Goody's five big changes of 2021

[DeeSpencer 25,682]

3 hours ago, Deespicable said:

In the past Goody has got excited with his new toys (I remember his glee at seeing Oliver play even when Roosy was boss) and promoted players ahead of their time. He was behind the Oscar Mac ahead of Dunny move, he promoted Spargo as an 18yo and kept him in throughout the finals, he pushed Sparrow in for Rd 1 of 2019, he was all over Kossie and added Toby Bedford in at Rd 1 of 2020 for good measure. This year, however, he stuck fat with Jones and Jetta early when almost all of us had them written off, he played ANB over Chandler for Rd 1 and he stayed loyal to Harmes as a mid. In previous years Bowey would have played 5-6 games by now, but not this year.

 

Dunny was in terrible shape in 2016. He recovered his spot in round 3, then didn't play again after round 6 with Frost, Oscar and Tom all preferred.

Spargo didn't get an automatic debut and was clearly best 22 when picked. Sparrow we ran out of players at the start of 2019. It was either Sparrow or C Wagner, no great options. Kossie, best 22 the day he walked in to the club. Bedford had the standout preseason and get rewarded. Harmes is back as a mid because he stunk as a defender, a role that was well worth trying.

Bowey missed all of last year, but he's also a tiny fella learning the game at half back. If we had drafted Max Holmes, Sam Berry or Errol Gulden they might've played games by now and we might still have been 8-0. Plenty of great coaches give kids a taste early and win lots of games.

3 hours ago, Deespicable said:

2) Giving Hunt another go down back

 

3) Going back to ANB 

The new rules were likely a catalyst for Hunt going down, and the reality that the more they tried him forward the more clear it became it just wouldn't work. He's been good down back, but we haven't had a lot of other options with injuries to a lot of the depth defenders. I don't think it's a tick or a cross to the coaches, sometimes players just have to go through a journey.

ANB had 9 touches and 1 tackle against Carlton. He went unsighted for the second half of the game as Carlton came back. His 2019 was awful too. He looked like a guy who needed a long stint back in the 2's to get his hands on the ball 30 times a game not 9 times a game. He was a different player when he came back and he came straight back in to the side after suspension. A suspension that went to the tribunal and didn't give us any ground to appeal. 

Nibbler gets talked about as a coaches pet and a forgotten man. They can't both be true. 

3 hours ago, Deespicable said:

4) Returning Harmesy to the middle

5) Playing three talls up forward and down back

6) Making Gawny captain

 

Watch this space on Harmes, as I said earlier, after his backline moved failure he had no where else to go. If we were losing the same praise for Harmes would be criticism of Brayshaw's wing role.

The forward line is a work in progress. Only the Geelong game last year did we go with just 1 tall. 2 and Fritsch has been our default. 3 is new. Tomlinson over Joel Smith as the 2nd tall worked well, but we worked out after about his first 5 games that Lever wasn't going to be the 2nd tall. The most important thing for Lever is pressure up the ground. 

Gawn - yes, the coaches went Viney too soon with Jones. Then left Jones too long because they didn't have faith in Viney. Gawny's the right call, but I don't think his leadership on field has been a factor this year. Off field, how can we really know?

[DeeSpencer 25,682]

2 hours ago, binman said:

Who has suggested our turn around is mainly thanks to Goody?

I never venture into the is goodwin the right coach thread anymore, but the prevailing thinking in other threads on DL seems to be that Yze and Choco should be getting most of the credit for our 'turn around'. Goody seems to get precious little credit. And Richardson none

 

Impossible to tell from the outside but I get the sense Richo might be far more valuable than most on here think. He was one of the most valuable assistant coaches for a long time. Then gets served the worst coaching job you can get at St Kilda. Neeld at Melbourne levels of bad, and he fought it out the best he could. Had he waited and taken any other coaching job he might still be a senior coach.

That said, perhaps Richo's best decision so far was to hire his old mate in Mark Williams, which happened late in the piece and possibly only because Matty Egan got a job offer elsewhere. 

I like what Yze has been doing but the most important thing for our mids were a fresh voice and maturity. Yze could be a great coach or could be a middle of the pack coach for all I know.

[Grr-owl 1,219]

2 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

I have been thinking....

Could it have been....

"the learnings"

Noooooooooooooo!

