Bevo in 2014 - what did you think?

[Mofra]

So October 2014 wasn't a high point in the club's history.
The captain walked out, the CEO was gone, the coach sacked, and it appeared we were running a sham 'coaching progress' prior to hiring Leon Cameron as coach. He'd done his apprenticeship at the Hawks, had a reputation as a shrewd tactician and was 'bulldog stock' so it seemed nobody else had much of a chance.

Surprisingly, Luke Beveridge got the job.
I remember being a little worried as he stammered through his first press conference, thinking 'I hope he coaches better than he speaks'.

He's now arguably the greatest coach in our post-1925 history and in 2024 will overtake EJ as our longest serving coach.

What did people think at the time, and what has surprised you?

[Sedat]

To be honest, my thoughts were that anything was going to be a significant improvement on BMac. I don't subscribe to the whole media and AFEL insider narrative of BMac doing all the grunt work and Bevo taking the accolades. Who actually improved under BMac? I can't think of any player who did. By contrast, Bevo got signifiant improvement from so many players and not just young players - the likes of Picken, Murphy and M Boyd improved markedly from already high standards direcrly from Bevo challenging them in unfamiliar roles.

[SonofScray]

I had a connection to BMAC through a family friend, and a colleague, so I was sad about how things panned out there. Bevo struck me as a solid appointment, following a sound process, I was actually really confident in our response to that horror show in October 2014.

Enjoyed his commentary about the squad early on, the emphasis on being two sided players and building on the base he was left with. He definitely instilled some joy back into our footy after some really dour, dry years.

[1eyedog]

To be honest, my thoughts were that anything was going to be a significant improvement on BMac. I don't subscribe to the whole media and AFEL insider narrative of BMac doing all the grunt work and Bevo taking the accolades. Who actually improved under BMac? I can't think of any player who did. By contrast, Bevo got signifiant improvement from so many players and not just young players - the likes of Picken, Murphy and M Boyd improved markedly from already high standards direcrly from Bevo challenging them in unfamiliar roles.

I get what you're saying and I agree. Probably only Libba who won a Charles Sutton in 2014 at the end of BMac's reign. The emergence of Dahlhaus perhaps is the other. Can't think of anyone else. There's no doubt that in the same time period at least 10 players improved under Bevo many of which were limited players (Roberts, Cordy), discarded players from other clubs (Biggs, T Boyd, Hamling) or vets with an enlighted role shift (M Boyd and Wood who went from a hard tagging back flanker to the best intercept mark in the game).

Brendan was a Ressies coach at my old club Newtown and I have spoken to him a few times. I remember him coaching against us at Ocean Grove as well when I played for Newcomb in the BFL so we had a bit to talk about. He mentioned there were a few things he was really proud of during his time at the Dogs and they were bringing Tory Dickson over from Bendigo because he liked what he saw when he was Essendon's forward line coach and pushing hard for us to draft Stringer as soon as he came to the club.

Regardless how all that turned out Dickson and Stringer were 1 and 2 for goals kicked in our flag year.

[MrMahatma]

Can't recall. I recall being shocked when Griff left and everything that happened. It certainly felt like our club was in for a long period of pain ahead. I prob didn't look into Bevo's background too much at the time and probably thought it was another cheap-as-chips appointment. You've just got to give credit to the overall leadership in the joint that it could be turned around, some decisive action, and the right people were put in place to move us forward. We aren't perfect and nor is Bevo, but gee he's played a hugely significant role in our club.

[bornadog]

I get what you're saying and I agree. Probably only Libba who won a Charles Sutton in 2014 at the end of BMac's reign. The emergence of Dahlhaus perhaps is the other. Can't think of anyone else. There's no doubt that in the same time period at least 10 players improved under Bevo many of which were limited players (Roberts, Cordy), discarded players from other clubs (Biggs, T Boyd, Hamling) or vets with an enlighted role shift (M Boyd and Wood who went from a hard tagging back flanker to the best intercept mark in the game).

