2 hours ago, Supermercado said:

Rate Oliver to play like a leader, don't yet rate him to carry others along for the ride. Which is not to say he won't get there, but I don't see it at the moment.

 

2 hours ago, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

Oliver's an interesting one and you're right about Lever (by reputation).

Whilst he's arguably our best player under 22, you don't really see Clarry talking too much to teammates out on the field, pumping them up, putting a hand on their shoulder, etc.  He gives some niggle to the opposition, which is great!  Will be interesting to see who emerges from the pack of very talented young players to be real leaders on the field.

Oliver's weight loss and training regime has leadership qualities in that he has  led by example.  He doesn't take a backward step in the field which I love and he never gives in. So far so good. He has come so far in such a short time that I think he could easily step up. The other players must be in awe of his talent and hard work. He can't really string two words together at this point but hopefully he's not to far off!

Missing a 20m shot at goals means you are a [censored] kick for goals from 20 metres out. It doesn't mean you lack leadership qualities. If Max had missed a rove and snap on the siren would he be trashed as a leader? Leadership equals effort and drive from the front. He hauled his arse down the field to be in the right position after rucking all day. He was also reportedly out alone practicing his set-shots from the failed range during training this week. That is leadership - not some extraordinary natural skill-set.

Edited April 19, 20186 yr by Skuit

3 hours ago, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

Oliver's an interesting one and you're right about Lever (by reputation).

Whilst he's arguably our best player under 22, you don't really see Clarry talking too much to teammates out on the field, pumping them up, putting a hand on their shoulder, etc.  He gives some niggle to the opposition, which is great!  Will be interesting to see who emerges from the pack of very talented young players to be real leaders on the field.

I have heard him scold players for not doing the team thing at VFL level 39.  Not sure if that counts though.  Hopefully they just let him play and develop for a while.  Hate to see that weight on his shoulders too early.

If only more players could talk like Gawn. 

51 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

 

Oliver's weight loss and training regime has leadership qualities in that he has  led by example.  He doesn't take a backward step in the field which I love and he never gives in. So far so good. He has come so far in such a short time that I think he could easily step up. The other players must be in awe of his talent and hard work. He can't really string two words together at this point but hopefully he's not to far off!

Great post.  But remember the kids barely 21 if that.  (How good at public speaking were you at that age, or any of us for that matter)

He has leadership and professionalism all over him.  Oliver, Viney, Hogan and  TBD.... will lead the club as a group and the sooner the better

Topic >>> irony..... surely.

30 minutes ago, Demon17 said:

Great post.  But remember the kids barely 21 if that.  (How good at public speaking were you at that age, or any of us for that matter)

He has leadership and professionalism all over him.  Oliver, Viney, Hogan and  TBD.... will lead the club as a group and the sooner the better

 

1 hour ago, jnrmac said:

 

Oliver's weight loss and training regime has leadership qualities in that he has  led by example.  He doesn't take a backward step in the field which I love and he never gives in. So far so good. He has come so far in such a short time that I think he could easily step up. The other players must be in awe of his talent and hard work. He can't really string two words together at this point but hopefully he's not to far off!

He's a country boy. Many country folks have few words but express themselves by actions. Many are smarter, capable, tougher, more resilient and better grounded than their city cousins. 

15 minutes ago, hemingway said:

 

He's a country boy. Many country folks have few words but express themselves by actions. Many are smarter, capable, tougher, more resilient and better grounded than their city cousins. 

What????? 

I know the players have to do press conferences like this, but they are seriously meaningless.

Repeatedly saying in the media we know we need to stop opposition momentum swings and runs of goals and have better leadership doesn't make it happen.

1 hour ago, hemingway said:

 

He's a country boy. Many country folks have few words but express themselves by actions. Many are smarter, capable, tougher, more resilient and better grounded than their city cousins. 

Not to generalise or anything 

Simon is too wooden. Max says too much. There's no characters left in footy. Max is a clown. The MFC is irrelevant. I wish the players would stay out of the media and just concentrate on their footy . . . Can the expert public relation detractors here perhaps provide a sample draft of what they would consider the perfect response to every cliched footy-press question? 

I'll get the ball rolling.