[Little Goffy 14,524]

With surprising regularity the people who almost pathologically seek to undermine Goodwin's standing make points so spurious as to diminish their own standing.

Three of five 'big changes' are Hunt, ANB and Harmes? And having two tall forwards plus Fritsch is a major re-think? And playing Jones and Jetta for a few games is a new declaration of loyalty to the old guard?

Flibbadbliddabbada. Pfft pfft.

[dworship 3,342]

4 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

Impossible to tell from the outside but I get the sense Richo might be far more valuable than most on here think. He was one of the most valuable assistant coaches for a long time. Then gets served the worst coaching job you can get at St Kilda. Neeld at Melbourne levels of bad, and he fought it out the best he could. Had he waited and taken any other coaching job he might still be a senior coach.

That said, perhaps Richo's best decision so far was to hire his old mate in Mark Williams, which happened late in the piece and possibly only because Matty Egan got a job offer elsewhere. 

I like what Yze has been doing but the most important thing for our mids were a fresh voice and maturity. Yze could be a great coach or could be a middle of the pack coach for all I know.

This entire thread is full of speculation and opinion .... yes, yes, it's a footy forum. I was asked the other day, " what's happening at Melbourne?" Why this turnaround?" My reply; " it's a holistic thing ". Take all the points made previously, throw in the Burgess factor, the return to longer quarters and the rule changes and we have an 8 - 0 start to the season. "GO DEES!"

[deespicable me 1,486]

There's also a bit of luck. Tom Mac was so good on Saturday night. We handled it well. Goody handled it well. That is obvious by allowing him his chance to prove us wrong without any ill feeling. I had him done. A lot of us did for sure.

He kicked 2 massive goals on Saturday night. They were great. I felt so good for him. He was so happy.

[monoccular 17,426]

1) Loyalty to senior players

Yet you didn’t mention Melksham, which many, myself included, feel may be more than is deserved on form and pressure application.

[pinkshark 950]

Not a fan of this thread sorry.  Still too early for any backslapping for anyone at the club.  Although I agree we do indeed look a different beast this year, and the results bear this out, I also recognise there is so much more opportunity for us to balls things up.  

[Farmer 879]

16 hours ago, Fanatique Demon said:

Don’t forget natural growth and experience.

With players, 100 games is often cited as the number it takes before we start to see their best. Maybe the same is true of coaches.

Surprised that it hasn’t been mentioned that 2020 was our best recruiting in living memory and we are now reaping the benefits . When has a team landed five guns , Jackson, Kosi, Rivers, Langdon and Tomlinson in one recruitment. ? And Goodwin must have been heavily involved in those decisions 

[Dee Zephyr 19,267]

Where does training at Casey rate in terms of big changes? Fitness is an obvious factor but I haven’t seen us cover the G like that before. The speed in which we shift across the ground when a team attempts a switch is lightning.

[dazzledavey36 54,869]

1 hour ago, Dee Zephyr said:

Where does training at Casey rate in terms of big changes? Fitness is an obvious factor but I haven’t seen us cover the G like that before. The speed in which we shift across the ground when a team attempts a switch is lightning.

Absolutely a huge factor. No coincidence we play the G better then I've seen in years. Probably since the Daniher days.

[Webber 10,465]

Fascinating range of opinions. Two things of which I’m confident -  humans crave certainty (and are seduced by those who peddle it - hence Trump), and humans also love simple answers, particularly to conundrums. Two things of which I’m even more confident - certainty ain’t so certain, and nothing’s ever so simple as it appears or we want it to be. There is however a simple answer to the Dees 8-0 start - it’s multifactorial!

[Red and Blue realist 2,051]

19 hours ago, Pollyanna said:

5. Maturity
Our best players are now up around the 100 game mark - Petracca, Oliver, Salem, Brayshaw, Gawn and, as above, we've brought in quality experience to augment them.  It can also take time for a coach to hone his craft - look at Bomber Thompson and Hardwick.

I think the above point is greatly underestimated by many in the footy world (not just DL), historically the really good teams of late have only had a run of success when their best players have played a significant amount of games together, Geelong had Ablett, Bartell, Enright, Scarlett, Hawkins,  etc., the Hawks had Hodge, Lewis, Mitchell, Roughy, Buddy etc., the Tigers had Cotchin, Dusty, Grimes, Vlaustin, Riewolt, Edwards etc. all getting to those 100 games played together before they really clicked and dominated.

