie in golfing terms to win a final and anything else is a bonus.

“There are no more excuses for the Blues, they’ve run out.”

[ratsmac]

He's not wrong!

[dog town]

I don’t really disagree but I think in general media and fans overrate our list constantly. They will say things like this and then in the next breath point out all the holes on our list. Does anyone seriously think the 19/20 lists under performed? Look at the teams above them and they clearly have better and more balanced lists (most of them anyway).

[mjp]

I don’t really disagree but I think in general media and fans overrate our list constantly. They will say things like this and then in the next breath point out all the holes on our list. Does anyone seriously think the 19/20 lists under performed? Look at the teams above them and they clearly have better and more balanced lists (most of them anyway).

Richmond won the premiership.
They had only 1 all-Australian team member.
Does this mean they over-achieved?
At the same time, how could they have when they were the pre-season premiership favourite?

Whether the list is rated #1 or #18 doesn’t mean that’s where you finish. I think we had the youngest ever average age for a premiership winning side in 2016. We have won less than 50% of our games since then. I would say “that’s bad”...

We are out of excuses.

[jeemak]

2018 really hurt, but since then including finals we're at 63% which is about where our list and development is probably at.

This whole out of excuses or out of reasons bullshit flummoxes me to be honest. Our list is completely different to what it was in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and without mentioning the "R" word we're a developing team and only one of about eight with claims on top four, meaning we're just as likely to make it as not.

Even if we improve this year some teams might still be too good for us and that's just how it is in this game, and it can happen without folks at the helm having done too much wrong over the journey.

To be honest it's going to be a pretty *!*!*!*!ed year on WOOF if we're already at this stage of angst, given we aren't by any means the perfect article, can only incrementally improve an already improving side year on year, and have clear structural deficiencies that are difficult to rectify.

[bornadog]

To be honest it's going to be a pretty *!*!*!*!ed year on WOOF if we're already at this stage of angst, given we aren't by any means the perfect article, can only incrementally improve an already improving side year on year, and have clear structural deficiencies that are difficult to rectify.

God help us,.

[Bulldog4life]

2018 really hurt, but since then including finals we're at 63% which is about where our list and development is probably at.

This whole out of excuses or out of reasons bullshit flummoxes me to be honest. Our list is completely different to what it was in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and without mentioning the "R" word we're a developing team and only one of about eight with claims on top four, meaning we're just as likely to make it as not.

Even if we improve this year some teams might still be too good for us and that's just how it is in this game, and it can happen without folks at the helm having done too much wrong over the journey.

To be honest it's going to be a pretty *!*!*!*!ed year on WOOF if we're already at this stage of angst, given we aren't by any means the perfect article, can only incrementally improve an already improving side year on year, and have clear structural deficiencies that are difficult to rectify.

It is already.

[bornadog]

‘More stressful than ever’: Which AFL coaches are under the pump in 2021? (https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/more-stressful-than-ever-which-afl-coaches-are-under-the-pump-in-2021-20210228-p576fu.html)
Jake Niall


In a season of coaching intrigue, Nathan Buckley, Simon Goodwin and Leon Cameron are the senior coaches who enter the season with the highest degree of uncertainty about their futures.

Buckley is coming out of contract in his 10th season. Goodwin and Cameron both have contracts for 2022, but neither of the latter pair is assured of retaining his job without strong results.

Goodwin has what industry sources say is a “watertight” contract – in other words, one that commits the Demons to paying him, more or less in full, for 2022 as well as this season.

Cameron, who took Greater Western Sydney to a grand final in 2019, is subject to the AFL-backed policy of a six-month payout, even though, on paper, his deal stretches for two seasons. The AFL has pushed for six-month payouts for coaches, to protect clubs from hefty terminations in an era of slashed football spending.

Coaches dealt with unprecedented challenges in COVID-ravaged season 2020 but all kept their jobs, notwithstanding John Worsfold’s planned handover and Rhyce Shaw stepping away for personal reasons. Will that be the case in 2021?


Nathan Buckley

What does Eddie’s departure mean for Nathan Buckley?
While Buckley does not have any protection contractually, his recent track record is stronger, having narrowly lost a grand final in 2018, finished a kick off a grand final in 2019 and made the top six in a season ravaged by the coronavirus. Conversely, he has been in the job longer without a flag and the wounded Magpies are in a list refresh.

