Ward gets a bake!

[comrade]

Received The Bulldog quarterly magazine and Rocket was candid in his profile of young Callan.

"Fluctuated early in the pre-season with attitude...we had hopes he'd play most games this year, but that wavered a bit with the way he presented in November."

Anyone have any insight on this? He obviously came back in less than ordinary condition from the post-season break.

I'm guessing this was written up earlier in the year, let's hope Callan has won back the coaches respect in the last few months.

[ledge]

Pretty big bake if he has put that in the mag. Probably a psychological bake to get the kid thinking about pulling his finger out a bit more.
Kids with exceptional talent tend to think thats all they need.

[LostDoggy]

Pretty big bake if he has put that in the mag. Probably a psychological bake to get the kid thinking about pulling his finger out a bit more.
Kids with exceptional talent tend to think thats all they need.

This guy will be a gun player for the 'dog's, he may just need a kick up the arse to get him going.

[Remi Moses]

Refreshing to hear the usual tripe not dished up. I.E every player is flying,skin folds are at record lows. Not so subtle hint for the lad to lift.

[KT31]

Imagine being a young gun with everything handed to you.
Can't help but being above yourself.
I've met this kid and know his mum, he will be a great player for our club.
Don't listen to the press this kid is the next Ronnie James.

[Mantis]

Imagine being a young gun with everything handed to you.
Can't help but being above yourself.
I've met this kid and know his mum, he will be a great player for our club.
Don't listen to the press this kid is the next Ronnie James.

That is a very poorly constructed statement.

Don't believe the press?? The profile was written by the coach and NOT the media.

The next Ronnie James?? We never saw the best of the first due Ronnie James due to his tragic accident so I don't know what you are getting at there.

[Desipura]

On the flip side Jamason Daniels gets a very good write up from the coach. I do not have the magazine to hand however he said words to the effect that we have got ourselves a bargain!

[alwaysadog]

Imagine being a young gun with everything handed to you.
Can't help but being above yourself.
I've met this kid and know his mum, he will be a great player for our club.
Don't listen to the press this kid is the next Ronnie James.

- with a different ending, I hope.

[LostDoggy]

....however he said words to the effect that we have got ourselves a bargain!

Unusual, it's March. That's the inevitable post draft November expression.

[LostDoggy]

Received The Bulldog quarterly magazine and Rocket was candid in his profile of young Callan.

"Fluctuated early in the pre-season with attitude...we had hopes he'd play most games this year, but that wavered a bit with the way he presented in November."

Anyone have any insight on this? He obviously came back in less than ordinary condition from the post-season break.

I'm guessing this was written up earlier in the year, let's hope Callan has won back the coaches respect in the last few months.

Correct but did you notice the bake given to Okeefe!
I & many from Willy were big fans & thought he had played consistently better than Ward when Ward debuted last year.
Rocket seemed to be hell bent on playing Ward 1st regardless of how well Okeefe was playing.This explains a lot!
Wonder what 'Attention to Detail' means ?
I hope Okeefe is made of strong character & heeds the message Rocket is obviously sending!
He is a very smart & skilled player from what i have seen & heard but that will not be enough if he is not prepared to work hard enough!

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Pretty big bake if he has put that in the mag. Probably a psychological bake to get the kid thinking about pulling his finger out a bit more.
Kids with exceptional talent tend to think thats all they need.

Rocket seems to employ the bake technique with talented players (Ward, Hill, Cooney) and rightly so, a lot of them when young are used to coasting on their talent. They need to know it's about consistent effort. It got Cooney a Brownlow. I was wrapt when the young Nathan Brown said his mentor was Scott West for the way he applies himself. Pity he proved he lacked loyalty.

[bornadog]

November, what is interesting about November when you are in year 12, ahhhhh thats right VCE


I seem to recall a your kid called Wilson, got back to trainng after year 12 and couldn't keep up in the time trial, got sacked and when on and won some brownlow medals.
:confused::confused::confused:

[mighty_west]

Wonder what 'Attention to Detail' means ?


Lazy?

[MikeSheahan]

I'm sure Rocket would have thought long and hard about making such a statement, in a public domain. I'd say he went this way because he thinks it may get the best return from the kid? It's his call, after all, and hopefully it all turns out good.

