"There's a level of frustration inside that football club" - Gold Coast on the ropes (14.07.26)

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SEN Breakfast 6 min 4 speakers 7 chapters transcribed 2 months ago

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What did Damien Hardwick say after the Suns’ loss and why does it matter?

Damien Hardwick 0:00

We've got to figure out and at the end of the day we've got six weeks. This year's effectively gone. What we've got to do is forge our way forward about what we want ourselves to look like for next year from my point of view. So the challenge is firmly set there for the playing group, who we want to be. You can sit there and after tonight's performance go into your shell or you can sit there and fight for something. We've got to be better than what we are. Pretty much mathematically impossible, doesn't it, at this stage, or close, thereabouts. The way we're playing, we don't deserve to make it.

Tom Morris 0:31

That's Damien Hardwick after the Gold Coast Suns' loss at Adelaide Oval on the weekend. Tim, the Suns are 7-10. They're 14th on the ladder. They're actually not mathematically out of it. In fact, theoretically, they could win five of the last six and still finish 10th. More likely, they'd have to win six of the six. What a bizarre media conference that was.

Garry Lyon 0:50

It was.

How realistic is Gold Coast’s chance to make the finals with six weeks left?

Garry Lyon 0:51

It's been interesting the way that this has been interpreted by people. I've listened to people talk about this since he stated – that about whether or not it was just raw and open. I think there's an element of that. But I also think that there's an emotion about him and there's a bordering on anger at the moment. And we saw how he reacted to the fan during the game, which is something that shouldn't bother you. Like those comments, you hear them all the time.

Tom Morris 1:23

Well, if it's something that was seriously said that was inappropriate or derogatory, then they would have dealt with it. But Adelaide Oval and the police had nothing to do with it. It was just a throwaway comment about him being coach of the year sarcastically.

Garry Lyon 1:33

That's right. And in terms of as a coach, and this is probably something that you can forget from time to time, is that you are constantly selling your football club and speaking to your fans. And I just want to play this because this is McRae who speaks in a completely different way. And his team is... no way at this point are they qualifying for even a wild card at this stage. But this is the difference in the way that he structures his conversation.

Why was Damien Hardwick’s media conference described as ‘bizarre’ and tone-deaf?

Stevie Johnson 2:02

Internally, come finals time, it becomes a match play. You don't have to beat what's in front of you. You've always said that, haven't you? Yeah, well, it is. It's a different game. Finals changes. You do whatever it takes to win that game. Some tactics stuff should change that you wouldn't do in season, potentially, because it just becomes a bit more like we just have to win what's in front of us. Yeah, I'm the believer that... You just do what you can to qualify, and wherever you are, let's go.

Garry Lyon 2:25

It's a whole new season. They're going to hard run home, Collingwood. They're going to play Carlton, Crows, Geelong, Eagles away, Hawthorne, and then the Lions. That's really, really tough. But there's nothing in his voice that would suggest to you that they don't believe that they're up for the challenge.

Tom Morris 2:41

What a great attitude.

How do coaches’ post-game messages affect fan support and club morale?

Tom Morris 2:42

And if you're a Collingwood fan, you think, we're going to have a go this year. If you're a Suns fan, and there's not as many of them as Collingwood fans, you're thinking, okay, so we're done. No worries. We're out. Yeah. It was – bizarre is a nice way to put it. It was actually a bit tone deaf from Damien Hardwick on the weekend.

Garry Lyon 2:57

Yeah, tone deaf. I think maybe the reality – I think sometimes it's a salesman's job, right? So there is a reality, and he's been confronted with the reality. He may think, given the team that he's – they were the second youngest team to play last weekend. So given the team that he's putting out there at the moment, he probably already is looking – to next year and maybe beyond. And he might have put a line through some of the players that we thought, I thought, were going to be pivotal players to their lineup this year, and they were going to challenge for a flag. I got that completely wrong. But he can't allow himself to be that person post-game that he was.

What internal signs point to a disconnect or disgruntlement at the Suns?

Garry Lyon 3:35

He has to be more strident in what he's saying. He has to be more positive in what he's saying because he is selling to the players, but he's also selling to all those people out there, the barrack for the Gold Coast Suns.