Collingwood’s stated position is that the club will wait to let the season unfold before any discussions about Buckley’s contract, that they will not be rushed and that Buckley and the club and coach have an open dialogue in which the parties communicate regularly.

“The discussions will unfold over the course of the year,” Collingwood chief executive Mark Anderson said of Buckley’s contractual situation. “It’s exactly like the process he went through for the last contract extension ]after 2018].”

Anderson said the Magpies were not in a hurry to deal with Buckley’s situation. “We’re not in a rush, we don’t need to be in any rush. He’s energised for the season ahead.” The chief executive said there was “a high degree of trust” between the club and Buckley.

Buckley’s position, clearly, will be shaped by results, the direction that the decision-makers desire and the question – which every club periodically asks – of whether there is a superior alternative.

New football boss Graham Wright, an ex-teammate of Buckley’s, will be a major influence in a post-Eddie McGuire Collingwood, in which the next president is yet to be confirmed (Peter Murphy and Mark Korda sharing the position for several more weeks).

Alastair Clarkson
The other senior coach whose position is bound to attract considerable intrigue this season is from Wright’s alma mater, Hawthorn, where Alastair Clarkson has four flags in his resume and two further years to run on his hefty contract (more than million dollars, pre-COVID-19 cuts), but whose president Jeff Kennett has already suggested that Clarkson is unlikely to coach beyond 2022 with the Hawks.

Clarkson also is coaching a team in the throes of a substantial rebuild of a playing list and which has little prospect of playing finals in 2021, as the Hawks turn their eyes to youth.

If Hawthorn can hold Clarkson to his contract and vice-versa, it seems improbable – given his service and Kennett’s blunt assessment – that the club would stand in the coach’s path if he wanted to move to another club at the end of this year.

Clarkson casts a shadow over his coaching comrades, by dint of the widespread view that he and the Hawks are in the twilight of a highly successful marriage.

Simon Goodwin
If Goodwin is best placed contractually, his position is arguably the most parlous of the aforementioned trio. This is due to a combination of Melbourne’s expectations, the failures of 2019 in particular (and 2020 to a lesser extent) and the pressures on the hierarchy, whose president Glenn Bartlett faces the members and who have key, highly sought players coming out of contract either this year (Clayton Oliver) or next (Christian Petracca).

The notion that Melbourne’s board discussed removing Goodwin last year is not correct, according to club sources, who say this was never a consideration. But the prospect of a payout offers the coach scant protection – the Demons are far more solvent these days (they are an unassisted club in the new austerity of AFL) and Goodwin is far from the Clarkson-John Longmire bracket of salaries.

If Buckley, Goodwin and Cameron have completely different challenges this season, they also share obvious issues: game styles or methods that hampered progress last year and, in particular, weaknesses in attack, where there aren’t reliable key forwards or goalkickers.

The Demons will begin the season without Ben Brown, their primary recruit and target in attack, and Sam Weideman, presenting Goodwin with a challenge to manufacture scores. His crucial recruits, thus, will be assistant coaches in Adem Yze and Mark Williams. The Magpies again front up without an A-grade, bona fide key forward or quality crumber, while GWS have lost Jeremy Cameron to Geelong.

Damien Hardwick
Richmond’s Hardwick has no such concerns, the Tigers owning Tom Lynch and a game style that has flourished in the finals furnace. For Hardwick, the competition’s current alpha coach, the question is about relationships: will his bond with his senior players, or the team cohesion that has been so successful, be compromised at all by his relationship with a staffer in Richmond’s commercial department following a marriage break-up?

The Tigers are in discussions with Hardwick’s management about a new multi-year contract (his expires this year) and there is confidence within that there will be no fallout from his personal situation. What was easily forgotten in the Hardwick mini-saga of summer was that he had the leverage of being out of contract.

Ben Rutten
Essendon’s Rutten, meanwhile, begins his coaching career without a honeymoon, due to the messy handover arrangement with John Worsfold. Rutten needs time, given the reality that their list profile is considerably younger without Joe Daniher, Adam Saad, Orazio Fantasia and Conor McKenna.

Chris Scott
Geelong’s Chris Scott, as ever, will begin with the fiercest pressure from his own tribe (fans), having a team that has gained experience in Cameron, Isaac Smith and Shaun Higgins: Having sold the (draft) farm, it is probably flag or bust for Geelong in 2021 and 2022.

