Coach Men's Senior Coach: Brad Scott - Will appear on AFL360 coaches night on Monday 24th

[ant555]

given he apparently came into a club with standards that horrified him and that ridiculed its players for trying to do extra work to improve themselves, maybe he had more heavy lifting to do than we thought... if that's true (and you could argue it almost self-evidently is) then this club has been an even bigger cluster **** than I thought

It is true and I have seen the improvement in the training levels and how the players have prepared over the last 3 pre seasons.
It may take more than just that but the base has been set.
I have been banging on about our poor leadership depth for 10 years. Glad to see they have acknowledged it.
We really have been a shit truck club in too many areas and even Brasher admitted we had gone soft before Barham took the reigns.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

Not convinced he will be but I am happy about taking a few backward steps as we were living in a fantasy land and drinking the cool aid.

All I know is the difference in training and preparation has improved by a huge margin which was step one.
New list manager which was step two.
This year we find out about a few more players and despite the white noise I think Scott is safe unless they really stink it up and finish with 5 or under wins.
There is a clear break from the past now as far as football department goes. Where it goes? For me it is simple. Players step up and we build on it. Players do not step up then we are building again.
I know this sounds odd but Scott was hired to fix the football program first.
It was not really a come in and be the final piece of the win final’s puzzle.

i think this is a pretty fair assessment.

a very frustrating position to be in.

 

[ghostdog]

No offense but I'll do what i want mate.

I keep it respectful, so ill share my views. You share yours.

No one suggested Brad needs to go and win a grand final immediately............I'm just not seeing the improvement i would have liked to by now.

How many steps backwards do you need to take before you consistently move forward. That is the real question. I'm not sold that brads that guy for us. Again, i hope that changes and i am wrong. i still think if he hasn't got us into a final by end of 2026, he won't be re-signed.

I don't mean any offence either, but I feel like I've heard the same thing from you set on rinse-repeat for a couple of years.

I'll quote Brad from the most recent interview. I echo the sentiment;

“I know, through the turmoil Essendon has been through, it is a point of jealousy among the rest of the competition that our club is still a really strong club with a massive supporter base, and if we all stick together, it’s really exciting what we can create,” he said. “But if we allow our short-term frustration to destabilise the club, it’s going to make it so much harder to get what we all want.”

 

[HirdsTheWord]

I don't mean any offence either, but I feel like I've heard the same thing from you set on rinse-repeat for a couple of years.

I'll quote Brad from the most recent interview. I echo the sentiment;

“I know, through the turmoil Essendon has been through, it is a point of jealousy among the rest of the competition that our club is still a really strong club with a massive supporter base, and if we all stick together, it’s really exciting what we can create,” he said. “But if we allow our short-term frustration to destabilise the club, it’s going to make it so much harder to get what we all want.”

I wouldn't say a couple.......... i was on board in 2023, but i was grim on Scott definitely in 2024.

I have seen no improvement on the field, and the issues that bit us in the ass in 2023 did the exact same thing in 2024. We can't score from dominant play, and we can't defend transition. is that a coaching thing? or a personnel thing?

I'm sure Scott is working his ass off fixing the behind-the-scenes things and he's doing some good stuff, but on the field, we look rubbish. How long is too long to wait for results?

Take it with a grain of salt though because i am honest in the fact i have ran out of patience. I'm not going to light a fire and ask for Scott's head before his contract is up. Just dont think he will be here in 2027 unless something drastic changes.

 

[Old Campaigner]

“But if we allow our short-term frustration to destabilise the club, it’s going to make it so much harder to get what we all want.”

This is the key. Clubs don’t simply ‘get good’ at footy. There’s a wide array of underlying factors that they improve upon and suddenly it starts to click. Until it clicks it might not look like much is happening from the outside but losing patience with the process just creates an unnecessary interruption

 

[dank420_]

Bomber Thompson hired as Cats coach in 2000.

First flag in 2007.

A club that had a fair amount of rot.

 

[Vander18]

I'd rather he do that effectively in private than throw them under the bus in media conferences, with the sole aim of giving nuffy supporters like us the sense our feelings have been validated

Nobody anywhere in this discussion has called for this.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

Bomber Thompson hired as Cats coach in 2000.

First flag in 2007.

A club that had a fair amount of rot.

hopeful this is our journey too.

 

[Vander18]

If ANY of you were the reason we chose Myers over Rioli...

