Good Win? ... I don't know...

[rpfc 28,539]

A few things have been bugging me this season, don't get me wrong - I have enjoyed the march back to relevance - but there have been some odd missteps and frustrating emanations from the club that won't be solved by Jack Watts being traded...

We all have a list of areas that go to explain why we didn't kick to extra goals over the course of the season - that is code for 'missing the finals'...

My main ones are:

• Injuries and fluctuating form of our best 6-8 players (Jones, Gawn, Hogan, Oliver, Viney, Hibberd, Petracca, and T McDonald).
• The vacuum of leadership at the club 
• The disappointing performance of the coaching staff

These latter two bring into focus our fledgling coach Simon Goodwin. 

Coaching Performance: Tricks, a motivated group, but naivete abounds

There is no doubt that he has motivated the core group of players to play a certain way; they play on with abandon, they handpass in tight spaces and trust 'the next man' to not fumble and to 'do their job.' However, this is overbalanced still and we didn't show much progress from the middle of the year to the end of the year in kicking when we were in position to. Sometimes, our forward line was not in position to make the most of a player quickly released by a chain of fantastic handballs; the player would look up and see player hurriedly running back into guarded space and/or expecting a kick so precise only 3 players on our list could hit the target. His 'trick bag' is innovative; the forwards coming off the back of the square threw teams for a loop and I look forward to more innovation and not resting on that move now that the competition has worked it out.

This leads me to the forward line - it is schizophrenic - and I appreciate Goodwins ability to make changes at will if something isn't working, I felt like we had so many changes and different structures going forward that we ended up the season with nothing working. Hogan missing isn't an excuse for changing the structure. It's an excuse for that structure to work less efficiently. We would sometimes have a deep presence with smalls beside the tall, and when that didn't work we went 'fwd line is lava no one in the fwd line' with players running back into there. And there were a few setups in between there and while that is unpredictable to the oppo, it is also unpredictable to Tysons left foot...

Then there were the two weeks we spent getting beaten by wind... I didn't see much of the NM game in Hobart but I saw the GWS massacre in all its gore. I wrote about it at the time - but the wind at Manuka always goes to the Kingston side pocket and that playing a man behind the football is a fact of life against a good team (the GWS respected us enough to have one in the 2nd term when they were 36 points up...), and yet we threw away our surprise 3 goal start by not only leaving our backs exposed for much of the quarter, but also by playing up the grandstand side of the ground for reasons that are yet to resonate with me. When you go up the grandstand side at Manuka, the wind is a propellant for the opposition to go through the middle of the ground and carve you up. Naivete or arrogance? I don't really care. It was the difference between being in the game and being out of it by quarter time. We had reports of similar play against NM the week before. If a team could drop a coach - those two weeks would seen Goodwin have a stint with Casey...

The Vacuum of Goodwin

Then there are the more complicated aspects to his persona that I wish he would address, I know he doesn't flame any bad narratives when he speaks - he hardly says anything when he speaks - but he would do well to understand that he can alter narratives for the better that might alleviate public (even if only Dees fans) pressure from certain players (Watts and Oliver come to mind, and of course Watts), prompt responses from those that should shoulder more burden than they do (outside of Watts and Tyson who is to blame for being 9th again?), and, lastly, shore up his own position and leadership (no one is that wooden, and no one that wooden leads anything for very long).

Without this - we have a vacuum - Roos filled it quite easily. He would push narratives and could seem self-serving and distracting. And sometimes, that is the point; when talked about the scars and burdens of the past ad nauseum we felt like he was giving the club a continued excuse, but as he outlines in his new book - he was trying to push a creed of patience against the screed of despair that was rife internally. That helped lift the pressure of the players as they relearned how to play proper football.