Q: [insert MFC interviewee], how will the club be approaching the upcoming match against Richmond?

A: ?

15 hours ago, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

Oliver's an interesting one and you're right about Lever (by reputation).

Whilst he's arguably our best player under 22, you don't really see Clarry talking too much to teammates out on the field, pumping them up, putting a hand on their shoulder, etc.  He gives some niggle to the opposition, which is great!  Will be interesting to see who emerges from the pack of very talented young players to be real leaders on the field.

Admire him for that 'niggle' to opponents - it really demonstrates his intent for his Club. A young player who performs well each game can aspire to leadership ambitions in the future - it is just a bit more than holding down a position regularly and well. I see that Clarry fits this criteria more than most others at present. On the face of it, leadership and Clarry seem to be a good mix in the future but Viney, with his youth and great contribution, may well hold sway at the ultimate Captain level. 

Players who draw the short straw for the mandatory pressers are on a hiding to nothing. Get panned for saying too much, get panned for not saying enough, or my favourite: get panned for saying anything it all. It’s like some fans expect hin to just stand there in front of the media in stony silence and not answer any of the questions.

Just DO something, Gawn! Don’t crack jokes, kick that goal! Even though it’s Wednesday morning and you’re in a makeshift press room somewhere instead of on the MCG and the game was 3 days ago, DO something! 

13 hours ago, Demon Disciple said:

Yep, the moment it starts to not go the way the playing group wants it to, they just roll over.

My dog rolls over but she wants a tickle maybe the boys have a itch.

15 hours ago, america de cali said:

During WW2 The RAF lost all of nearly its squadron leaders as well as its most experienced flight crews within a few months of the start of hostilities. Eventually due to attrition and necessity most aircrew were teenagers and there were officers and squadron leaders not yet in their 20’s running the show. There were elite night fighter pilots who could not drive a car and were legally too young to have a license.. I am sure that if given an opportunity there are real unheralded leaders lurking within the clubs lower and junior hierarchy. And I don’t mean the pinup boy types like during the Neeld era. I guess we will never know whilst the overpaid and over comfortable lot are still in charge.

Nice post.

1 minute ago, Nasher said:

Players who draw the short straw for the mandatory pressers are on a hiding to nothing. Get panned for saying too much, get panned for not saying enough, or my favourite: get panned for saying anything it all. It’s like some fans expect hin to just stand there in front of the media in stony silence and not answer any of the questions.

Just DO something, Gawn! Don’t crack jokes, kick that goal! Even though it’s Wednesday morning and you’re in a makeshift press room somewhere instead of on the MCG and the game was 3 days ago, DO something! 

Media interfere with the best intentions of Clubs who should be capable of better controlling media involvements. Gawn is a victim of his popularity across the AFL yet in many ways, it would be preferable if he said nothing and kept his great humorous side to his compatriots in the locker rooms. He is very personable and this would be difficult for him, no doubt. On watching, hearing or reading of player comments, it is often felt that these media exposures serve no valuable worth other than to align alleged journalists with particular players for the jounalists' self esteem or credibility - particularly if they can 'lead' that conversation. Such conversations lead directly down the gurgler, anyway.  I'd reckon that the MFC could benefit from a ban from personalised interviews with players, similar reports and other exploiting episodes of public informational tripe. Most is just sensationalism or at worst, mockery disguised as legitimate enquiry. 

I love Gawny.  Very rarely does he wheel out the cliches or return to his 'safe topics' as most players do.  He has personality and isn't afraid to have a bit of a laugh.  I find it very refreshing.

In terms of leadership, I can't stress enough how much I think we are missing Viney.  Imagine we get a bit in front, then the other team kicks a couple of goals.  All of the opposition players would be very vocal, saying things like "we know they're soft boys, mentally weak". All opposition teams believe (and rightly so) they are never out of it when playing us.  At the moment, which of our players would you think would take exception to that and really take things up a notch?  Jones?  Maybe Oliver?  Now imagine Viney is in there.  For starters, I'm not sure many people would say anything like that within earshot of him, plus, comments like that are likely to make him go into kill mode.

We just need him back, soooo badly.  If he can get his foot right and get a decent run at it I think he'll get to a whole new level.