Brendan was a Ressies coach at my old club Newtown and I have spoken to him a few times. I remember him coaching against us at Ocean Grove as well when I played for Newcomb in the BFL so we had a bit to talk about. He mentioned there were a few things he was really proud of during his time at the Dogs and they were bringing Tory Dickson over from Bendigo because he liked what he saw when he was Essendon's forward line coach and pushing hard for us to draft Stringer as soon as he came to the club.

Regardless how all that turned out Dickson and Stringer were 1 and 2 for goals kicked in our flag year.

BMacc also pushed the club to get our own VFL team.

He was a good developer of players but the senior role was not right for him.

I was confident when Bevo was picked he would be the right choice. His background impeccable being involved at St Bede's then Premierships at Collingwood and also under Clarkson at the Hawks. Success has followed him everywhere he has been and also one of his grandfathers was involved in Multiple premierships at Collingwood. The old adage of Success breeds success is true with Bevo.

[Sedat]

I get what you're saying and I agree. Probably only Libba who won a Charles Sutton in 2014 at the end of BMac's reign. The emergence of Dahlhaus perhaps is the other. Can't think of anyone else. There's no doubt that in the same time period at least 10 players improved under Bevo many of which were limited players (Roberts, Cordy), discarded players from other clubs (Biggs, T Boyd, Hamling) or vets with an enlighted role shift (M Boyd and Wood who went from a hard tagging back flanker to the best intercept mark in the game).

Brendan was a Ressies coach at my old club Newtown and I have spoken to him a few times. I remember him coaching against us at Ocean Grove as well when I played for Newcomb in the BFL so we had a bit to talk about. He mentioned there were a few things he was really proud of during his time at the Dogs and they were bringing Tory Dickson over from Bendigo because he liked what he saw when he was Essendon's forward line coach and pushing hard for us to draft Stringer as soon as he came to the club.

Regardless how all that turned out Dickson and Stringer were 1 and 2 for goals kicked in our flag year.
My observation only but I reckon BMac's ceiling is senior assistant and that he's not the right personality type to be the captain of the ship. I suspect there are quite a few others in that boat, like Alan Richardson, Justin Leppisch, Brett Ratten and Ben Rutten. Maybe even Vossy if he can't get Carlton to contend the next couple of years.

Senior coach is a big job that is way over and above tatical deployment and strategy.

[mjp]

I just wanted B-Mac gone.

I had met him a few times and thought he was a nice fella but we played the worst footy imaginable and he seemed to think that even aspiring to win a possession that wasn't earned 'in battle' (let alone actually kick a goal) was a crime against the gods of football.

All his rhetoric about 'developing great young men' etc - our games had turned into nightmares and sure we were hard and tough but we were also boring and hard to watch.

i thought the Boyd signing was a coup (though devastated Griffen left - his 2014 (or was it 2013) was simply ludicrous in terms of week to week performances as a mid and we will eternally under-rate him as a player because of the way he left.

[bulldogtragic]

Also in the anyone other than BMAC camp.

What surprises me, is that he’s over performed and underperformed in such a short space. Over shot in 2015. To the moon in 2016. Then with the youngest premiership list in years, we missed finals. Then we scraping in to make up the numbers. Then 2021 he should’ve been our first two-time coach of the club. Then making up the numbers last year. It’s schizophrenic.

He’s prepared to live and die by the sword and I hope he lives long. There’s no excuses now. He’s got the cattle this year and will get better next year. Time to iron out the ruck strategy, get the game plan right and get selections right while adjusting to the new sub rule etc.

[1eyedog]

I just wanted B-Mac gone.

I had met him a few times and thought he was a nice fella but we played the worst footy imaginable and he seemed to think that even aspiring to win a possession that wasn't earned 'in battle' (let alone actually kick a goal) was a crime against the gods of football.

All his rhetoric about 'developing great young men' etc - our games had turned into nightmares and sure we were hard and tough but we were also boring and hard to watch.

i thought the Boyd signing was a coup (though devastated Griffen left - his 2014 (or was it 2013) was simply ludicrous in terms of week to week performances as a mid and we will eternally under-rate him as a player because of the way he left.

