Ben Rutten - Back to the grindstone (Part 2)

As opposed to getting flogged every week and being labeled worst than North? fck that ■■■■.

Club pride and what they stand for is way more important than some speculative kid in the draft

Yep

The really good sides are predictable and consistent all the time.

Any gameplan you could possibly conceive relies on that next player being where you expect them to be, and making the same decision you would, and making that same decision every time.

We have two guys getting sucked into the same contest at one point, and the next minute two guys zoning off when they should go to a man. Guys assuming someone else is picking up a man, rather than communicating properly.

We can sit and analyse every mistake (and there’s lots!!) like these guys have a replay and 5 minutes to work out who to go to, when really they have a split second to react to every bounce, every spoil, every kick.
And all the criticisms are probably right, more or less, but the fact there’s so many tells you it’s not a Shiel issue or a Hind issue: far from it.

We are unpredictable and inconsistent.

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this is melbourne’s % at the end of each round since the start of 2017

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No it really isn’t.

Take the pick 3 draft the next Dusty, Oliver, Buddy or Bont and you might get a period of success.

We need some elite talent at the club that are match winners. We only really have stringer and he’s getting older and is injured half the time.

We need to take our medicine.

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you look at this and ask yourself why was woosh extended when there was no evidence at all of improvement and just shake your head. Ditto why was Rutten such an urgent priority when there had been no genuine improvement since he came on board.

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Ian Aitken disagrees.

Whosha got extended after beating Adelaide round 1 and backed it up by losing 6 of the next 7 lol

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Their not getting sucked in, it’s a key element of the gameplan, pressure by numbers.

Making a few changes to the setups and positioning just at stoppages without throwing out the whole gameplan would give us a chance to at least compete instead of the current lose/lose scenario we’re facing whether we win the clearance or not.

The opportunity is right in front of us to get the best coach of the modern era to the club, do something right for a change Essendon and make it happen.

With the cap on coaching salary and what Clarkson would demand the timing is wrong to go after him. Your coaching group would be Clarkson and two tafe students doing work experience for their diploma.

No more messiahs.

It just gives a major figure for our admin to continue to hide behind without enacting any real change. In fact, without change at the top, a change in coach is just shuffling the deck chairs.

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What I should have clarified is that from an outsiders point of view at least, we have poached coaches from recently successful clubs (specifically Richmond) to try and simply emulate their gameplan with our list, rather than develop a bespoke gameplan that works for OUR list. More simply put - we need to stop trying to copy other clubs gameplans.

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Agree in the main with this. But is Rutten capable of developing a gameplan for our list, or is his only trick copying what he learned at Tigers?

My issue with getting rid of everyone and trying a new coach and new game plan is that we have done that, what 3 or times already and nothing has really changed, we have same issues. It really seems to be deep rooted issue.

Have a listen to the lunchtime podcast with Danny Corcoran. I found it very very interesting.

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The problems not gameplan, it’s work ethic.

There’s no successful gameplan for soft one way runners that don’t tackle.

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No, not capable - one trick pony.

I think we need to be allowed to be ■■■■ eh.

I mean really bad.

Not just make it to another elimination final and get smashed.

I’d also take away these special games like Anzac, Dreamtime.

A total rebuild requires an expectation we will hit west coast levels of ineptitude, except we already have hit the draft.

The issue hasn’t been new coach = new game plan all the time.

It has been an existing coach changing game plan from year to year after a “good” year:

  • Worsfold went to a totally disastrous game plan at the start of 2018, driven seemingly by Neel, after we made finals in 2017. Our problem wasn’t game plan in 2017 but getting belted in contested possession (CP) in a few games because Dodoro doesn’t value recruiting CP types.
  • After we corrected course and sacked Neel, rob Harding helped build a really good plan for the 2/3 of 2018 and we played really good footy. Only for Rutten to then join for 2019 and implement his “defensive” ideas under Worsfold that proved a disaster and were dropped after about 3 rounds. We recovered to make the finals but again were semi-regularly belted in CP. We got to finals off the back of McKenna and Saad rebounding superbly off half back, often after losing a centre clearance.
  • Rutten changed game plan disastrously this year after unexpectedly making finals again in 2021 where we quickly exited after yet again being belted in CP.

Only two coaches from 2016-2022 (7 seasons) but multiple changes of game plan off “good” years leading to disastrous starts the following year. And the sole constant has been we have been perennially poor in CP.

It’s almost like the coaches think there is a game plan solution to being constantly poor in CP. There isn’t. The only solution to being constantly poor in CP is to make the ability to win, or at least halve, contests the #1 priority when recruiting or drafting players. Dodoro never has done this over 20 years and I can’t see him starting now. That’s why he must go.

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GAAAAMEPLANS.

how about a game plan of just being hard at the contest and running both ways.

Can’t polish a turd. If there’s footballers not up to afl level footballing then send them packing.

They can dominate the vfl until we keep looking at finding some that can.

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The difference between Rutten and Hardwick/Goodwin/Thompson is that he has no idea how the ■■■■ to devise a game plan or motivate a group to give consistent effort.

Heppell described our brand as tackling, pressure and celebration. Wtf is that??

We are last for tackles. Our game plan, which is tackling apparently, is non existent.

Just because it’s been a revolving door of coaches doesn’t give Rutten an out. He is putrid.

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