But he was a good bloke.

Myers had the decency to drop himself….never got that from Cyril!

Case closed, well played Dodo.

 

[yodellinhank]

Myers had the decency to drop himself….never got that from Cyril!

Case closed, well played Dodo.

Untrue, Cyril went even further - he dropped himself completely off the liste

 

[chambo00]

Thoughts on Brad's Scott on SEN admitting that players trying to better themselves and do extra were ridiculed by others in the club mainly players? I am paraphrasing...

This is a huge admission on a radio interview and explains exactly why we have been a shit show for 20 years!

 

[bombreys]

Yet Knights began retirement plans for Lloyd and co and wanted to start playing the younger players to see what they had. Maybe Knights rated the young blokes more than Dimma as he had worked with them at Bendigo . It may well have been part of the decision but the full football department plan is what got Knights over the line.

In the end Knights failed because he tried to micro manage most aspects of his plan rather than coaching the side and he didn’t get the buy in from all the players.

Was a bit of a risk going in and telling the club it’s recruiting set up was the worst in the league and thy needed to spend an extra $500k on the VFL program. He was on the money on that front. Just did not have the complete skill set to lead as a coach. They hired a bloke who would have been perfect for a GM of football.

I've nothing against neither Dimma nor Knights - was just interested to hear if those rumours going around at the time had any truth behind them. Thanks for answering.

 

[P Money]

Thoughts on Brad's Scott on SEN admitting that players trying to better themselves and do extra were ridiculed by others in the club mainly players? I am paraphrasing...

This is a huge admission on a radio interview and explains exactly why we have been a shit show for 20 years!

I remember hearing that Hird and Bomber Thompson were shocked at the lack of standards when they took over from Knights. Since then we had the saga, the return from the saga where players were just allowed to run around and have fun, and a Rutten tenure under the previous administration that oversaw all of the above.

We are coming from A LONG way back. I hope people are starting to understand the enormity of the job Scott and co have to turn this club around just to get us to the baseline of being a professional, competitive organisation.

I'm not claiming Scott to be the messiah and I definitely don't agree with everything he does re on-field decisions, but one thing I do see is that he recognises the deep-rooted issues at the club and is working turn them around. Fair enough to feel impatient as a fan base but that impatience doesn't change any facts. To turf Scott in the next year or two because we are not winning finals IMO would be the dumbest thing this club could possibly do after all the dumb things this club has done over the past 20 years.

 

[mike14]

Thoughts on Brad's Scott on SEN admitting that players trying to better themselves and do extra were ridiculed by others in the club mainly players? I am paraphrasing...

This is a huge admission on a radio interview and explains exactly why we have been a shit show for 20 years!

Quotes and screen grabs here. It's pretty alarming that it was ever happening

 

[Milanista28]

Scott has always said the right things, he's calm and speaks clearly, I don't think his actions have always matched what he says, I still think he's the right guy to lead us even though I think he's wasted some of his 1st 46 games on the wrong players.

I'll concede he thought giving some of our younger guys more time in the VFL was the right move, probably was even though I think he was conservative.

What Rosa and team did last T&D period was the most mature and forward thinking off season we've had for a long time.

Vozzo, Scott, Rosa can fix this club I think, hard work, patience and a little luck(Kako) needed.

 

[Old Campaigner]

Scott has always said the right things, he's calm and speaks clearly, I don't think his actions have always matched what he says, I still think he's the right guy to lead us even though I think he's wasted some of his 1st 46 games on the wrong players.

I'll concede he thought giving some of our younger guys more time in the VFL was the right move, probably was even though I think he was conservative.

What Rosa and team did last T&D period was the most mature and forward thinking off season we've had for a long time.

Vozzo, Scott, Rosa can fix this club I think, hard work, patience and a little luck(Kako) needed.

I agree, there’s definitely been some missteps along the way but shrieking about those is to ignore all the good and extremely necessary work he’s done and continues to do to turn this shitshow around

 

[bombreys]

Bomber Thompson hired as Cats coach in 2000.

First flag in 2007.

A club that had a fair amount of rot.

There does need to be some sort of end-date on it though. If he's not made any on-field improvements by the end of 2026, I personally (which I'm well aware means nothing) wouldn't want his contract renewed on any more than a year by year basis.