Goodwin seems in-cognisant of this ability, a we got a recent reminder of that with the below clip illustrating an awareness of a damaging narrative: that Watts "is the most talked about player" for someone who is not a core player, not in the leadership group, not in the coaching staff, and not in the administration. Those last points I added myself as Goodwin only stoked the narrative that Watts was worthy of all this attention after our failed 2017 by covering himself by saying he has a good relationship  with Jack, mentioning the coaching staff are clear with Jack, and keeping the narrative of 'Watts = Melbourne' fermenting by giving the discussion relevance with the content and tone of his response about his contract and him staying at the club.

 

 

Goodwin can come out forcefully and protect Jack Watts (or the next saviour) by shifting the focus and sharing the burden around with himself, his staff, the admin, and the leadership group that does very little leading when it comes to the burden of being the public face of the club, and the target of the ire of the club. Lewis does some and Gawn too, but years after Watts revealed himself to be nothing more than a uniquely talented role player, we are still shoving him into the coalface with little hesitation. If the rumours are true that we are shopping him around while at the same time that we are pushing him forward for cringeworthy press spots (https://au.sports.yahoo.com/afl/a/37206220/jack-watts-opens-up-on-2017-season-and-trade-talk/) - then the situation is more dire than I thought.

I have heard from a good source that the interpersonal relationships at the club are good - and that gives me some solace, but I sit here and I have no idea who the leader of the club was. Last three years I could tell you who it was - for good or bad - it was Paul Roos. Oddly enough, he shielded the enigmatic blonde kid a couple times and Watts responded.

But this year - I haven't heard much from the Admin so it isn't Jackson, it certainly isn't Mahoney or Bartlett. Nathan Jones has been seen and heard, but no more than previous years as captain. A novice coach doesn't have to be as good as Paul Roos - he is a great coach who helped redefine AFL in the professional era - but this novice coach needs to step up and start leading the club and driving the narratives that help his team, his players, and his club. 

Because, I have only seen or heard one leader since September 1 - and he might be traded next week...

[beelzebub 23,380]

A good read. Many salient points.

Might wait for a keyboard to add/respond.

 

[Red and Blue realist 2,051]

I think Goodwin as a coach is a little like how he played, being more of a action rather than words kind of person. We've just had Roos who was as polished media performer as there is, so naturally seems like more of a leader. Someone like Buckley also came via the media before coaching and while his record is obviously bad still gets the plaudits of the public and media. Goodwin, at least initially in the season (I think he has improved), was too open and honest with the media, which is great in someways but can also be damaging if as a leader you sometimes need to be feeding a player a message they might not want to hear. 

Goody will learn the right times to be 'letting the truth out' and when to 'dance around the issue' the more experience he gets. At this stage I think he's trying not to say anything to the media in case they pick up the wrong message and run with it, as you said he will one day alter the narrative but that'll take time for a non-media person to learn,  I'm happier to have a coach who coaches rather than a media performer who struggles to coach. 

I'm hoping he'll learn from the losses this year more than the wins, the elimination of the bad quarters is up to him and the rest of the coaching panel. One thing that seemed to be lacking was the implementation of a quick strategy change, such as the wind effected games you mentioned, I wondered at the time was it the inability of the coaches to make the changes or was the message not getting to the players in the right way so they had to wait for the breaks? 

[KLV 1,765]

Wow, great article. I would have thought PJ was the leader, but you're right we don't hear much from the him, now we are past crisis mode.

Send your post to the club please

Edited September 25, 2017 by KLV
Spelling

[Diamond_Jim 12,597]

Some great points there ... I will respond to two:

The Schizophrenic Forward Line

I know what you mean but what you describe is for many teams the norm. Have a look at Richmond on the weekend and the Bulldogs last year. The big question is do you need contested marking type players up the ground which GWS and the Crows have for instance or can you do it with sheer pressure ... Richmond. Rioli kicked 4 goals on the weekend. I don't think he will do it again in the GF.

Not Adapting the Game Plan for Local Environments

The failure to outscore North in that last quarter in Hobart when we had a howling gale behind us was an absolute failure on the part of the coaching staff. We knew exactly what the weather was going to be for that day at least 10 days out but we kept to our usual handball happy game. Similarly not having a plan to counter North's greatest strength in Ben Brown was lamentable.

