RalphiusMaximus

There was one event this year that gave me great hope for the Toump. I can't remember which game, but N Jones went for his 1-2 loop around the back of the pack move. He passed to Toump and ran the arc screaming for the ball. Two opponents were in motion to cut him off. Rather than blindly obeying the senior player's instruction, Toump dummied the handball then went the other way, splitting the pair going for Jones and nailed a pass forward. It showed great awareness and quick thinking as well as his beautiful skills. If he can get more of the ball and continue to show that sort of game sense then we have a winner.

"The Galah" got the players fit enough that Roos can now afford to train them properly. We repeatedly heard from players leaving the club during the Bailey/Neeld years that the teams they went to train a lot harder than us, yet still we have supporters claiming that Neeld over-trained or "flogged" the players. The reality is that he put in place the fitness base that Roos is now enjoying. Do you think for a second that Roos could have taken over the team three years ago and started up in the fashion he has now? How do you think the unfit list we had then would work with his mantra of constantly running on and providing another option? Say what you like about Neeld's inability to manage or bond with the players, but he was right on the money about the lack of fitness and poor training at the club. This fact has been verified repeatedly, and if he ran them into the ground he did so in an effort to remedy that situation.

Solid Gold. That being said, I think we're a decent chance at getting a round 1 win with this draw. Good work by the AFL .

Interesting to note the talk of running patterns. This is something I particularly noted about our performance this year in both the forward line and midfield. The addition of an experienced and highly successful midfield coach is the answer to my prayers in that respect and hopefully he can get our mids to not only win the ball but when they have it use some reasonably sophisticated patterns to move it out of congestion and set up their designated kickers.

That was something they were saying when they drafted him. Great kick and a surprisingly good mark for his size. Good to see it's true.

A lot of what Roos has done has been a continuation of Neelds work. He's recruited along the same lines and his gameplan seems pretty similar although possibly more direct. The big difference is his people skills. He has been able to win over the players right from the start while Neeld had them off side pretty much from the beginning.

Are we defining the beast leader as the person who makes people follow them the most or the person who makes the best decisions for the group?

Do you have a source for those numbers? I'd be very interested to see it, because my own experience is the opposite. Have a look at a playground (quickly, before it gets creepy and they call the cops) and you'll see that there are natural leaders in the group who the others flock to automatically. It's all about the personality type. These kids haven't studied a set of "leadership skills" to get themselves into that position, it's simply who they are and generally they don't even think about it. That sort of personality carries through into later life. On the other end of the spectrum are those who want to be leaders and who read all the right books and do all the training but still just can't do it. They invariably come across as fake, and they do things pretty much according to a mental checklist, often misinterpreting the intent behind the points they are following. How often have you met a professional male who seeks to establish his authority with a "firm, confident handshake" but sadly doesn't understand the term and instead goes for the bonecrusher grip. Does this impress you? Does it make you think of them as authoritative or as a [censored]? This is the classic example of a type A wannabe. Obviously there are many people who fall between these two extremes. For most people training can provide them with the tools to be an effective leader, if not a great one. Give the same training to one of those natural leaders and you get a charismatic powerhouse who people will follow anywhere. Give it to the [censored] of the second example and you get a creepy person who puts people off and doesn't understand why nobody wants to work under them. Back to Leading Teams, I have to say that while I don't know all that much about their methods I have heard some bad stories from them along with the good. I'm not personally a huge fan, and this is influenced by my own experience of corporate teambuilding consultants of whom I have been subjected to more than enough to last a lifetime and have invariably found to be overly simplistic, self-serving and narcissistic (and I'm in for yet another one tomorrow. Yay!). Still, given the state that we find ourselves in, I don't see that they can do any more harm than we've already done to ourselves, so bring it on and let's all hope that it works and we see some benefit out of the process.

Thanks very much for the report Tappy. That was some really interesting information on the run throughs. I like that Watts has clearly built up his tank, and it sounds like Barry is coming along very nicely.

Priorities would be re-sign Chip then chase one of Boak or Mundy I would think.

It's unlikely to hurt and could help. If nothing else it's good for relaxation.

Awesome report MB. The bolded bit about Watts, does it look like we're planning on using him the way Hird played? He was often positioned 10m behind the pack as the designated kicker after their hard men won the contested ball. I could see Watts being really dangerous doing that. I have to wonder if Green isn't there checking up on Frawley. Carlton are still in need of a good FB and Green would be an ideal person to make a few quiet overtures to him while checking out the group as a whole. Also very ha[[y to hear that Clark is training with the main group again. It will be an amazing lift if he gets back on the park and plays a full season for us.

Indeed. I also found that bit to be quite interesting.

I suggest closing the thread now. Nobody is talking about training any more.

I'll be at Ikea. It's the only time I can borrow my Dad's van to transport some big items.

They both sounded like great players for us. I love the comparisons to Adem Yze that have been put on Salem. If he does as well for us I'll be thrilled. Likewise, Freeman being compared to Dangermouse is a huge feather in his cap. The thing that makes me think we may have made the right call here is that Freeman's defensive game has been called into question quite a lot. He sounds very much like he is damaging with the ball but not much without, and we already have that player on our list. Could it be that a better comparison would be Sam Blease?

So reading through the information the club has dished out plus a few interviews we have the following: - Was a very good player in his early teens but fell away when he didn't grow - Had some growth-related injuries in year 11 when he suddenly sprouted and missed a fair bit of football. - Comes from a good sporting family. - Football hasn't always been his primary sport. - Melbourne somehow got the word on him relatively early and have been keeping an eye on him for most of the year. - He is very clearly not as developed as the kids who came through the TAC cup system. - Has really good pace and a pretty decent kick. Also took some really good marks, although we don't know if he'll be able to do this against stronger opponents. - Well-credentialed commentators who know who he is say we may have the steal of the draft. That about sum it up so far?

Happy to keep to the topic.

My insane notion can never be disproved since we'll never see what the team would have looked like

Like. Totally agree. The Suns did it right, they got a genuine superstar to both keep them in games and show the kids how to play, they got a pretty decent spread of ready-mades and they recruited really well with their bag of draft picks. I think it's downright scary that they aren't even going to need Ablett in a couple of years time. Great management.

LOL!! I laugh at your insane notion!

Liquid. Of course, I did have to reword the comment, which originally mentioned having to clean my monitor. I thought that could be misinterpreted.

I remain convinced that GWS is going to be a disaster both on and off the field. They have a huge amount of talent up there, but the environment they have created will be disastrous to their development off the field. I can see it turning into the brat brigade in short order with out of control overpaid kids running riot.

But how much of that advantage is going to be used up keeping their young stars? We are paying minimum or close to it. Are they?

Not something to spring on a guy unexpectedly. Damn near sprayed coke all over my monitor.