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Chapter 1: What are Phil Davis's insights on Essendon's coaching search?
The eminently sensible Phil Davis joins me every Wednesday just to chew over a couple of the footy topics. Essendon's coaching search, Collingwood's list strategy, and I've got Gold Coast big on Phil's agenda, knowing expansion the way that he does. Phil, hello.
Morning, Gerard. Always good to be here.
Now, I feel like this is your sweet spot.
Chapter 2: What challenges are currently facing the Gold Coast Suns?
You were there on Friday night at the Catering. You saw Gold Coast. You've had a keen eye towards the Suns probably since their inception. And here we are with a whole lot of issues swirling around an expansion club. So it feels like there's a bit of a build-up to this conversation.
I know, and it feels a little bit different from the conversation at circa round three or four or five, Gerard, when things were looking really, really good. I guess my initial observations on Friday probably were more related to how well Chris Scott controlled the ground and set up the ground. I thought their ability, Geelong's ability to defend... Gold Coast was very, very, very good.
Obviously, Gold Coast liked to either use the corridor or then try to go around, and they were able to slow both, which is very hard to do, and I think that was really important. But I think the broader bit is Gold Coast had their opportunities and can't seem to connect. They've got Ben King, who's basically leading the Coleman, if not leading the Coleman, and
got a really talented list, and things just aren't clicking, Jerry. And I think that's starting to become the frustration around is that we thought this was the time that they were just about to pop. And it looks like there's an invisible blocker in the way at the moment.
Any theories as you watch them?
Well, I think what I...
first watch them it's a bit like freemantle at the moment jared you can get too far in front and be going too well that people will pick you apart more than others and because they'll actually look at you and be like well what are they doing that's so good and when you look at why someone's so good you clearly look at the antithesis of that and be like how can we make it bad and i just think people have thought about gold coast and freemantle more than most others sort of this year in terms of what they're doing i think they've got a couple of challenges one
How Ben King plays is sort of like a very isolated forward and it feels like the other parts of the forward line haven't been able to gel in a way that connects with him, if that makes sense. I think if you compare it to Hawthorne and Jack does so well, Jack Gunston does so well as a sort of like similarly disconnected forward.
But the other five forwards know what to do and how they play and they get up the ground and they sort of connect and move the ball quickly and get to them. I just think when I watch Gold Coast and I watch them on Friday night, there's a missing piece about the other forwards connecting with the midfield. And that's probably a combination of A, the midfield. They are probably missing everything.
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Chapter 3: How is Gold Coast's performance impacting their future?
And I think there are other ways that they can score and win.
So there's the mechanics on the field and then there's the atmospherics. And this is probably where you're the best insight here is the expansion clubs, by the way they've set up, live a cycle of departures. That's just sort of how it is. A set of players will leave at some point and the new picks come in. And it's hard to escape the view that that's not some of what's happening at the moment.
Yeah. Are you blokes about to leave here?
Yeah, I think equalization is one of the more beautiful parts of our game. We can always complain about how that looks. I did have a thought on the weekend when I was sort of watching them run around. And if you remove the mechanics that let you move money within a salary, who would have the highest average salary on the field at one time?
Because just to be perfectly clear, they're obviously under the salary cap at one point in time. But if everyone in the league, everyone on that team was paid their average salary at once, what would that number be? I think between them and Brisbane, they would have the two biggest numbers. And The thing about Gold Coast is there's probably twofold.
There is some frustration around how they're going. I think that would make people think. And Hardwick's a very different coach to what they've had before. But there will be some level of financial timing that is coming too, which is a challenge. So I think if all they need is a few results to go their way, they can get momentum back half the year. And I think most of this story will go away.
Is it bad for team morale when players are being speculated upon that, well, they're certainly sought after whether they're leaving or not is an open question?
I always was fine and lived with other people being sought after. I always found that to be a relatively part and parcel of being an expansion team, but also part and parcel of being around really good players. The bit that starts to get a little bit more challenging is when there's a rhetoric out there about something to do with the club that could drive it.
If it's always just money and opportunity, that's always fine. But if there's disconnect with the players or there's disconnect with the coach, that's the bit where it starts to get more uncomfortable.
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Chapter 4: What factors are contributing to Gold Coast's struggles this season?
is always tricky to keep a stand on, and I think that's really important. I find stability and continuity a fundamental key part to it. And then you add in that Dimmer's only been there for a little bit too, and I think there's still some time for that to wash through.
Does it all make Friday night a big night? If they could just level up and get a good win against Hawthorne, or if they get beaten, it's four in a row, and they are a little bit removed, but it's hard to imagine that they are immune from the conversation at the moment.
To me, it's a big game. I think it's got to a point now where... they probably not need to start winning a few of these games. And I think that's where they stand right now. And the piece, there'll be pressure.
I'm not, I've got no doubt that Dima will be trying to take the pressure off this week because I think apart from when we were not very good, Jared, I only lost four in a one, four in a row in my first year or my first playing year at the Crows. And in 2018, like I barely lost four in a row because you can feel it. Once you get to like three,
You know, the world sort of starts caving in a little bit on you. Four becomes five, five becomes six. It's almost like the old crib added one brings two. So like three brings four. Yeah. You just need to break it at some point. So there'll be a huge amount of pressure. I'm still of the belief that they're a very good side. I've probably lessened my belief, Jared, that they're a top four side.
My opinion can be changed, but there's definitely something in the way. I think there's a little bit of an issue with their mix around the ball. They're forward-lined a bit off, and I think there's a psychological thing that they've just got to tackle head-on and try to break the shackles a little bit.
All right, so that's Friday night against Hawthorne on the Gold Coast. Is last week you delved really well into Collingwood Forest? So I just had sort of an addendum question. It was at the heart of the overall conversation. And I'm grappling with the idea of...
the notion that Collingwood has to stay in contention because they have Nick Dacos and whether that's actually the wrong way around or because they have Nick Dacos, they should build a team that then is in contention. I was just curious how that proposition occurs to you.
Yeah, I think it's an interesting point because just because you've got a great player His career will hopefully go for 15 years, Gerard. Only a very select few can be the best team in 15 years or at least being the best six for every 15 years. As a player, you just want to be in the best position more often than not.
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