Broadly, coaches have never seemed as vulnerable to the unique stresses of their job. Gillon McLachlan aside, the first 18 – the name Coaches’ Association boss Mark Brayshaw attaches to the senior coaches – wear more opprobrium and scrutiny than anyone within the AFL’s brutopia.

Buckley, Hardwick and Goodwin had marriage separations confirmed in 2020, while North’s Rhyce Shaw walked away from his job for personal reasons, as the coaches dealt with the combination of fewer staff and more responsibility during the pandemic.

“Most of us are normal human beings. We’re no better or tougher than anyone.”

The extraordinary traumas of Mark Thompson, Dani (formerly Dean) Laidley, James Hird, the late Phil Walsh and Dean Bailey underscore the weight carried by senior coaches.

“I’m quite concerned, if you look at the coaches in the last 10-12 years and what’s happened in their lives,” said Brisbane coach Chris Fagan. “It’s not all good.”

Fagan observed of the current landscape: “It’s getting harder because we’ve got less staff and it’s gotten more stressful than ever.

“Most of us are normal human beings. We’re no better or tougher than anyone.”

[comrade]

To be honest it's going to be a pretty *!*!*!*!ed year on WOOF if we're already at this stage of angst, given we aren't by any means the perfect article, can only incrementally improve an already improving side year on year, and have clear structural deficiencies that are difficult to rectify.

I wouldn't deem analysis from posters such as mjp as 'angst'.

And our structural deficiencies wouldn't be so hard to rectify if actually addressed them. For example, is giving Anthony Scott a list spot really going to help us plug one of the substantial holes? I would say no

[soupman]

To be honest it's going to be a pretty *!*!*!*!ed year on WOOF if we're already at this stage of angst, given we aren't by any means the perfect article, can only incrementally improve an already improving side year on year, and have clear structural deficiencies that are difficult to rectify.

I would argue it's more frustration than angst but close enough.

It's less about us not improving incrementally and more about a vibe that we continue to fail to address our deficiencies.

[Grantysghost]

I would understand this level of angst if that was a round 1 game. But I’m bewildered by the reaction to a practise match. What was the expectation prior that meant we were so far off what many expected ?

I saw enough that I care about this time of year to make me comfortable with the preparation. Im really looking for little indications of where we will improve; Martin showed enough to give me hope we may have a competitive ruck division this season, McNeil looked a promising pickup, the list is for the most part healthy and our younger elite talent (English, Smith, Naughton for eg) have all looked like they have continued their progression. Plus, we just drafted one of the most talented kids in the land, and have Treloar waiting in the wings.

I too think we have drafted certain personality types which appear to lack a certain edge but I see that coming up from kids like Naughton and Smith who do have that bit of mongrel. Even Jamarra on very little evidence seems to have that extra bit of grit many are calling for.

Maybe my expectations aren’t as high as other woofers, but I’m not too concerned at all. Future is bright.;)

[Mofra]

I know we lack KPDs... but would you have banked on Fletcher Roberts and a developing Joel Hamling to beat $2.2m worth of marquee KPFs in the Grands Final (Buddy and Tippett)?

We have tried a number of systems in the years since that haven't worked.

I do have one area of optimism. Bevo's win/loss record when we've picked a more experienced side than the opposition is over 80% (from memory). We picked up Stef Martin, Treloar and Hannan (depending on how often we can get those guys on the paddock). Martin should be as useful off-field as a mentor for Timmy as he is on it.
Bailey Williams had a "penny drop" moment 14 months ago, Naughton should be fitter than last year, some of our trades have performed well (Crozier and Keath).

Other teams have overcome list management holes to win flags so there are zero list excuses this year - it's coaching and player management. Shaun Grigg is a premiership CHF/ruck FFS. It's time for the coaches to make the list work, they're had it for 6 years and it's theirs now.

[FrediKanoute]

I would understand this level of angst if that was a round 1 game. But I’m bewildered by the reaction to a practise match. What was the expectation prior that meant we were so far off what many expected ?

Didn't see the game so can't comment. If there was a concern is that we lost a game to Hawthorn, a team we pantsed last year and who are widely tipped to finish bottom 4. I get its only a practice game, but if the practice game means we serve up the same dross we served up for a large part of last season then Bevo should be under pressure.

