It has been mentioned, but I think a lot of that has been out of necessity due to the injuries. I wonder what it would be like with a fairly healthy list?
Anyway, last night was probably the best performance coaching wise that I’ve seen since he’s taken over.
Given how the game is played today it’s a reasonable approach to take. It’s a team sport and that team approach extends to the coaching team.
I’ve used workplace analogies before, coaching/footy team is a work place. Worsfold is the CEO/Manager/Laboratory head/Prime Minister/Division Head etc: you don’t have to do it all yourself or be able to do it all yourself. But you know what the goals are, and how to bring the people together and delegate to them to achieve those goals.
Everything he has been saying all year is proving to be true.
He said he wasn’t that concerned about losses at the start of the year because we were building the way we wanted to play.
He said he anticipated it would come together as the year goes on.
He said it would take us some time to find the balance between defence and attack.
He said he was building systems, and those systems should stand up regardless of the personnel.
A lot of people in this thread questioned those statements (including me for sure) and others ruthlessly slagged him off and laughed at him. Well, who’s laughing now?
I do appreciate that, but at the end of the day he’s the man in charge.
The criticism and in this case praise comes with the job, and so it should imnsho.
Sorry
There were reasons for concern
Eg the first game it was a shocker against GWS followed by a loss to lowly St Kilda
Woosha himself changed his style eg sitting on the boundary line and making moves or overseeing them during the game
The supporters are entitled to criticise when it is warranted
Equally Woosha now deserves praise
But turning the side from a basket case to consistent performer takes time. As will going from here to premiership contenders. This club was so far back you had to squint to see it when he started in 2016. The difference between now and then is marked but it takes time.
Most fair observers could see what he was/is trying to achieve and the return on investment is looking promising so far.
He’s a good coach. Let him do his job and he will deliver. He always has.
The responsible parties need to deliver too though and when they don’t they should get their fair share of scrutiny as well as getting the boot if they fail to deliver consistently.
I was one of Worsfold’s biggest critics earlier this year based on:
Shockingly poor preparation and entry to ta season for the second season coming.
Poor game plan where the forwards keeping running up the ground meaning we had no one forward to kick most of the time as we came off HB/centre.
Refusal to make moves during the game to change the outcome of a game when things weren’t going well until way too late.
Refusal to use a tagger to shut down the opposition’s best mid.
On point 1, we won’t know until March next year. On the other points:
Point 2 - last night we always seemed to have a Stringer or Brown or Hooker to kick to. It meant we could attack off HB fearlessly knowing there was a target inside F50. A key reason why so much of our score was generated from D50. Hooker forward is always going to be anchored close to goal which kills off the forwards charge up the ground-and-back plan.
Point 3 - he is now making moves “just in time” rather than when we are 10 goals down. The moves 5 minutes before half time changed the dynamic of the game in our favour; something Adelaide couldn’t respond to.
Point 4 - the biggest in my opinion. Whoever convinced Worsfold to - finally - play our only true inside mid - Dylan Clarke - as a Cameron Liong type tagger who must still win his own ball deserves a gold medal. It has transformed our season, commencing with the Carlton game. We are 5-1 since and Clarke has shut down a number of the games’ best mids in the process. He has also been able to get a number of telling possessions and he did so again last night; especially when he pressed to half forward.
Across that 5-1 period Worsfold has also now permanently sat down on the bench; seeming becoming more emotionally involved in the game in the process. Does that help? Who knows. but things seem to be running well so no reason to change it.
Worsfold’s coaching has definitely improved where it needed to and he deserves to coach on into next year - and beyond if we become a Top 4 side which we aren’t quite yet.
Tomorrow. No.
Plus is head coach something that Caracella wants to do? Is he head coach material? Just because he is praised as an assistant, it does not mean he has what it takes to be a head coach.