Good to see the likes of Gawn and also PJ under pressure to explain the clubs missteps even if they get a little muddled. There are now more and more fans that are intolerant of giving mulligans for mediocrity and are holding everyone at the club accountable in the public domain and social media.

Edited April 19, 20186 yr by america de cali

1 hour ago, america de cali said:

Good to see the likes of Gawn and also PJ under pressure to explain the clubs missteps even if they get a little muddled. There are now more and more fans that are intolerant of giving mulligans for mediocrity and are holding everyone at the club accountable in the public domain and social media.

The fans are slowly turning. I am amazed how long it has taken. 

So much acceptance of rubbish over the years that minds are dulled. We can’t remember being a good side

Leaders do not need to be called to action.

If they do, they werent leaders to begin with.

Edited April 20, 20186 yr by ding

4 minutes ago, ding said:

Leaders do not need to be called to action.

If they do, they werent leaders to begin with.

So true. It is either in the DNA or not

I am probably old hat but I find the club's approach on media bites a little strange or inconsistent.

I know Gawny's popular but I would prefer to see him concentrate on his game and stay away from the wise cracking media star. 

I would prefer to see fewer folks being interviewed boring as that may seem. Stay with the coach/captain/or other spokesman.

And as boring as it is, to stay on script, avoiding comments that can be misinterpreted or that can create another headline.   I am never confident that that will occur with the likes of Max or Bernie.

Edited April 20, 20186 yr by hemingway

10 hours ago, Skuit said:

Simon is too wooden. Max says too much. There's no characters left in footy. Max is a clown. The MFC is irrelevant. I wish the players would stay out of the media and just concentrate on their footy . . . Can the expert public relation detractors here perhaps provide a sample draft of what they would consider the perfect response to every cliched footy-press question? 

I'll get the ball rolling.

Q: [insert MFC interviewee], how will the club be approaching the upcoming match against Richmond?

A: ?

The boys were given a real kick up the behind by the coaching team led by Goodie who admitted he may have made too few changes before and during the game. The prez came down and reiterated how poor the performance was an that membership and the future of the club requires better performance.

The players committed to improving communication to keep us all focused on winning. We are embarrassed by the result last week and know we can play better.

We know that we have the skills within the squad to match up to every team.We know that we cannot expect to play every match in the ones. If we are not fit for the opposition we will be told why and accept the structures and styles the coaches have told us and work hard with the selected team to force pressure at training to replicate the game.

The match against Hawthorn showed us how a professional team plays and we have added their endeavour to our efforts.We understand and appreciate our supporters disappointment and will show them through our intensity at training and at the match that we are aware of their efforts. We do not intend to disappoint them again through lack of effort . They will know that the players on the ground will represent them in a better fashion every week.

 

10 hours ago, BigFez said:

I love Gawny.  Very rarely does he wheel out the cliches or return to his 'safe topics' as most players do.  He has personality and isn't afraid to have a bit of a laugh.  I find it very refreshing.

In terms of leadership, I can't stress enough how much I think we are missing Viney.  Imagine we get a bit in front, then the other team kicks a couple of goals.  All of the opposition players would be very vocal, saying things like "we know they're soft boys, mentally weak". All opposition teams believe (and rightly so) they are never out of it when playing us.  At the moment, which of our players would you think would take exception to that and really take things up a notch?  Jones?  Maybe Oliver?  Now imagine Viney is in there.  For starters, I'm not sure many people would say anything like that within earshot of him, plus, comments like that are likely to make him go into kill mode.

We just need him back, soooo badly.  If he can get his foot right and get a decent run at it I think he'll get to a whole new level.

I dont know whats more worrying: Having Viney injured for first 8 rounds, or being so reliant on one players leadership to turn around our fortunes.

Either way, we're 2-2 so not much to turn around. Revisit this in a few weeks. I dont think Viney is a magic bullet. We will undoubtedly be far stronger with him in the team, but lets not pretend he doesnt have his own flaws and like Jonesy at times, has also failed to have a big influence in swinging momentum back or stemming the tide when the going gets tough. He's only in his second year as captain, so i just don't see his absence as the only issue standing in the way of us changing past habits.

Edited April 20, 20186 yr by Doodle Dee

Gawn just lead by example.less talk more action