[alwaysadog]

I'm sure Rocket would have thought long and hard about making such a statement, in a public domain. I'd say he went this way because he thinks it may get the best return from the kid? It's his call, after all, and hopefully it all turns out good.

Pardon me for mentioning it Mike, but I think your grammar is slipping. For someone with your background it's almost inexcusable, but shouldn't it be "turns out well".

[Topdog]

On the flip side Jamason Daniels gets a very good write up from the coach. I do not have the magazine to hand however he said words to the effect that we have got ourselves a bargain!

"He's been very impressive. I think he's one that slipped through the cracks and we got a bargain there.
He's very quick, his fitness is terrific, and he's displayed some very good football nous already. Hopefully he can keep that work rate up."

[Dogs 24/7]

Isn't this just a vintage Eade ploy?

I can recall Reid getting a tune up before the start of the season and when the penny finally dropped he had a great 2nd half of the season. Ward probably just needed an extra push.

I'm actually not sure a public outing is the right thing to do but he is the guy in charge and he should know how to best get the response he is after.

[alwaysadog]

Isn't this just a vintage Eade ploy?

I'm actually not sure a public outing is the right thing to do but he is the guy in charge and he should know how to best get the response he is after.

There is no right and/or wrong with this, and it's really hard to know whether his intended audience for the comments is the player himself or the members, and even harder to judge if it will work.

I can see two perspectives; one he wants to stir the player into a better frame of mind by hitting at his pride in his public perception, equally he could want to stop supporters patting Callan and telling him that he'll play 200 games, which might have been undermining Rocket's message to him, because evidently he was not in shape to add one game to his current small total, and to give advance notice about why he might not be selected.

Being the complex character that our Rocket is there is no reason to suppose that he doesn't have both in mind.

So Callan you're on notice no more overblown expectations; even champions have to do all the hard work and look after themselves. Could have beens are a dime a dozen, don't become one.

By the way has no one noticed what Rocket had to say about Aker?

[GVGjr]

By the way has no one noticed what Rocket had to say about Aker?

It's hard to say exactly why Eade chose to use the newsletter as a way of highlighting his concerns with some of the players. I suppose most supporters would welcome it because we are often critical when coaches and officials dole out that standard cliches. At least this is an honest enough assessment. Having read some of his comments about the players, including the one about Akermanis, I tend to think it's a risky ploy. He does know his players far better than I do so I guess it's a calculated attempt at motivation and probably something that have all heard a dozen times.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I think Eade has been pretty straight forward with a lot of the players about where he sees them as being at. I dont think he's been particularly harsh and this feedback will definitely have been provided more directly ;)

This is probably the type of transparent feedback we as members expect to see, and how much of it do we attribute to the list being pretty young? (Including rookies in this calculations we have 6 X 3rd year players, 9 X 2nd year players and 6 X 1st year players)

[azabob]

By the way has no one noticed what Rocket had to say about Aker?[/QUOTE]

What Eade said is no suprise. As soon as last season ended for us, the party line seemed to be Akermanis you are not certain of being in our best 22. Akermanis even said they asked if I was willing to play reserves footy in 2009.
So I would think Akermanis is under no illusions where he is in the scheme of things.

[Ozza]

By the way has no one noticed what Rocket had to say about Aker?

What Eade said is no suprise. As soon as last season ended for us, the party line seemed to be Akermanis you are not certain of being in our best 22. Akermanis even said they asked if I was willing to play reserves footy in 2009.
So I would think Akermanis is under no illusions where he is in the scheme of things.[/QUOTE]

I haven't read the newsletter - but Rocket recently clarified that he spoke to Aker - and told him that when his form dipped late last year he was a chance to be dropped to teh reserves - and he basically put it to Aker to have a think about he he'd feel if that happened.

Rocket was basically saying on SEN that Aker may have interpreted the message a little differently than how it was intended.

[wb_age]

I fail to see what you guys are making of his comment on Aker.

"He's had a solid pre-season. He came back a little underdone but then had a good six week period. Due to his age, he's probably had more time off than most players but he's worked well. Hopefully he can maintain his work rate this year."

?????


I thought Eade's comments on Eagle would warm the hearts of many posters.
"He's having a terrific pre-season. We're very pleased with Nathan. He's one of our older players that might be under pressure at times this year, depending on form, and he's taken on that challenge. He's pre-season has been fantastic, and if he can get back to his best, he could play most games."

Bang or bust for Eagle.