[Grantysghost]

Didn't see the game so can't comment. If there was a concern is that we lost a game to Hawthorn, a team we pantsed last year and who are widely tipped to finish bottom 4. I get its only a practice game, but if the practice game means we serve up the same dross we served up for a large part of last season then Bevo should be under pressure.

It's a fair comment, Bevo has been given a grace period certainly after the flag, and he is rightly starting to be questioned on the teams results subsequently.
Just not sure that was the game to do it. I need to see more before I can ascertain whether we have improved.
Maybe I'm putting too little importance in these games, but I look at Goodwin at Melbourne. Does beating the Tigers have any effect on his tenuous appointment?

[mjp]

I would understand this level of angst if that was a round 1 game. But I’m bewildered by the reaction to a practise match. What was the expectation prior that meant we were so far off what many expected ?


Without jumping to my own defense, I generally deal with 'understandable losses' as well as anyone. But I am 100% over effort based losses.

What did I want to see? Some of the words we have heard over the past two off-seasons about how we have learned from our poor finals performances and are 'desperate' to make sure it doesn't happen again actually put into action.

I'm looking for effort I guess. I'm looking for a team that has set a high internal standard for transition defending and holds one-another to account. I'm looking for a team that shows they understand the areas where they need to be better and are 'being better'.

I'm not concerned about the new players or personnel right now. I want to see an improved attitude...I want to be convinced that with 'this team' the round 1 disaster from last year wont be repeated...I did not get that vibe.

[bornadog]

Without jumping to my own defense, I generally deal with 'understandable losses' as well as anyone. But I am 100% over effort based losses.

What did I want to see? Some of the words we have heard over the past two off-seasons about how we have learned from our poor finals performances and are 'desperate' to make sure it doesn't happen again actually put into action.

I'm looking for effort I guess. I'm looking for a team that has set a high internal standard for transition defending and holds one-another to account. I'm looking for a team that shows they understand the areas where they need to be better and are 'being better'.

I'm not concerned about the new players or personnel right now. I want to see an improved attitude...I want to be convinced that with 'this team' the round 1 disaster from last year wont be repeated...I did not get that vibe.

MJP, you speak for all of us, we all want that.

[GVGjr]

Without jumping to my own defense, I generally deal with 'understandable losses' as well as anyone. But I am 100% over effort based losses.

What did I want to see? Some of the words we have heard over the past two off-seasons about how we have learned from our poor finals performances and are 'desperate' to make sure it doesn't happen again actually put into action.

I'm looking for effort I guess. I'm looking for a team that has set a high internal standard for transition defending and holds one-another to account. I'm looking for a team that shows they understand the areas where they need to be better and are 'being better'.

I'm not concerned about the new players or personnel right now. I want to see an improved attitude...I want to be convinced that with 'this team' the round 1 disaster from last year wont be repeated...I did not get that vibe.

I think we have seen enough examples in the last 2 years that when we aren't switched on we are a below average side. When we are switched on we are more than competitive with the best sides

This is why I want us to train and play every game with a high level of focus because I'm not convinced we are good enough to simply flick the switch on when it counts.

[comrade]

I think we have seen enough examples in the last 2 years that when we aren't switched on we are a below average side. When we are switched on we are more than competitive with the best sides

This is why I want us to train and play every game with a high level of focus because I'm not convinced we are good enough to simply flick the switch on when it counts.

I've seen some argue (not here but else where) that Richmond lost their practice match to Melbourne so therefore it means little. Well, Richmond have the track record to suggest they can switch it on when it counts. We definitely do not.

[Topdog]

I think we have seen enough examples in the last 2 years that when we aren't switched on we are a below average side. When we are switched on we are more than competitive with the best sides

This is why I want us to train and play every game with a high level of focus because I'm not convinced we are good enough to simply flick the switch on when it counts.

Yep what was most disappointing with the 2020 season was that for 80% of the games you knew the final result within the first 10 minutes of the game. I don't see that happening with many other teams and it is all effort based.

[mjp]

I've seen some argue (not here but else where) that Richmond lost their practice match to Melbourne so therefore it means little. Well, Richmond have the track record to suggest they can switch it on when it counts. We definitely do not.

I wish we had earned the right to be compared with Richmond.

When the time comes to lay it on the line, they lay it on the line. And as a group they turn it over as much as any other side (he says without checking a single stat)...but the TEAM takes responsibility for an error (it is everyone's fault) and the TEAM fixes it.