I expect a lot more from the game day strategists in the coming season.

Edited September 25, 2017 by Diamond_Jim

[poita 3,902]

I can't help but think that football is a pretty simple game at it's core, which a whole industry of supposed experts (media pundits, special commentators, assistant coaches) has managed to make exceptionally complicated over the past decade or so.

Goodwin was guilty of being too clever for his own good on a number of occasions this year. It took Damien Hardwick 9 years to work out that he was making life too difficult for his players, hopefully Goodwin can work it out over the break.

[Demon17 5,188]

2 hours ago, rpfc said:

A few things have been bugging me this season, don't get me wrong - I have enjoyed the march back to relevance - but there have been some odd missteps and frustrating emanations from the club that won't be solved by Jack Watts being traded...

The Vacuum of Goodwin

Then there are the more complicated aspects to his persona that I wish he would address, I know he doesn't flame any bad narratives when he speaks - he hardly says anything when he speaks -

 

 

 

 

A terrific article. Thanks RPFC.

 

But as an aside, I hark back to Goodwin's press conference after the Carlton game when he spoke brilliantly and with feeling about his thoughts on culture and what he expects. I think he has what we need, and will develop.

 

 

[SFebes 4,884]

Actually good points, where has Goodwin, Jackson and Bartlett been all year? Where are the leaders?

[Deespicable 2,726]

Here's my take on Goody's first year - please note I have never met the guy just watched and observed (stalked if you like!)

Gameplan - Overall the plan to move the ball quickly forward (unlike Roosy) was a winner and not too different to Dogs of 16 and Tigers of 17. Initially we switched play regularly as well but we seemed to lose our way and got impatient with that style. Instead we often attempted to handball our way backwards or through traffic, rather than using the chip kick - that Adelaide uses so cleverly. Only Lewis looked comfortable with the chip kick and he's had 10 years of it at the Hawks. Overall I liked Goody's desire to break hard and pick players that have dash - not sure why we dropped Frosty late in year who was integral to that style. Turnovers through middle proved costly and we don't have a Rance or Lever (yet) to win the ball back via an intercept. As a result teams got out the back and beat us or spotted up a tall on the lead too easily and only Frosty and Hibberd had the pace and bodywork to have a chance of spoiling that lead.

Tricks - excellent use of two-off the back of square early in the season, not quite sure why it was used less frequently once Gawn returned - was it arrogance that we'd clear it or just that we lost too many hardworkers with Vince and Jones got injured? I didn't notice any fresh tactics later in season and agree with RPFC that we failed some windy-game basics, especially against North  - we don't have many great marks, so not sure why T-Mac wasn't swapping between defence (against wind) and offence (with wind).

Forward line - RPFC says it is schizophrenic and it certainly was. Part of that is because the game is evolving quickly and we still have two schools of thought on forward lines - the balanced one that Adelaide offers with genuine bigs and the small, frenetic offering of Richmond and the Dogs last year. Goody seemed a little unsure which way to go. At first he thought he needed bigs (Weids, Hoges, Watts for first few weeks) but then via injuries he went small and we actually had our best run with just two - Pedo and Watts or T-Mac and Pedo for a bit. Once Hoges came back we went back to conventional, but here's the rub, unless Hoges and Watts lay more tackles ad work hard once the ball hits the ground, then we are virtually two men down up forward anyway.

Media - Don't be too harsh on Goody's low-key persona first year. It took Neale Daniher several years to become a great orator. I don't think he really only became well-known as the Reverend in his fifth season when he realised that if he he needed to spruik the club to get attendances because we were heading off a cliff. Goody is a bit of a lad post-game, but he hardly waxes lyrical and he's not yet confident enough to add wacky humour (eg: Mrs Hardwick says) into his repertoire. It may just be the honeymoon thing, but he didn't really cop it for not explaining the Watts omission (twice) or why he persevered with Melky down back initially. A bit of self-depreciating humour on his mistakes would have absolved him anyway, given we all get things wrong at times. But he's not like the Scott brothers who are so smart, that they try to fool you into thinking they are answering the question, even though they clearly have other agendas. I personally prefer the honest approach with a touch of humour. But really at the end of the day, the most important thing is that he had a rapport with the players. And he does seem to have that with almost all of them.

