I see him as a Werribee head coach that did a year or two under Clarko. Not a dud recruit like most of the others.
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Anyone expecting anything other than a bottom 2 finish next year from McVeigh is setting the bar too high.
Iād prefer we finished with the spoon again personally.
But Iāll be judging McVeigh on the development of the players and more importantly the attitude they play with and the selection integrity.
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and you think no wins or one or 2 wins and you are seeing a progression of players that are in second and some in their third years?
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Why? Itās not like the draft picks make any difference in the Tassie draft. We will get Koby Berwick regardless.
I donāt expect us to finish outside the bottom 2 next year but there is little value in hoping we finish near the bottom
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The value would be if a bid doesnt come in the top few picks for Bewick - we essentially then get 2 x top 5 picksā¦
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You know you still need to match the bid though, even if he gets pick at pick 5. We wouldnāt have the picks to be able to match it so we would need to trade future picks or players to then have Berwick
the value of finishing low next year is the lowest it will be for us. I donāt know why anyone would be āpreferring to finish lastā. if we can show improvement with a really young list. We will gain access to free agents, trades etc. The thing we need most next year is to finish the season really strong so that many across the industry see us as a really talented up and coming list. We need to show we arenāt a basketcase. That doesnāt mean we have to make finals but displaying the trajectory of an exciting young talented side with a clear brand of footy is far more important than draft picks. If we nail the 2026 draft. We really shouldnāt need to go to the draft again in 2027 outside of Berwick.
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Spurious thinking. I want us to be showing signs of a decent game plan and being competitive. Do that and the results will take care of themselves.
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I think weāre bottom 2 next year. Especially if we play younger players.
I will agree on the development of players. Most of the metrics will be individual stat based.
Wonāt agree on selection integrity though. Itās become a bat signal statement for āhe wonāt play the players Iād playā. And itās usually constrained towards older vs younger players.
Every coach has a āteachers petā. And thereās a good chance that the teachers pet isnāt going to be a young up and coming star. Every coach will weigh up balancing younger players with older players. And theyāll reward players we see as failures, whereas they see them as āthe best of a bad bunchā. We wonāt see any value in them, but coaches do.
Weāll go through it next year. Itāll be with 2MP (he just needs a few weeks of poor form), Langford (this happens now), Parish (if he actually stays with the club), Fiorini (already started even though heās played two games for us), Redman, McKay, Setterfield (heās our best performing oldie who fits a desperate needed role that we all want to see the back of), McGrath, Blakiston, Edwards and Duursma. And thereās a very good chance that if they are all still at the club next season, that half of them will be getting games. I doubt heāll just wipe them all out of the team and play them in the VFL.
McVeigh will be going for wins. That is a large part of bloods culture. Compete at all times (weāre coming from such a low base that itāll be compete more often than not) and heāll try and bring it here. Even the bloods culture had unheralded players who do their job extremely well but would be plodders on a crap team like ours. And they certainly arenāt fan favourites unless they win a premiership. Think of players like Ted Richards, Lewis Roberts-Thompson, Paul Bevan, Jarred Moore, Luke Ablett, Martin Pyke, Heath Grundy, Craig Bird, Sam Reid and Jared Crouch all playing parts in premiership pushes. If you want recent plodders, there is Oliver Florent, Rampe, Tom & Paddy McCartin, Rowbottom, Robbie Fox, etc. Weād label them as rubbish at our club and at a club that loses more often than not. But heāll see value in those players. And from the way heās talked, heās focussed on selfless defensive habits that are more about positioning even when we have the ball. These habits donāt always show up in individual player statistics. But theyāll probably show up in some team oriented statistics (whether thatās rebound 50s to forward 50s, transition scoring, score source, opposition chain to score, etc. Thatās where āteacherās petsā will come in to play. And weāll be lost understanding why weāre playing Will farking Setterfield ahead of [insert younger players name who probably doesnāt even play the same position or role].
Personally, Iāll be watching how groups of players perform more than how individuals do. We have a good understanding of team stats that need improvement, so Iāll keep an eye on those. It wonāt be solely concentrated to kicks, marks, handballs and tackles.
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Was Spike in Tassie today?
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Great post Blummers.
Mods this should be pinned at the top of every game day thread next year.
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Good post. You nailed it.
Bottom line is, if Spike plays any experienced players he will be criticised. If they try and win, he will be criticised. If they donāt try at all, he will be criticisedā¦.
A little cynical of me but your overarching point is true. If they finish bottom as expected, favs will likely be angry and frustrated. Unfortunately, with a young list embarking on yet another footy program thatās just the way it is for us.
Some more pain ahead but hopefully a āhappy, crappy, s.itty, fun yearā as Sheeds would say.
McVeigh coming from a system that just smashed the reigning premiers without Mills, Heeney, Warner, Blakey, McInerney, Amartey, Bice and Jordon.
Yes please.
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Todayās Swans win today with its awesome team defence and attack system is a credit to all in involved. McVeigh our coach has played no small part in making them. If we can play 1/2 as good our future is in good hands.
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I want nothing but bad things to happen to Mike Fitzpatrickā¦.a dead set carnt
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For me itās neither old or young, selection integrity is all about effort and team based application.
The only aspect where age enters is that the leaders or veterans need to be made an example of in order to build culture.
Itās been a theme with multiple past coaches of allowing our senior players to coast week on week putting in half arsed defensive efforts and playing selfish football, then dropping lesser rated players.
Itās that lack integrity that breeds poor and unsuccessful culture where the āgood players donāt have to chaseā
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Uninspiring appointment tho
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This might be a bit true. But we also see an astonishing amount of āgeneralisedā whinging targeting āsenior playersā with no clear distinction between said āseniorā players or about their roles and the coaching priorities.
Langford, Redman and McGrath are great examples where they are absolutely pilloried on this forum and swept up in āselection integrityā grievances because they are simply good ordinary footballers over 27 playing in the worst Essendon side in history.
Langford in particular has had his entire career ā ā ā ā ā ā around with due to how ā ā ā ā we are and how much of a utility he is. Cops a massive amount of flack and has had to eat a lot of ā ā ā ā for the club in a hellish era.
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Our friend, Tom Papley gives a really good endorsement of Spike. Great to hear thisā¦ Worth the listen, only goes for a minute.
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Beat me to it, ya dog.
Nah, great listen. Good signs coming from Papley who probably wouldnāt be the easiest to coach.
Iām excited for Spike which is a big turnaround given that he wasnāt my preferred coach.
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Didnāt we beat swans early last season when they had a few out?
Amazing what theyāve done in 12 months.
Even more amazing what weāve done since.
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