I know the Hawks might have pinched one a little earlier, and the Tigers have probably brought in more players from outside to complement their list, but in all cases it's been a core of around 8 - 10 very good players who trust each other and instinctively know what the others will do which then make executing a game plan much easier. I think we've now got that, and those guys who've only been on our list for 3-4 years from other clubs, May, Lever, Langdon, Tomo, Brown, Hibberd, Melk etc. all seem to come in and fit with those guys, as compared to trying to change the game plan to suit the recruits. 

It takes time and all those great recent clubs had speed bumps along the way, Geelong nearly got rid of Thompson, same as Richmond and Hardwick (they went 3-10 in 2014, and then 2-4 in 2015 and then 2-7 in 2016) so the heat was on early season for them before 2017, while the Hawks were ordinary in 2005/06 before pinching the one in 2008 and missed finals in 2009. 

 

[binman 42,903]

21 hours ago, Deespicable said:

Ok, I have five big changes that have helped our team this year on top of the key one from last year. What I'd love to know is who was responsible? Should Goody get all the credit? I'd love to say I know the answer, but I put my calculated guess at bottom of each move. Interested to hear your views on who is responsible.

1) Loyalty to senior players

In the past Goody has got excited with his new toys (I remember his glee at seeing Oliver play even when Roosy was boss) and promoted players ahead of their time. He was behind the Oscar Mac ahead of Dunny move, he promoted Spargo as an 18yo and kept him in throughout the finals, he pushed Sparrow in for Rd 1 of 2019, he was all over Kossie and added Toby Bedford in at Rd 1 of 2020 for good measure. This year, however, he stuck fat with Jones and Jetta early when almost all of us had them written off, he played ANB over Chandler for Rd 1 and he stayed loyal to Harmes as a mid. In previous years Bowey would have played 5-6 games by now, but not this year.

Person responsible for making Goody see the light: I reckon he listened to Yze or Chocco on this - my tip is Yze because up until this year the Hawks stuck with senior men and mature bodies. I also reckon Goody's own off-field issues may have helped him see the importance of staying loyal and giving first shot to your senior players.

 2) Giving Hunt another go down back

Ok, so under Roosy, Goody used to love watching Jayden chase back or provide run. Then early in 2018 he decided that Hunt and Frost weren't reliable enough kicks and wanted to follow the Hawthorn/Geelong precise ball movement way. Jordy's influence I suspect. They were banished with Jayden given the occasional lifeline as a pacy forward.  You could see him trying to improve his kicking efficiency, often with a two-handed ball drop to ensure its accuracy. Gone also was any notion of a torp, which he unleashed so successfully in Darwin four years ago. This year someone decided that having Hunt down back again would mean Salem did not have to play on the opposition's quickest forward and as a result would have a fraction of a second more time to set things up. They also saw that under the new rules, Hunt could usually set off and break lines at will if allowed and that assisted our chances of catching other teams over the back. And I don't have the stats, but I reckon his efficiency is pretty high this year. We'd all like him to do a bit more, but his closing speed has helped with our manic pressure on opponents.

Person responsible for making Goody see the light: I reckon it was Chocco who spotted early that Hunt's kicking may not look a thing of beauty, but is just as effective as his teammates. Chocco also used to love run and carry defenders at Port, so maybe he sat down and said, we are too slow down back, Hunt's your man and Goody listened.

3) Going back to ANB 

ANB was another one of Goody's love childs six years ago when he identified that he was better as a hard-working high half-forward than as a midfield bull (partly because he isn't actually a bull). ANB has always been our No.1 trainer, he works his butt off, but eventually, like most Demonlanders, Goody lost sight of the hard yards he does in games and started counting his turnovers. The result was he was dropped after being one of our best three against Carlton in Rd 2 last year and when he eventually came back in and was over-exuberant in a tackle, the club left him high and dry to cop a four-week dangerous tackle penalty with no appeal.  This year Goody decided to reward his training excellence again and, apart from the Roos game, Nibbler has rewarded everyone with his persistence, his tackle pressure and with a rise in confidence his clever vision plays have mounted (he's not a Robbie Gray and probably never will be, but he's definitely best 22 material) and even the most niggardly of DL'ers now can see why he's been kept on and not delisted.  