But ultimately you have to have the cattle and I reckon we still are a little short in some areas. One area is our marking prowess - Howey was criticised here at times for his lack of pressure, but the loss of him saw us lose a marking intercepter - Gawn can't be everywhere. At least it seems that we are making that role our No.1 aim post-season with the play for Lever. Let's hope it comes off as it will mean T-Mac can go forward on a more permanent basis or be traded to Sydney with his brother, if that is Goody's behest - which I doubt. Another area is our outside run - hence the Gaff debate. Don't underestimate the role of VDB in this as well. If he gets back then he is a little like Kane Lambert - tough, quick and scary when tackling.

Finally we need a better run with injuries - particularly Hoges. He needs to be fit and fired up all year and he and Wattsy need to be told by Rawlings that not only do they have to practice marking against each other at training, they also have to practice hitting the ball spill hard - too me that is one of our biggest weaknesses.

Goody will be across all these things - he is a clever, savvy AFL bloke. He also won't allow players to take the easy boat at training, especially after our late-season fadeout this year. I suspect that we will make use of a late-season trip to a warmer interstate environment, in a similar fashion to how the Cats used their late-season time on the Gold Coast to achieve an even higher level of fitness pre-finals. 

   

 

[What 18,810]

A great debut season for Goodwin.

Couldn't be happier with him to be honest. 

 

[DeeSpencer 25,723]

My  main take away is people really drank the Paul Roos kool aid didn't they?

We played woeful footy in 2014 but it was all about developing the defensive efforts even though it involved shoving everyone behind the ball and not taking risks with it.

We fell away badly after a few early wins in 2015 until it seemed they gave Goodwin the chance to coach the final game at Etihad against the Giants and break that hoodoo.

Then 2016 Goodwin was coaching the team and Roos was the PR spokesperson.

Watts will always be the focus until he plays well consistently or the team develops a bunch of stars. Not really any point hiding it.

The Giants game was an abject failure for 20 minutes in the first quarter after we kicked 3 to start the game. Lack of on field leadership and also a lack of run - the Giants do run hard forward that's for sure. Then Pies game was the same.

Big off season bringing in some talent and getting a lot of injured players healthy including Viney and those problems might correct themselves.

[Wiseblood 24,637]

Really well written, @rpfc.  You've covered all bases well and I encourage any who skipped over it to go back and have a read.

I don't want to tread over the same ground too much, but I've mentioned before that I think Goodwin's biggest failing this season was his failure to adapt.  I'm not sure if we can put that down to inexperience, stubbornness or both, but when the two off the back of the square stopped working we didn't really have a Plan B.  We just kept at it, even when everyone could tell it wasn't working as well as it was.  It could have used a minor adjustment but it seemed they felt that, because it worked so well in the first half of the year, there was no reason why it couldn't in the second.  

I'm hopeful that, over the break, they really sit down and not only tweak the gameplan but come up with at least a Plan B when things start to go wrong.

Injuries also hurt us big time this year, with the majority happening on field.  Is this bad luck, or is it something we can rectify?  Misson has been with us for a long time now and I can't recall us having a really clear run with injuries during his time at the club.  I don't want to throw him under the bus but maybe something needs to change there as well.

[Members' Wing 1,106]

2 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

Really well written, @rpfc.  You've covered all bases well and I encourage any who skipped over it to go back and have a read.

I don't want to tread over the same ground too much, but I've mentioned before that I think Goodwin's biggest failing this season was his failure to adapt.  I'm not sure if we can put that down to inexperience, stubbornness or both, but when the two off the back of the square stopped working we didn't really have a Plan B.  We just kept at it, even when everyone could tell it wasn't working as well as it was.  It could have used a minor adjustment but it seemed they felt that, because it worked so well in the first half of the year, there was no reason why it couldn't in the second.  