I can't remember the season under him but we lost like 12 out of 14 games to finish the year and were getting belted by like 10-14 goals and it was just arse.

I'm pretty sure Griffen's back was buggered all the way through his last year with us.

[1eyedog]

My observation only but I reckon BMac's ceiling is senior assistant and that he's not the right personality type to be the captain of the ship. I suspect there are quite a few others in that boat, like Alan Richardson, Justin Leppisch, Brett Ratten and Ben Rutten. Maybe even Vossy if he can't get Carlton to contend the next couple of years.

Senior coach is a big job that is way over and above tatical deployment and strategy.

Yeah I 100% agree and actually had my suspicions that Bevo might also fall into this catergory given he was a relationship-driven coach and admitted his strong area was development. Happy to be proven wrong on that one.

[Scraggers]

In 2014 I only had the chance to attend one game a year, and toward the end of 2014 (I think North had just beaten us) I had the opportunity to listen to the President talk about our great future ... he was talking money. I got into a stand-up argument with Peter about accepting mediocrity in our on-field performance. 5 months later B-Mac was sacked. I like to think i played a small part in that :p

[Happy Days]

Yep I hated B-Mac and his Teaching Young Men The Right Way schtick too and was happy he was canned. There’s this one bit of vision I’ll never forget of him stopping Christian Howard at training to ask him what his dreams in life are or something that was just the most Dead Poets Society vaguely mentor-ish meaningless garbage shit ever and perfectly encapsulated everything wrong with his style of coaching. And that’s leaving to the side how the prioritisation of contested ball over everything made for some of the least watchable games we’ve played.

But I’m not gonna pretend I knew anything about Bevo other than him being the guy with the funny last name on some footy cards I had as a kid.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Met and spoke with B-Mac a number of times. He presented well on these occasions, but as per above, he spent too much time on 'building great young men' and 'developing from the inside out'. Clearly had lost the players in a bad way late in the year and ultimately he just couldn't evolve his early philosophy. The same old rhetoric grew old quickly.

I thought Bevo was a breath of fresh air from day one and I liked his pedigree of being involved in the system as a hardened battler/player, a successful coach at local level, and around the circles of Collingwood and Hawthorn. I was fairly confident he was a big step in the right direction, and felt we had the talent to be better than we previously were. Drafting the likes of Stringer, Macrae and Bont helped, plus the recruitment of Boyd kind of signalled a new era.

[bornadog]

Yep I hated B-Mac and his Teaching Young Men The Right Way schtick too and was happy he was canned. There’s this one bit of vision I’ll never forget of him stopping Christian Howard at training to ask him what his dreams in life are or something that was just the most Dead Poets Society vaguely mentor-ish meaningless garbage shit ever and perfectly encapsulated everything wrong with his style of coaching. And that’s leaving to the side how the prioritisation of contested ball over everything made for some of the least watchable games we’ve played.

But I’m not gonna pretend I knew anything about Bevo other than him being the guy with the funny last name on some footy cards I had as a kid.

Everyone (media) carried on about how Brendan taught us contested ball, yet under Rocket we were top 3 in the AFL for contested ball.

[F'scary]

I could not stand our playing style under bmac. It had no zip or flair about it. It seemed to be based around creating stoppages and moving the ball, rugby league like, a few metres at a time. So when I saw we were getting a young coach who had been assistant at the all conquering Hawks and who had played for us too, I was really happy. He seemed like hot property too and I was very impressed his press interviews where he appeared to be innovative. And he certainly proved to be.

[The Doctor]

One of my favourite threads. The B-Mac debate with list management & Dal thrown in. A feisty and passionate debate about what to do about our club at the time. Great respect to all who contributed on either side of the debate.

https://www.woof.net.au/forum/showthread.php?11713-Williamstown-v-Werribee-Round-3&highlight=Williamstown+v+Werribee

[boydogs]

I don't think it's revisionist to say Bevo was considered a good appointment at the time. Only concern I recall was his media work, whilst it did improve with experience his attitude towards it didn't

[bornadog]

One of my favourite threads. The B-Mac debate with list management & Dal thrown in. A feisty and passionate debate about what to do about our club at the time. Great respect to all who contributed on either side of the debate.

https://www.woof.net.au/forum/showthread.php?11713-Williamstown-v-Werribee-Round-3&highlight=Williamstown+v+Werribee

Thanks for the reminder.