Person responsible for making Goody see the light: I reckon this one might have actually been Goody himself. He did love ANB when he was a youngster and Goody himself wasn't a beautiful player, but he was a hard-worker and got better and more reliable as he aged.  

4) Returning Harmesy to the middle

There was some logic in trying him down back. In 2020 the club could see Trac had to play more in the middle and with Viney and Oliver, not to mention Angus, in the mix, Goody decided that Harmesy was expendable in the core and might be able to provide run and tightness down back. Harmesy has always been one of our vibrant players - he bumps, he blocks, he has little digs at opponents and he gets caught with the ball (a lot). But he also gets out of trouble (a lot) and he also is almost always the first on the scene of any scrum-style formation and we already know from 2018 that he loves tagging and is not scared of big names. His game against Freo (half of it with a broken hand) was mega courageous and his game and intensity against Sydney was exceptional. He's our Liam Picken - he's quick, he can mark pretty well for his size and he works his butt off. In one sense, Viney's injury is a blessing as it's allowed the move back in the guts to happen without mucking up rotations. He's not a matchwinner, but he's probably our most important role player. 

Person responsible for making Goody see the light: I am sure Harmesy was keen to head back into the middle and I reckon Yze may have made Goody more aware of how other sides hate playing against him and what he bring to the table with his ability to get quickly to contests.

5) Playing three talls up forward and down back

This one is still a bit of a work in progress, but I reckon Goody stopped toying with alternate formats (remember how Goody went five smalls up forward against WC in Rd 1 last year) and decided three bigs up front and down back was the go. He was forced to modify this a bit because of injury and classified Fritter as a tall for the first six weeks, but now has a more even mix. Jacko's mobility has helped negate the groundball issues that three talls can create anyway. And May's kicking skills mean he has a tall defender that can break lines as well, so we can get away with what appears a top-heavy set up.  

Person responsible for making Goody see the light: Once again I am not sure if it was Chocco or Yze's knowledge of other programs that forced him to see the light on this. But we can all see it's working down back with Lever and May backed by a regenerated Tomlinson (until injury) and hopefully Petty grows in confidence (he was exceptional pre-season) on the resting rucks the more he plays. 

Finally I'd just like to add that the biggest and most crucial change occured last year and it clearly has helped our entire group feel more worthy and at home.

6) Making Gawny captain

You have to remember that Goody annointed Viney and that Jack was the son of a great and was everything you could (normally) want in a leader with his desperation and courage and fearless hard work at training and in games legendary. But Jack, for all that, is a bit of an individual. He's smart, he's got a good life with a very supportive family. But he couldn't unify the guys and he didn't have the whole side's ear. Gawny may have been a knockabout but he's jungle smart and way more approachable on any number of issues. The umps love him and his banter (so he has their ear as well) and and I think we all underestimate how courageous the big bloke is, partly because he's a big bloke and you expect it. He loves all the old blokes (not just the smart ones) and it is that ability to make everyone at ease that has made him a super leader on and off the field. And if you watch his games, he steps up even more when he's needed.

Closely tied into this is that he has advocated the word of Goody that the players have to be more selfless and work for the team, not as individuals.

Person responsible for making Goody see the light: This happened last year and I think the players actually finally got a say and Goody felt under pressure from the media and partners after such a poor 2019 that he had to make the change.

To be perfectly frank i reckon much of this post is load of old cobblers. 

And it feels a bit disingenuous to boot.

The title of the thread is Goody's five big changes. But that is not what it is about.

It feels like these so called 'five big changes' that have supposedly 'helped our team' are really a pretext to create a conversation/discussion about this question: 'who was responsible? Should Goody get all the credit?'.

And not credit in general sense, but credit for a list of arbitrary 'changes' that are are presented as facts, when they are all highly contestable (and for what its worth i disagree with almost all of the assumptions in them. If i were to pick 6 things that have been key factors in our success this year they would be completely different).     

Perhaps this is unfair, but the opening post seems more about creating another opportunity to knock Goody and diminish his contribution. As opposed to generating the discussion implied in the thread title about what changes have been factors in our success.