I'm hopeful that, over the break, they really sit down and not only tweak the gameplan but come up with at least a Plan B when things start to go wrong.

Injuries also hurt us big time this year, with the majority happening on field.  Is this bad luck, or is it something we can rectify?  Misson has been with us for a long time now and I can't recall us having a really clear run with injuries during his time at the club.  I don't want to throw him under the bus but maybe something needs to change there as well.

Don't disagree with your points but last year we had the least injuries of any club, and by a considerable margin. People love scapegoats. Seems like Misson and Rawlings have become them in the last month or so, despite people having very little idea of how they're going as 95% of their work is done behind the scenes.

[whatwhat say what 22,783]

he's yet to master the 'look over there...a squirrel!' art of deflection that roos has, but he's definitely adopted the 'say nothing' mantra 

[Wiseblood 24,637]

47 minutes ago, Members' Wing said:

Don't disagree with your points but last year we had the least injuries of any club, and by a considerable margin. People love scapegoats. Seems like Misson and Rawlings have become them in the last month or so, despite people having very little idea of how they're going as 95% of their work is done behind the scenes.

To be fair it's the first time I've ever been truly critical of Misson, however it seems I've got a short memory in regards to our injury list from last season.  Your point is well made.

[praha 11,240]

I think that Goodwin had a very good year from a simple win:loss perspective, but there are a few questions there. The players we lost, the injuries and suspensions, and fixturing given. The losses were "typical Melbourne" and I think it's a lockerroom thing which is why guys like Watts, Jones need to be eventually moved on.

I think this was a transitioning and learning year for him and don't be surprised if we make shock moves this offseason. Also don't be surprised if we miss the finals next year and he's under pressure. I'm not convinced.

End of the day this is futile. We've been building towards "sustained success" and the club is out of excuses. Literally. No more discussion of "We've improved" or "It's a journey". It's a journey for everyone and every team. It's not unique to you. Goodwin can either pretend the past 10 years haven't happened (which he does), or he can grab it, own it, and take responsibility for turning it around. I hated him saying the drought against North didn't matter. 

If the club doesn't make finals next year, we're looking at another clean house and rebuild. It would he so tough to sell that. You'd be looking at another members exodus. I don't think Goodwin survives if we miss next year. 

I'm just worried that the wheels fall off ala 2011 and we break down. Maybe it's just me but I feel like we're on the edge: either we climb high, or we fall hard. 

[Cheap Seats 3,310]

I trust goodwin more because he wants to teade Watts.

Soft club is soft

[Members' Wing 1,106]

1 hour ago, Wiseblood said:

To be fair it's the first time I've ever been truly critical of Misson, however it seems I've got a short memory in regards to our injury list from last season.  Your point is well made.

Wasn't talking about you specifically mate, more some of the doom merchants who love to call for change for change's sake. This is the sort of thing I mean;

 

Edited September 25, 2017 by Members' Wing

[ILLDieADemon 804]

We lost a lot of key players with injurys for a big part of the season and missed out of the finals by 2 goals which I thought was a pass for Goodwins first season as as head coach.

If we had beat Collingwood we would have been flogged by the Swan's, we were just not ready yet.

[Jimcor2 125]

Thanks RPFC.  If I had a better footballing brain I would have written something very similar.   Agree totally about the coaching failures in relation to our inability to protect our players from unfair criticism and our inability as yet to develop on-field leadership. These are COACHING not playing failures.  Regardless, Goodwin needs to develop the guts to take his share of the blame when things go wrong and I look forward to him doing so next season.

[Jimcor2 125]

PS do we have to tolerate the ongoing personal criticism by idiots of players and posters just because this is a public forum.  Surely, 'public' does not mean that any fool can simply say whatever they like.  Surely 'constructive' should be the minimum requirement before deciding whether to allow a comment to be published.

