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Whateley

Whateley in a Snapshot | Thursday (04.06.26)

04 Jun 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 10.028 Gerard Waitley

I'm Gerard Waitley. Here's a snapshot of Thursday, June 4. Adam Simpson cast his coach's eye to Thursday night footy as Adelaide hosts Geelong.

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Chapter 2: What insights does Adam Simpson provide about Adelaide vs. Geelong?

10.048 - 29.945 Adam Simpson

Yeah, it's an interesting game. It's pretty important. I mean, these games, you know, for Adelaide in particular, they haven't dropped off I looked at some data last night, Gerard, and it's not like they're miles off, but they're not where they were from an analytics point of view. They're sort of just slightly down. If you're top six at things last year, you're sort of top 10 now.

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30.005 - 46.24 Adam Simpson

So they're not in that space where the bottom's fallen out of them, but they're definitely not the same team. So... They just look like a really honest side to me that's good at contests when they get their clearance right and their stars play well. It seems to be that's when it clicks for them.

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46.742 - 69.214 Adam Simpson

And Geelong's a little bit of Jekyll and Hyde when they travel, so they had a really good win up in Brisbane a few weeks ago, but their interstate form is... Hasn't been fantastic. I just don't think Chris worries about that. It's whatever's next. And we've been talking about this all year. What kind of strategy does he take to Adelaide Oval? And that's where Geelong's a little bit different.

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69.234 - 87.728 Adam Simpson

I think they've got their base there, what they're good at. But what's the strategy to beat Adelaide? Is it beat them in the coalface without a legitimate ruckman? Is it run them off their feet? Is it get it on the outside? Is it isolate certain forwards? So that'll be the stuff I'm looking at tonight is, you know, what is his strategy?

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87.748 - 91.615 Adam Simpson

Sort of work it out by, I reckon, halfway through the second quarter. You go, oh, that's what they're doing.

91.595 - 96.253 Gerard Waitley

And Simmo ran the culture check over Carlton and Essendon under interim coaches.

96.795 - 118.383 Adam Simpson

Well, I'm working with Josh a little bit, and not to say I'm going to give any state secrets away, but... I don't think it's been a revolution game plan change, Gerard, and I think he's openly admitted that as well. You get the sense the players have really freed themselves up mentally, which for whatever reason, it's been holding them back a little bit, the whole narrative around Carlton.

118.403 - 138.203 Adam Simpson

So there's the one piece to go, okay, there's some freshness amongst the group, but what do you do? from a delivery point of view on game day and how do you actually play to win. So I think they found that balance really well. What I'm intrigued more on is what are these interim coaches doing day-to-day with their players when there's so long to go?

139.065 - 155.653 Adam Simpson

And they'll be looking, like Dean Solomons is saying, they're looking at these interim coaches going, well... You're not really my coach, but I'll buy into a degree. So the ability for an interim coach to get that buy-in, it's such a big challenge. It's like the old substitute teacher.

Chapter 3: How does Geelong's performance vary when playing away?

178.551 - 202.888 Brenton Sanderson

It is so much fun. But it comes with its consequences. And I just felt, and having this role now with the Coaches Association and watching the coaches really closely, and this is the senior coaches, assistant coaches, development coaches in AFL and AFLW, I just thought it was the right time to bring up the need, I think, as an industry to...

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202.868 - 224.927 Brenton Sanderson

reinforce the importance of really strong support networks at Clubland, clubs investing in wellbeing for their coaches, and just creating an environment where I think for our coaches, taking an emotional break is viewed as a strength rather than a weakness. So to talk openly, I guess, as you said, I talked about my own experience. I only coached for three years, but

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225.245 - 248.89 Brenton Sanderson

At the highest level, I had five years either side as a assistant coach, but particularly the senior coaches, it is a 24-7 role and they do work extremely hard to their own detriment, really. They do push themselves beyond the red line, I guess. They grind away without slowing down and stopping to the point where it just gets...

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248.988 - 253.614 Brenton Sanderson

to the point where it impacts your health, and I think it did happen to me.

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253.654 - 259.001 Gerard Waitley

And Sando on the determining factors between Hawthorne and the Bulldogs on Friday Night Footy.

259.181 - 276.866 Brenton Sanderson

Well, Bulldogs first. Their best footy still remains elite, especially when they've got their best players and they're executing their roles. I just think they're so dangerous and they do rely so much – on their star power through the midfield and their speed ahead of the ball, it's still that vulnerability defensively that is their biggest concern.

277.728 - 300.667 Brenton Sanderson

But they've battled pretty well through injuries and, you know, get some inconsistency in some different areas. But yeah, I still think Luke Beveridge's side is still capable of beating anyone when their contest game is functioning really well. And then you look at the Hawks, Elite ball movement, great pressure, intercept marking, corridor transition. Their form line's really impressive.

301.368 - 311.666 Brenton Sanderson

Outside of that opening round loss to GWS and a couple little hiccups along the way, they're just building really great momentum. They're a really strong defensive team. They're aggressive. when they attack.

312.387 - 326.204 Brenton Sanderson

And as you mentioned, Gerard, their win over the Bulldogs earlier in the year at Gather Round, in particular, that was significant because they sliced through the Bulldogs' defence that night. So that would be the game that the Bulldogs will be watching.

Chapter 4: What strategies are discussed for beating Adelaide's team?

326.404 - 332.792 Brenton Sanderson

Last time they beat us, this is what they did really well, and that's how they're going to try and overcome that and get a different result this time.

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332.812 - 338.158 Gerard Waitley

Plus, Shannon Gill reminded us what happened at Waverley when the lights went out 30 years ago.

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338.138 - 362.403 Shannon Gill

It's a relatively innocuous match. Essendon are playing St Kilda. Essendon are just in the eight. St Kilda just out of the eight. It's a Saturday night game. Now, we didn't play Saturday night games in Melbourne up until this year of 1996. It's broadcast by Channel 7 around Australia, but not into Melbourne. So the game was not seen on TV in Melbourne, unless you had Optus Vision.

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362.703 - 385.961 Shannon Gill

Late in the third quarter, Essendon lead by 20 points, and this happens. A lead by that bare margin, 20 points, but in the context, hello, we might really have a... And that's it. The plug is pulled. We go to black.

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388.026 - 399.212 Gerard Waitley

And the lights have gone out at Waverley. And that's just a snapshot. The full program and all interviews are available through the Waitley podcast.

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