1) Never stop running, ever. No matter how much it hurts.

A guy like Clint Bartram, never stops, never deviates, puts his body first, takes the hits, gets up and keeps running, chasing even when he's spent. You don't see hands on hips with this guy. No frills no holes barred, digs deep every week for his jumper/his club. It's a non-nogotiable for Bartram, he doesn't know how to play any other way. I wish some would take a leaf out of his book.

Non-negotiable golden rule number 1 : Do not squib; when it's your turn to go...you bloody well go and put your body on the line. It sets an example.

+1

The leaders at Geelongfc established a set of strict rules on and off the field that the players must abide by, if they were deemed broken they were told in no uncertain terms. Gary Ablett Jnr was thought by his peers not to push himself at training or games and his peers thought if he stopped taking half measures he would be a better player.

The Essendonfc under the new tutelage of James Hird, Mark Thompson, Brendan McArtney established very early on that the entire playing list adhere to what they referred to as "non-negotiables". I have brought this up in other posts of mine from time to time since the season commenced but I thought considering we all keep addressing the inconsistent nature of our teams performance, that I address it again. For example in the INTIMIDATION thread Was the following..:

To establish a list of "non-negotiables" any leadership group should be capable of it. Following it through though, needs strong leadership. Leadership that leads from the front consistently. Quite frankly, simply the kind of leadership we don't possess. As much as it hurts saying that, we must be blunt and vigilant in our assessment. Don't worry, we're not the only team in this category. But if our club aspires to be the next "team of the decade", strong leadership and strong leadership values we must have, not to mention generating a star player(s) for the long term - that would be of great benefit.

So ? Must we bide our time and let our young promising footballers grow into the role ? Or do we out source it to fast track it, much like Visy sorry Carlton did with Judd. Which can come at a cost. But which alternative path might be more costly and more timely in the long run you say ? Hrrm. That's for the club to work out, assess and make decisions on. But it is a critical and significant decision nonetheless, and hopefully both alternative paths are part of the clubs blueprint in terms of list management.

Whatever the case, we need leaders that will instill non negotiables on the field of play to eradicate inconsistent performances such as the ones experienced. It takes good character and that was the basis of Geelong's revival, selecting players with very good character as well as their instinctive and skillful football attributes.

Collingwoodfc is another club that has publicly been transparent about it's good leadership under the Maxwell captaincy. You don't have to be a road scholar to work out that the right leadership under the right environment of strong leadership (Malthouse-McGuire) will be a strong leadership. At that club there is no alternative, much like Geelong, when it's your turn to go, you go. If you don't, they will find someone that will.

I will add more including examples of non-negotiables a bit later on when time permits...{tbc}

edited: revised.

"Rhodes" scholar. (sorry)

Aaron Davey - no 5 meter chip kicks that usually end up missing the target!

well excuuuuuuse me all to hell for assuming most would have read that when it was posted

apparently they had a go at him for being soft and did some sort of drill where everyone ran at him and he had to take the contact. or something.

Thats a bit harsh, not like hes the only one