One of my huge concerns heading into 2021 with the reduced list sizes and FB dept soft cap is the need for on field leadership, even bordering on playing coaches. 

I feel compared to a lot of teams we're really poor in this area, we aren't good at responding to momentum shifts at all, we just hope we don't get blown away and try and re-set at quarter breaks. 

I really feel that 2-3 list spots on next years list need to be allocated to experienced on field leaders who have the capacity to effectively be a playing assistant coach. 

if stick with Goodwin which i believe would be a huge mistake, but sadly one i think we're going to make then we absolutely have to get this right or we're in for a very tough year. 

with this mind i'd be an advocate for chasing veterans with premiership experience, ideally via trade for late picks to protect free agency compo in the event Viney leaves, such as Issac Smith, i'm not sure who else. but i feel strongly we're going to need 2-3 for next season. 

Obviously they have to be still playing well enough to play the majority of games in the best 22 and ideally not suffering too much from injury concerns. 

 

I agree with a need for on-field leadership: I think our young team suffered a couple of years ago, with the restrictions on the runner. Latterly, though, we have definitely missed Jordan Lewis.

We’ve seen the massive difference that Steven May has brought to the club in both his footballing smarts and the ability to control and lead the backline. He has taken the likes of Rivers and Lockhart under his wing, to teach them properly. This will be absolutely invaluable for those two guys as they develop as footballers, but also pays dividends for the club, as those guys will assume the same mentoring role in years to come. Now imagine that we had someone to fill the same role in the midfield and forward line. I don’t think it needs to be a Premiership player (see Steven May) but it needs to be someone who can actively contribute to the team. Jordan Lewis, whilst fantastic for his leadership, was definitely in his twilight years when he came to us. I think we need guys who still have a couple of good years left in them. I also like Isaac Smith, but am not sure who else I’d go after.

Edited September 15, 20204 yr by 3183 Dee

Stephen May is the best leader we have had for a long time. We don’t want instability in the formal leadership positions, but how do we get the maximum value from his leadership?

This framing almost always bugs me when spoken about - as there's a difference between on-field leadership and game-changing ability and the two are often conflated in how we term and express them. And they are sometimes different again from general club leadership.

Viney and Jones can drive training and cultural standards as our club leaders but are lacking the ability to change a match. Jordan Lewis could (but not always) contribute a cool head in a tight situation through on-field leadership. Petracca now has the footballing ability to potentially change the course of a match at the death.

These are all different things - and we haven't had them in a single-player package for a long time. They are genuinely rare though. May, Trac and hopefully Oliver I believe will soon cover this void. You don't necessarily need a 'premiership player' to play this part, and nowadays this isn't just the captain. 

But we have a serious issue coming up - and it's already a problem (and a legacy problem). I keep banging on about the same thing but I think it needs repeating for any real perspective. Our most experienced players are all mostly shot - and we're on the verge of losing a truck-load of game-day experience. 

Jones 295
Melk 185
Tmac 170
Jetta 160
Hibberd 155
Tomlinson 150
............
Viney 135
Gawn 135

These are our most experienced players - and three of them are more recent imports already. It's conceivable we will lose half of them from our list for next year, or they won't get much of a run anyway. Most of that remaining upper group aren't known for their serious leadership qualities in the categories described above. 

We can augment it however we like but the next group simply have to step up if we are any chance of success. After Gawn and Viney on the bottom of that experience list we have another real gap to (in order): 

Salem 105
Harmes 105
Petracca 100
Oliver 100
Brayshaw 95
Lever 90
Bennell 90
Langdon 85

But that's eight core players to absolutely get excited about, plus May and Gawn and maybe Viney as our drivers going forward. Together, one half of a team. Throw in some younger talent - guys under 60 games such as Fritsch, Weideman, and then last year's recruits in Jackson, Pickett and Rivers - and we are close to a seriously stacked first 18 in the coming years. 

The question then is: do you stay the course and add another couple 25/26 y/o's on the wing or at half-back or a KPF where we have the most serious needs, but suffer another year or so of inconsistency until all these players peak together, or do you get in some old hackers to fill those spots? 

I have the patience. We're in a very slow rebuild since 2012 but we're nearly there. The slowness is a factor of what came before. But I've waited for so long now that I want another dynasty rather than stealing a flag and going back to the pack. I would hate to be a Bulldogs supporter right now. 

Issac Smith or Jack Gunston shouldn't be the answer, but Zac Williams and Adam Saad and possibly Jeremy Cameron are. We are not in JoelMac territory anymore. We are now brimming with real potential leadership. We have no trade cookies for now but we should have salary-cap space. 

 

 

I am also big on this, we need others who can recognise and arrest the flow when opposition sides get a run on.

The current mids/forwards are not smart  enough to do this (or maybe they are coached to ignore it)

May and Lever have been very good at directing and positioning the defence, now we just need a bit of guidance forward of the centre.