[Happy Days]

One of my favourite threads. The B-Mac debate with list management & Dal thrown in. A feisty and passionate debate about what to do about our club at the time. Great respect to all who contributed on either side of the debate.

https://www.woof.net.au/forum/showthread.php?11713-Williamstown-v-Werribee-Round-3&highlight=Williamstown+v+Werribee

Be honest you just bumped this because you were right.

Great match report early in that thread though.

[bulldogtragic]

Also in the anyone other than BMAC camp.

What surprises me, is that he?s over performed and underperformed in such a short space. Over shot in 2015. To the moon in 2016. Then with the youngest premiership list in years, we missed finals. Then we scraping in to make up the numbers. Then 2021 he should?ve been our first two-time coach of the club. Then making up the numbers last year. It?s schizophrenic.

He?s prepared to live and die by the sword and I hope he lives long. There?s no excuses now. He?s got the cattle this year and will get better next year. Time to iron out the ruck strategy, get the game plan right and get selections right while adjusting to the new sub rule etc.

Bump. Now fast tracking to a full rebuild despite chasing 30 year olds, with a playing group looking list to him. How with the list profile of talent and age have we not been able to play multiple consecutive seasons deep into finals like with Plough & Rocket? It?s truly a schizophrenic ride. With his nice new shiny contract, strap in because I fear it's getting even worse before or if it gets better.

[anfo27]

I was one of a very few who liked what Bmac brought to the club. Having our own reserves team was massive. I was happy with the emphasis on contested ball & I could see the development. I wasn't that concerned on the lack of wins cause I wanted us to play a style of footy that once we were good enough to play finals it would stack up. Was devastated with all that took place in October. We were a laughing stock.
I can't remember what I really thought of Bevo. It was apparent from our first game that the players needed the shackles taken off & given the freedom to express their attacking way. Chompers was a revelation. He got the best out of the squad & the players believed in the system. They sacrificed their individual games for the benefit of the team. It was beautiful!
Nobody in 2014 thought we had the cattle to do what we did. There is nothing wrong with the cattle (yes the list isn't perfectly balanced) we have now. We have no system & the players do not believe in what they are being asked to do. I remember hearing Rowan Marshall on the radio last night & he was asked what the team talked about at half time. He said basically they all believed in the system & if they stuck to their processes they would win. There is no way the saints had a better team on paper but they believed & we didn't. Belief is everything.

[macca]

I was one of a very few who liked what Bmac brought to the club. Having our own reserves team was massive. I was happy with the emphasis on contested ball & I could see the development. I wasn't that concerned on the lack of wins cause I wanted us to play a style of footy that once we were good enough to play finals it would stack up. Was devastated with all that took place in October. We were a laughing stock.
I can't remember what I really thought of Bevo. It was apparent from our first game that the players needed the shackles taken off & given the freedom to express their attacking way. Chompers was a revelation. He got the best out of the squad & the players believed in the system. They sacrificed their individual games for the benefit of the team. It was beautiful!
Nobody in 2014 thought we had the cattle to do what we did. There is nothing wrong with the cattle (yes the list isn't perfectly balanced) we have now. We have no system & the players do not believe in what they are being asked to do. I remember hearing Rowan Marshall on the radio last night & he was asked what the team talked about at half time. He said basically they all believed in the system & if they stuck to their processes they would win. There is no way the saints had a better team on paper but they believed & we didn't. Belief is everything.

Great post @anfo27

who would have thought in 2014, we had a nucleus of a premiership team ?

BMac and the coaching group brought the defensive game plan and the toughness instilled in the players.

With a few players maturing like Jong, McRae, Bonts, Big Red, excellent depth ( we won the VFL in 2016) with Adcock and Suckling , with players given freedom to go full throttle.

Interesting, Collingwood is in similar position now with McRae with the Bucks departure ( heavy defense mindset) .