I love this quote from Damian Lillard and think it sums up what is missing:

"I grew up that way," Lillard says. "Let's say we had to clean the house, and my job was to clean the kitchen. My brother is supposed to do the bathroom. My sister is supposed to clean the living room. If I do my job but that other stuff ain't done, then we didn't do it. That was my upbringing. We all go down together."

At the moment, we DON'T all go down together.

[comrade]

I wish we had earned the right to be compared with Richmond.

When the time comes to lay it on the line, they lay it on the line. And as a group they turn it over as much as any other side (he says without checking a single stat)...but the TEAM takes responsibility for an error (it is everyone's fault) and the TEAM fixes it.

I love this quote from Damian Lillard and think it sums up what is missing:

"I grew up that way," Lillard says. "Let's say we had to clean the house, and my job was to clean the kitchen. My brother is supposed to do the bathroom. My sister is supposed to clean the living room. If I do my job but that other stuff ain't done, then we didn't do it. That was my upbringing. We all go down together."

At the moment, we DON'T all go down together.

Richmond are fascinating because the same concerns we have with our side, Tigers fans were likely posting very similar things at the end of 2016. There was a transformation over that pre-season where the entire group somehow bought into the effort required to go to the next level which I still struggle to understand.

[Grantysghost]

Richmond are fascinating because the same concerns we have with our side, Tigers fans were likely posting very similar things at the end of 2016. There was a transformation over that pre-season where the entire group somehow bought into the effort required to go to the next level which I still struggle to understand.

I remember vividly their last game of 2016 v the Swans at the SCG. They were absolutely pathetic. No effort, looked like the entire team hated each other. Down by 14 goals at half time, 20 at three quarter time.

The wolves were at the door big time. There was a massive takeover push from the "Focus on Footy" group that off season which included ex player Bryan Wood amongst others. From memory they wanted to remove all the assistants and keep Hardwick which may have eventually happened as part of an agreement with the incumbent board.

They were in disarray. How they turned it around is an incredible story. Still hard to believe really.

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2016/141620160827.html

[bornadog]

I remember vividly their last game of 2016 v the Swans at the SCG. They were absolutely pathetic. No effort, looked like the entire team hated each other. Down by 14 goals at half time, 20 at three quarter time.

The wolves were at the door big time. There was a massive takeover push from the "Focus on Footy" group that off season which included ex player Bryan Wood amongst others. From memory they wanted to remove all the assistants and keep Hardwick which may have eventually happened as part of an agreement with the incumbent board.

They were in disarray. How they turned it around is an incredible story. Still hard to believe really.

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2016/141620160827.html

It is all about team work, not individual performances, but a team just doesn't get created overnight when the players all come together. Richmond took a number of years for the team to gel together and now the core has stuck together and they work well.

In our case we have changed a lot since 2016, with over 12 premiership players gone and lots of new players coming in. (refer Jeemak on the mini rebuild).

We have to start working as a team, as we have now had a couple of seasons with the core sticking together, but we have also had a huge influx of KPP who are still fitting in (Bruce, Keath, Gardner, Martin).

Lots of players have now grown up and they need to contribute. I am confident they will, and we will have a good season.

[Axe Man]

This article has Bevo as the fourth most under pressure coach heading into season 2021.

PRESSURE GAUGE: How much heat is your coach under? (https://www.afl.com.au/news/561200/pressure-gauge-how-much-heat-is-your-coach-under-)

Mitch Cleary puts a glaring spotlight on your club's coach

ONLY two coaches enter 2021 without a contract for next season.

But where do they rank compared to their rivals in this year's pressure gauge?

AFL.com.au reporter Mitch Cleary puts the microscope on your club's boss and ranks them from 18-1 on a pressure gauge.

4. Luke Beveridge – Western Bulldogs
Pass mark: Winning a final
Started at the Bulldogs: 2015. Contract: 2023
Record: 74 wins, 60 losses. Finals: Four wins and three losses (one premiership from one Grand Final).
We say: Has now gone four seasons without winning a final since the breakthrough 2016 premiership and there's no excuses this year. Beveridge has the most stacked midfield in the competition and the best new kid in the country to go with readymade recruits Adam Treloar, Stefan Martin and Mitch Hannan. The Dogs' age profile suggests they won't be falling away anytime soon but their winless finals run simply can't extend into a fifth year.