The noise on the standards lifting and the quality of training improving etc. is nice to hear - but it does need to be enforced out on the field at some stage. For 2025, I think dropping a couple of spots down the ladder is acceptable enough, as long as we were to show improved implementing/understanding of the game plan and an improved defense. I think the last handful of games in 2026 will see whether Scott stays on beyond then or not. It's a long way away, but if we're still playing losing footy by then it'd be seemingly the right time to make a call.

 

[Mercurial89]

There does need to be some sort of end-date on it though. If he's not made any on-field improvements by the end of 2026, I personally (which I'm well aware means nothing) wouldn't want his contract renewed on any more than a year by year basis.

I think it's always fair to step in if the change isn't progressing the way it should however if your problems are so engrained in that

• your playing list is less committed, less fit, not as talented
• and you have decision makers at the club looking after themselves and their mates

-and the guy selecting the talent is past it.

Is it fair to turf the agent of change because it took him too long to weed out the issues?
Or do you understand the context in that getting those issues identified and out of the club is time consuming and we still have to turn over the list to reset the culture.
With turning over players in this comp a slow process due to a slow and poorly led governing body.

I don't agree with things Scott is doing, I've said as much on here and get annoyed when they are explained away and defended, he has not been perfect.
However for the moment there is still greater momentum going forward than we have had so I'd like to see that followed through on.
I don't so much mind if it's the wrong direction to be honest either, I just want us to stay on the path for awhile instead of the constant jumping around and resetting.
If it fails, fire people, trade players and build from scratch. Not these mid process restarts all the time that keep us perpetually average.
Jumping in and firing Scott is just going to end up being another one of those if it's done at the end of this year.

 

[Squeaky]

i think this is a pretty fair assessment.

a very frustrating position to be in.

Agreed. Very frustrating considering where we have come from - mediocre and a low base. Never contending.
We needed to bite the bullet and do the rebuild years ago - so here we are now.
Said it once and I'll say it again - better late than never. It was beginning to feel like never.

 

[Squeaky]

I remember hearing that Hird and Bomber Thompson were shocked at the lack of standards when they took over from Knights. Since then we had the saga, the return from the saga where players were just allowed to run around and have fun, and a Rutten tenure under the previous administration that oversaw all of the above.

We are coming from A LONG way back. I hope people are starting to understand the enormity of the job Scott and co have to turn this club around just to get us to the baseline of being a professional, competitive organisation.

I'm not claiming Scott to be the messiah and I definitely don't agree with everything he does re on-field decisions, but one thing I do see is that he recognises the deep-rooted issues at the club and is working turn them around. Fair enough to feel impatient as a fan base but that impatience doesn't change any facts. To turf Scott in the next year or two because we are not winning finals IMO would be the dumbest thing this club could possibly do after all the dumb things this club has done over the past 20 years.

Spot on - nailed it.

 

[gillon]

Getting ridiculed for training hard…

Sounds like the culture was somehow even worse than I’d thought. You’d expect that at a country footy club who spends more time in the pub than at training, not a at an AFL club.

 

[HirdyLannister]

Would happily see Scott get an extension of 2-3 years, he was given a shit sandwich and has taken a bite one mouthful at a time.

 

[MiguelM]

I remember hearing that Hird and Bomber Thompson were shocked at the lack of standards when they took over from Knights. Since then we had the saga, the return from the saga where players were just allowed to run around and have fun, and a Rutten tenure under the previous administration that oversaw all of the above.

We are coming from A LONG way back. I hope people are starting to understand the enormity of the job Scott and co have to turn this club around just to get us to the baseline of being a professional, competitive organisation.

I'm not claiming Scott to be the messiah and I definitely don't agree with everything he does re on-field decisions, but one thing I do see is that he recognises the deep-rooted issues at the club and is working turn them around. Fair enough to feel impatient as a fan base but that impatience doesn't change any facts. To turf Scott in the next year or two because we are not winning finals IMO would be the dumbest thing this club could possibly do after all the dumb things this club has done over the past 20 years.

Was it Langford that said recently he was impressed by Kako and said he was one of the hardest trainers at the club?

Whoever it was, that statement was both frightening and heartwarming at the same time.

Standards have been very low for a long time.

 

[faible]

No thanks all mighty leader of the Big Footy board.

boncer34 Scales Poster of the Year might take issue with the declaration of an alternative leader

 

[boncer34]

Some of them still want him back!

Hello