Craig has coached himself out of contention

[The Yarra 83]

Have no doubt he's a good coach, developer of players, scientifically good and far more personable than Neeld but you need to be able to turn things around during a game. Much like Neeld he's reluctant to change structure mid game. I noticed Saturdays lineup/structure was very similar to that Neeld often employed.

Tapscott as a small forward - failed.

Blease as a defensive pressure small forward - failed.

Aaron Davey as above - Completely out of his depth now.

Dunn kicking out - long kick does not make a good kick

The huddle - Doesn't work. None of the top clubs use it.

I think Craig is in need of change. I've been reluctant to suggest trying Taggert, Tynan, Barry but if those guys are ready to give 100% that'll be a great improvement on carrying players week in week out.

[Ted Lasso 19,550]

i personally dont think its fair to judge him yet, he has not had a pre season to implement a game plan, the players seem to like him and our footy apart from yesterday has been ok.

my biggest concern is im not sure he is a great game day coach from what i have seen, bit i imagine he will still be seriously considered

[Geddy Lee 582]

Have no doubt he's a good coach, developer of players, scientifically good and far more personable than Neeld but you need to be able to turn things around during a game. Much like Neeld he's reluctant to change structure mid game. I noticed Saturdays lineup/structure was very similar to that Neeld often employed.

Tapscott as a small forward - failed.

Blease as a defensive pressure small forward - failed.

Aaron Davey as above - Completely out of his depth now.

Dunn kicking out - long kick does not make a good kick

The huddle - Doesn't work. None of the top clubs use it.

I think Craig is in need of change. I've been reluctant to suggest trying Taggert, Tynan, Barry but if those guys are ready to give 100% that'll be a great improvement on carrying players week in week out.

A few observations:

Tapscott led well yesterday. Several times, he led really well to space and our players could not hit a simple pass to him. It's not his fault; he could have had a much different output yesterday if not for terrible disposal.

Blease is almost a bust. He failed. He was drafted because he broke the lines conspicuously and bravely in the U18 carnival. He cannot replicate this in the AFL.

The kick outs are abhorrent. It's amazing that after 10 years Dunn and co. haven't figured the kickouts yet.

Also, whenever Pederson would go onto a North player, that North player would complete a successful lead about 1 minute later. Pederson can't defend for %&$^.

Aaron Davey is on a different wavelength to his teammates. He fuels the dysfunction on our half-back line.

[Supermercado 2,802]

Does the AFL want him? That's all that matters.

[Cheap Seats 3,310]

This thread clearly needs to be re-named to - It's time to go Neil Craig

[Guest]

I don't think we need to intellectualize this or look at it in terms of strategy, development or any other buzzwords that one wishes to pull out of their big book of cliches. It needs to be viewed in terms of results. For Craigy to get the senior gig, every thing needed to go as close to pefect as possible. Unfortunately, any good work he may have done has been undone by yesterday's result. Geelong put him on shaky ground but yesterday cooked his goose. When I heard him speak this morning, I was impressed by his calmness. Yet it takes more than that to win me over.

[Adam The God 30,617]

He was never truly in contention.

[Little Richard 6,265]

It defies belief that people are already saying that Craig has coached himself out of the race.

A few reasons: there has been a big lift since Neeld departed and Craig is essentially cleaning up a mess. There have been notable improvements in some players performances however the list is still extremely sub standard - it would be a miracle if we were to be somehow meeting the expectations of some fans at the moment. This whole season has been an absolute write off and to cancel out Craig's chances on the basis of his performance would be poor form. He hasn't had a chance to really show what he is capable of as the situation this season hasn't allowed it. Very much still in the race for me but by no means the lead candidate.

[baysidedave 246]

i personally dont think its fair to judge him yet, he has not had a pre season to implement a game plan, the players seem to like him and our footy apart from yesterday has been ok.

my biggest concern is im not sure he is a great game day coach from what i have seen, bit i imagine he will still be seriously considered

he won't be our coach next year, he has too much baggage from working with Neeld. We need a totally fresh start with a new coach.

[beelzebub 23,390]

He certainly did himself no favours yesterday.

Just when we were starting to see the coaches give some faith and indeed largesse to the players allowing them to play to their strengths the club ( to me ) effectively choked before the first whistle. From then on it was a turkey shoot.

Only one person makes the call as to the style of play ....take a bow Neil.

[Tatu 416]

Jeez...

[DemonOX 8,837]

he won't be our coach next year, he has too much baggage from working with Neeld. We need a totally fresh start with a new coach.

It amazes me that even though Neeld is not around he is still farrking this club up.

[Bobby McKenzie 2,401]

He certainly did himself no favours yesterday.

Just when we were starting to see the coaches give some faith and indeed largesse to the players allowing them to play to their strengths the club ( to me ) effectively choked before the first whistle. From then on it was a turkey shoot.

Only one person makes the call as to the style of play ....take a bow Neil.

Craig did say after our thrashing yesterday that (quote)" Improvement doesn't happen in a straight line". Just as we looked to be showing marked progress under Craig we suffered a severe downturn which has disappointed many of us. Let's watch the remaining games before we condemn Craig. He certainly seems to have the players confidence.

[DeeSpencer 26,393]

For all those who want a tactical genius you should be calling for Terry Wallis. He was the king of tactical moves such as the flood or basketball game plan.

It got him fired and didn't develop any players.