But what those factors might be is a different discussion than one related to the question 'who was responsible? Should Goody get all the credit?'

Which to be honest is a much less interesting discussion, because really, as It's Time points out why does it matter?

Is anyone debating how much credit Hardwick should get compared to say Leppa or Williams? Of course not.

Does anyone talk about Clarkson's assistants other than in broad terms. No

What about Longmire - how much credit for Cox? Or when Roos coached how much credit should Longmire have got. Or Goodwin under Roos for that matter. Perhaps goody was the mastermind and Roos a puppet (joking)?

As JG rightly notes it is a team performance. The best coaching groups work in harmony with each person playing their role and to their strengths. They seem to have got that synergy right this year. As an example, i love Goody coaching from the bench as it seems to really play to his strengths. And yze in the box seems smart move too. And choco as pre game motivator seems to be working. But at the end of the day the head coach is the captain of that team.  

Besides the conversation about which coach or football department employee should get credit misses a key point.

Surely the people who deserve most credit for our incredible performance and level this season is the players. 

[hemingway 7,627]

Most players like Goodwin. And I think also respect him. 

Isaac Smith did end up at Geelong but was super impressed with Goodwin and he was very close to coming to Melbourne.  He went to Geelong to get out of the city of Melbourne and lead a slower pace of life. He is a country boy and thought Geelong was a better fit for lifestyle reasons. 

However, it was Goodwin that got him close to donning the red and blue. 

[Nasher 33,613]

1 hour ago, Red and Blue realist said:

I think the above point is greatly underestimated by many in the footy world (not just DL), historically the really good teams of late have only had a run of success when their best players have played a significant amount of games together, Geelong had Ablett, Bartell, Enright, Scarlett, Hawkins,  etc., the Hawks had Hodge, Lewis, Mitchell, Roughy, Buddy etc., the Tigers had Cotchin, Dusty, Grimes, Vlaustin, Riewolt, Edwards etc. all getting to those 100 games played together before they really clicked and dominated.

I know the Hawks might have pinched one a little earlier, and the Tigers have probably brought in more players from outside to complement their list, but in all cases it's been a core of around 8 - 10 very good players who trust each other and instinctively know what the others will do which then make executing a game plan much easier. I think we've now got that, and those guys who've only been on our list for 3-4 years from other clubs, May, Lever, Langdon, Tomo, Brown, Hibberd, Melk etc. all seem to come in and fit with those guys, as compared to trying to change the game plan to suit the recruits. 

It takes time and all those great recent clubs had speed bumps along the way, Geelong nearly got rid of Thompson, same as Richmond and Hardwick (they went 3-10 in 2014, and then 2-4 in 2015 and then 2-7 in 2016) so the heat was on early season for them before 2017, while the Hawks were ordinary in 2005/06 before pinching the one in 2008 and missed finals in 2009. 

 

It was really interesting listening to Petracca talk in his interview with Lyon and Watson (available on the MFC website); he talked about how they sit down every season, discuss and map out the things they want to deliver, the way they want to play, the culture they want to set, and so forth. Petracca said the difference between this year and previous years, was that they actually did what they said they wanted to do. 

One of Paul Roos' closing speeches when he left the club was to tell the players that whatever happened from that point forward was up to them. 

As a bloke in my late 30s now I can vouch for the fact that for young men, sometimes it really does take a long time for the message that your future is in your own hands to get through. It's easy and natural to fall in to a habit of relying on others to get you there. It can be a lightbulb moment when you suddenly realise: it's up to me. You could have been told that by senior people 1000 times and think you understand, but it's not until it clicks in to place mentally for the individual that you really buy-in. There's no way to force it to get through, you just have to wait for the maturity to take hold. That's what I think has happened to this group of players. 

There's a lot to be said for maintaining consistent leadership with a constant focus, too. One thing Goodwin has in common with recent dynasty coaches such as Thompson, Hardwick and Clarkson is that he had the blowtorch put on him by the footy media and his own club supporters, right before the side came good. The administration of our club (and those other clubs) remained patient and committed, and are now benefitting from the rewards. Compare this with the administration in 2011 who shat the bed, panicked and set the club back years.