 

[Lucifers Hero 39,966]

Goodwin's biggest job is to work on what is between the ears!

That was our single biggest failing and it affected the whole team (Hibberd and Jetta notable exceptions).

This by Jack Viney is quite telling: “...but I think the biggest thing for younger players coming in is to...want to buy into the standards and behaviours and the game style that we set and taking pride in performing for your mates and teammates and coaches......I can’t force my love for the club onto younger players because they’ve grown up supporting other football teams..."

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-09-25/leadership-to-go-to-next-level-viney

Jack's comments suggest there is some way to go for that 100% commitment from everyone.  This year proved every minute, every point counts.  Without that 100% buy in we won't make it to the top.

Can Goodwin get into each player's headspace?  Does he know which individual buttons to press for each player to get the best from themselves?  Does he know how to get them ready for 'battle' each week?  Even tho the players love him will they give their all for the club?   I admit, I have reservations about Goodwin's 'man management' skills.  And, I'm not sure if there is anyone on the coaching panel that excels in that area to help him out.  It isn't Macca - that was his failing at the WB and Beveridge showed what happens when player head space is converted.

Each week we cry: 'Its all between the ears we cry'!   So to me re programming each player's head space is Goodwin's  biggest challenge.  Without the 100% buy in and pride that Jack talks about Goodwin's footy nouse, game plan and tactics will not be enough.

I hope Goodwin is up to the task.

Edited September 25, 2017 by Lucifer's Hero

[btdemon 482]

I like the way Goodwin manages the media. He doesn't hang players out to dry and is very measured in his responses. He gives the impression that he is in control of what appears in the public domain. What goes on at the club might be much more passionate. He is renowned for having good relationships with players and appears to have had a positive impact on the performance of individuals as well as the team.

For those who can remember, Neale Daniher was widely criticised by Melbourne fans for not having a big enough public profile. As a response, and in an effort to boost the club profile, he began spruiking the club in the media and it was as a result of this he earned the nickname, "the Reverend". There is plenty of time for Goodwin to build his media profile and impact but I would assume that he would like to establish himself within the club first.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

16 hours ago, poita said:

I can't help but think that football is a pretty simple game at it's core, which a whole industry of supposed experts (media pundits, special commentators, assistant coaches) has managed to make exceptionally complicated over the past decade or so.

Goodwin was guilty of being too clever for his own good on a number of occasions this year. It took Damien Hardwick 9 years to work out that he was making life too difficult for his players, hopefully Goodwin can work it out over the break.

This.

[Ouch! 2,266]

32 minutes ago, btdemon said:

I like the way Goodwin manages the media. He doesn't hang players out to dry and is very measured in his responses. He gives the impression that he is in control of what appears in the public domain. What goes on at the club might be much more passionate. He is renowned for having good relationships with players and appears to have had a positive impact on the performance of individuals as well as the team.

Firstly, well written piece RPFC.

Overall I don't have too much of a problem with Goodwin in the media, but I think he has shown signs of frustration when the media harks back to our whipping boys constantly. I don't think the club handled the Watts thing at the start of the year that well. They should have come out straight up with the comment that he hasn't hit the targets/objectives over the preseason and until he does then he won't be played. Instead there was a bit of unnecessary commentary for a couple of weeks in the preseason games.

Goodwin showed signed of frustration when again Watts was dropped midseason, and the media seemed more focused on Jack Watts than the MFC. 

In terms of who is leading the club, I think we have the leaders in place and they are the same ones sans Roos. It's just that Roos was 'perceived' as the voice of the club and he was very strong and vocal about the hand over of the club and the timeframes around that. I think the club now has an even spread of players, coaches and admin who know their role, but they just don't need a microphone. Take a look at the Swans, they are run fairly similarly, Longmire isn't a 'mouthpiece' he just gets on with the job, same with Harley, Kennedy and the other people at the club... It's a no fuss process where people seem confident in the roles that they play. 

Edited September 25, 2017 by Ouch!