Craig is a guy of high character attempt to develop some players and produce a competitive team.

One week of Neeld style giving up and deplorable skills doesn't bother me too much. It would happen under any coach

[rjay 25,311]

For all those who want a tactical genius you should be calling for Terry Wallis. He was the king of tactical moves such as the flood or basketball game plan.

It got him fired and didn't develop any players.

Craig is a guy of high character attempt to develop some players and produce a competitive team.

One week of Neeld style giving up and deplorable skills doesn't bother me too much. It would happen under any coach

Did it get him fired from the Doggies? No. That's where he made these tactical moves, he got fired from the Tiges. Anyway, if we want a tactical genius then it's Eade. He knows how to get the best from what he has, a brilliant strategist and game day coach. If we want a culture builder then maybe it's Roos, he's sure going to scare a few players but unlike Neeld he has the runs on the board to get respect straight up, he also has the relationship & communication skills. If we want a crazy who maybe can or can't coach but will need some hand holding but seems to be able to get some positive results from players then it's Williams.

[Disco Demons 92]

Win against the dogs was awesome...minus most of the last quarter.

We don't have strong enough players both mentally and partially capable of playing 4 quarters of AFL.

[McQueen 17,867]

It amazes me that even though Neeld is not around he is still farrking this club up.

We got a couple years out of Bailey and Prendergast. It would be very undemonlandlike to not give the same kudos to Neeld for another year or two.

[pm24 451]

So predictable that a thread like this would be started. Some things never change. What is the point of this thread given we still don't even know for certain if he wants to put his hand up for the senior role?

[beelzebub 23,390]

Craig could walk if he misses out on Coaching Job

Looks like hes planning his exit strategy already

[hardtack 10,897]

Craig could walk if he misses out on Coaching Job

Looks like hes planning his exit strategy already

But that is only based on any incoming coach not wanting a Director of Sports Performance:

But Craig said on Sunday there was a chance he would not stay at the club next year if the Demons appointed a new coach and that coach did not want a director of sports performance overseeing him, as Craig did with Neeld.

[John Crow Batty 8,882]

If he is interested in the full time job, it is starting to look like he is painting himself into a corner. I thought the game plan on the weekend was a little too ambitious and convoluted for a low performing team with no midfield at the tail end of a disastorus season. Should have stuck more to baiscs and kept it simple. It will be hard to live down such a huge loss. However he has time for some restitution. The team will have to play above themselves for the rest of the season and also snag a couple of wins. Perhaps selling himself too hard too early. He should have sprayed himself rather than the players at quarter time.

[beelzebub 23,390]

But that is only based on any incoming coach not wanting a Director of Sports Performance:

Hes sowing the seeds of a reason for leaving. Chances are if we get Choco or Roos etc they WOULDNT need a Craig above him and he knows it,hence he saying it here.

Chances of him being next coach ...be less than 25%

Chances of incoming not needing him above 90 %

Craig can exit with dignity and such intact. We save 400 biggies ( or whatever hes on )

No losers really.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 17,059]

Hes sowing the seeds of a reason for leaving. Chances are if we get Choco or Roos etc they WOULDNT need a Craig above him and he knows it,hence he saying it here.

Chances of him being next coach ...be less than 25%

Chances of incoming not needing him above 90 %

Craig can exit with dignity and such intact. We save 400 biggies ( or whatever hes on )

No losers really.

Not sure about that. If he has a contract for next year, we may have to pay him out if the new Senior Coach doesn't want him..

[Jaded No More 68,975]

There is no doubt that mentally and emotionally we look miles ahead of where we were under Neeld. Body language is better, effort (apart from this week) is better. Tackling is improved, game plan looks a lot more fluid (again, apart from this week).

Craig is obviously a very good people person, you just need to listen to him talk to the media.

But tactically he has been disappointing, which obviously is a hard thing to try and do mid season after 18 months of rubbish. More worryingly it is the lack of team changes each week that I am not happy with, especially after two very hard weeks physically, to make only 1 forced change (well 2 if you count Terlich), was just a bad move. We were stuffed after half time.

No excuses though, to coach a team to a 120+ point loss against a mentally weak opponent is bloody poor.

If he was the only experience coach available, I'd seriously consider him, and I still think he has a lot of good to contribute to the club. But with so many other attractive options, I don't think he has any chance.

Having said all that, no coach will be able to make us a decent team without getting the midfield sorted. Our midfield is barely VFL standard, and we cannot keep relying on poor Jones to carry the team at every bounce, or expect Viney at 18 years of age to lift the standard.

[rpfc 28,947]

Craig started his caretaker role as zero chance in the eyes of many. For him to have had any sort of chance is a credit to the work he has done in the games previous to the NM game.

-50 in contested possessions, -100 in unconstested possessions, and -35 in Inside 50s is untenable and all too familiar.

If Craig makes last week an outlier he has a chance.

The price he pays for being apart of the Neeld debacle is that the performance of the team in these last 11 games will determine his future. And the boys don't seem capable of the confidence and trust in themselves and one anotherto avoid these thumpings.

Freo at the G, Adelaide at AAMI, and the Dogs at the awful Etihad to finish the season will dictate in what light Craig is seen by Jackson and his committee, assuming Roos has not had an about face and jumped aboard for 2014.

Neeld finished with a percentage of 49.8 so improvement is not difficult.

But perhaps it is too difficult for this group and where their head is at.