We're going how we're going because the club backed Goodwin's leadership, his (and their own) ability to tweak and tinker to get the right personnel in place, including players, coaches and administrators, and they didn't panic and deviate from the master plan when there were bumps in the road. It's a massive team effort, of which Goodwin deserves a good slice of the credit. All the stuff listed in the OP is, with all respect to the OP, complete bollocks. Those are just tweaks on the periphery. Where Goodwin deserves credit is just for doing his bit, which was to continue to lead the implementation of a coaching and development programme that was agreed to and put in motion all the way back to when Roos and Jackson were running the show, and absorbing all the heat in the process. 

On a side note, I really like listening to Petracca be interviewed. To me, in listening to the subtle changes in the way he speaks now, you can tell the difference between the young man who was eagerly regurgitating what the coaches said to him, to a player who has absorbed and processed the message, and putting it back out there with his understanding of it. He gets it now - it's clear. It's not that he wasn't trying to before, it's just taken that final maturation step for it to click in place. I can't wait to see what the next few years brings for him, because the sky really is the limit now.

[mauriesy 7,287]

Does Goodwin get any credit for bringing in Yze and Williams?

[titan_uranus 25,014]

23 hours ago, Pollyanna said:

How about 6 factors that made me keep the faith:

1. Communication
It's clear the players love to play for him and that has been directly endorsed by Brendan McCartney.  Every player that we've wanted to retain has re-signed.  We've got every player we seriously chased from other clubs (except Jamie Elliott who didn't move anyway) and they've invariably said "When I met Goody I was onboard"

2. List Management
He's gone after the right players in the right order to strengthen our squad - Hibberd, Melksham, Lewis, Lever, May, Langdon, Tomlinson, B.Brown.  Josh Mahoney deserves a lot of credit here, his list management was superb from trading players in and out, to strengthening our draft hand at the right times.  And it helps having a great talent spotter in Jason Taylor.

3. Ruthlessness
He's not afraid to make the hard decisions. He traded poster boys Watts and Hogan.  He made Max sole captain.  He was a very good player who got the absolute most out of his talent and it's clear he's driven.  Where others see boring monotone, I see steely determination.

4. Game Style
The contest wins big finals and that's the bedrock he's built the team on.  Since the Northey days we've been flakey in this area and it was clear we weren't ever seriously challenging for the flag because of it - when the whips were cracking we wilted - but not now.  Next he's focussed on defence - the second pillar to winning flags by replacing OMac and Frost with May and Lever. 

5. Maturity
Our best players are now up around the 100 game mark - Petracca, Oliver, Salem, Brayshaw, Gawn and, as above, we've brought in quality experience to augment them.  It can also take time for a coach to hone his craft - look at Bomber Thompson and Hardwick.

6. Reasons.
We've has setbacks along the way but there were explainable reasons for them, not excuses.  I've acknowledged this year he's run out of "reasons" and we have to play and win finals and it looks like we're on track.  I think the adversity we've faced over the past few years will ultimately stand us in good stead and remind us that it doesn't come easy.

This is a great post and IMO the best summation of things.

Maturity is the single biggest factor I think. It's not just getting older and playing more games, it's learning from those experiences, and I'm increasingly confident Goodwin has learnt how to help players extract knowledge and improvement from their games.

On ruthlessness I'd add that he traded Frost in circumstances where he was much loved within the club and supported by a sizeable chunk of fans. It is much easier to argue now having seen how May and Lever (and Tomlinson) have worked together this year, but it was apparent to me in 2018 that the single most important thing we needed to do was to move on from OMac and Frost. It was a tough call to make because of the number of supporters who liked Frost's dash, but it was the right call.

Game style is interesting though. I'm not sure that's a net win for Goodwin. He's made a number of mistakes over the last four years IMO with how we set up and play and I'd overall say he's struggled to work out how he wants us to play, and to implement it. 

[Grr-owl 1,219]

20 hours ago, Little Goffy said:

Flibbadbliddabbada.

So that's how you spell it...

[bing181 9,218]

On 5/11/2021 at 5:23 AM, The Chief said:

The 2 biggest reasons for improvement this year are we are now competent in field kicking skills and our ability to clear the ball from congestion.  It’s as simple as that, forget all the other fluff. 

The single biggest reason for improvement this year is the increased maturity and experience of the players. As the players themselves keep saying but heh, what would they know.

[bing181 9,218]

4 hours ago, Nasher said:

All the stuff listed in the OP is, with all respect to the OP, complete bollocks.

Yep.

[GonetoCA 8]

On 5/11/2021 at 12:46 PM, Deespicable said:

 

1) Loyalty to senior players

This year, however, he stuck fat with Jones and Jetta early when almost all of us had them written off

This was a deficiency, not an improvement. The club nursed Jones to his 300th game in the full knowledge that he wasn't contributing enough and denying younger players with more potential a spot in the side. They dropped him the second he got there for a reason: his numbers simply have not been good enough for a midfielder, all year. Jones should have gone at the end of 2019 but, if they had to re-sign him to get him to 300, he should have been made to earn it.

[Rod Grinter Riot Squad 5,654]

On 5/11/2021 at 1:15 PM, Pollyanna said:

How about 6 factors that made me keep the faith:

1. Communication
It's clear the players love to play for him and that has been directly endorsed by Brendan McCartney.  Every player that we've wanted to retain has re-signed.  We've got every player we seriously chased from other clubs (except Jamie Elliott who didn't move anyway) and they've invariably said "When I met Goody I was onboard"

2. List Management
He's gone after the right players in the right order to strengthen our squad - Hibberd, Melksham, Lewis, Lever, May, Langdon, Tomlinson, B.Brown.  Josh Mahoney deserves a lot of credit here, his list management was superb from trading players in and out, to strengthening our draft hand at the right times.  And it helps having a great talent spotter in Jason Taylor.

3. Ruthlessness
He's not afraid to make the hard decisions. He traded poster boys Watts and Hogan.  He made Max sole captain.  He was a very good player who got the absolute most out of his talent and it's clear he's driven.  Where others see boring monotone, I see steely determination.

4. Game Style
The contest wins big finals and that's the bedrock he's built the team on.  Since the Northey days we've been flakey in this area and it was clear we weren't ever seriously challenging for the flag because of it - when the whips were cracking we wilted - but not now.  Next he's focussed on defence - the second pillar to winning flags by replacing OMac and Frost with May and Lever. 

5. Maturity
Our best players are now up around the 100 game mark - Petracca, Oliver, Salem, Brayshaw, Gawn and, as above, we've brought in quality experience to augment them.  It can also take time for a coach to hone his craft - look at Bomber Thompson and Hardwick.

6. Reasons.
We've has setbacks along the way but there were explainable reasons for them, not excuses.  I've acknowledged this year he's run out of "reasons" and we have to play and win finals and it looks like we're on track.  I think the adversity we've faced over the past few years will ultimately stand us in good stead and remind us that it doesn't come easy.

Old, we spared many times on ‘ology, but I always respected your opinion and considered you one of the more knowledgeable posters, this post affirms why.

 

Credit to Nasher and others, for some wonderful posts in a thread I almost didn’t open a second time,

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,819]

I quite like the attempt to analyse the reasons and factors behind our great start to the year, but:

1. I feel this thread is a bit premature.  There is still a long way to go before we call it a truely successful season;

2. Without any public ownership by the supposed instigators of these inspired decisions, it's all just so speculative that it's of fairly low value to me.  For all we know some of these moves could have been player driven.

 

With respect to the second point, Tomlinson is on record of suggesting himself to Goody towards the end of last season that he be played at CHB where he played most his career with GWS.  There was also that article earlier this year which quoted Max and went by the headline of "Demons to play angry" (or something of the like).  I didn't read the whole Demonland thread, but I thought most of the D'land thread read only the headline and missed the key point made by Max in the article, which was that though initially the players were angry about missing out on finals last year and felt that gave them motivation to attack the preseason etc, importantly what they did after that was to calmly,  critically and honesty review and reflect on the 2020 season to identify areas they could get better.  To this point in 2021, I think it looks like Max and Co. have delivered well so far on their pledge to improve key parts of our game, but I'm always encouraged to hear how even after being 8 - 0, we still feel there is further improvement to be had and a strong desire to keep improving.

Anyways, if we win the flag, then I look forward to the behind the scenes doco on who's brainchild the various brilliant changes can be attributed to.  But until then, I'll just be happy to read little snippets quoted from the horse's mouth than to speculate on their origins.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

Number one for me is Mark Williams coming in and doing 20 minutes of skills at the start of every training session.