Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
It's Stuart Waitley. Thanks for listening to the podcast. In this episode, the art of coaching with Ken Hinckley, the eminently sensible Phil Davis, Melbourne Storm chief executive Justin Rodsky, the English Premier League latest with Mark Schwarzer, and nerdy stats from Peter Blucher. You can get in touch at any time. Waitley at sem.com.au. Thanks for listening. Enjoy.
Wednesday morning. This is your town. This is your station. This is Waitley.
Good morning. Six games is a plentiful sample size to gauge your early season fortunes. It matters who you've played. It matters more how you've played. The changes that have successfully been made, the problems that need to be urgently solved. Sydney has aced the first exam of the semester. Fremantle has passed with flying colours. Carlton keeps stumbling over the same answer.
And Richmond barely have the tools to submit the assignments. There's a public line that needs to be held with more than a quarter of a team's games played. But what's happening privately is far more illuminating. In the first systems check that's being run, there tends to be a scheduled board meeting where the coach presents the true state of the team and its prospects.
Sometimes that's reassuring. Other times it's managing expectations and occasionally it's edgy. Bordering on hostile, publicly and privately, now is the time for coaches to get a grasp on where the team is at.
Well, probably pretty good in a way. Like, well, we've had six games. We've lost two games by less than a goal. I won the other three and then Swans got us when we had quite a few injuries.
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Chapter 2: What insights does Ken Hinckley provide about the art of coaching?
So... Not too badly, but still frustrated to be 3-3. We could be a little bit better, I guess.
I would think we look okay. What are we, 2-4? From where we're at and where we're trying to get to, out of the bottom reaches of the ladder or the middle of the ladder, whatever you want to call it, I think five out of our first six opponents have all been finalists, prelim, back-to-back premiers and finalists, bar one.
And we've been in all of those games. I would think if you take out win-loss...
We've improved. We're not playing our best footy now. We don't need to be. We need to be winning and we ticked off one of those today. But more important, we've got to make sure that our best side is firing towards the middle to back end of the year. We think we've got some players that are going to make us a very, very good side.
It's not quite clicking at the moment, but we think we're not too far away.
Three and three, you could argue we could be a lot better on the ledge than that. And we're working through some things that we want to get better at. I'm just learning the guitar. We've got a couple of chords that are out of tune at the moment. We're just tuning them up, but it's round six, isn't it? So we're excited for the challenge of that.
Today's Art of Coaching is managing up the early season presentation to the board. And our guide through the Art of Coaching is Ken Hinckley. Hello to you, Kenny.
Good morning, Gerard. That's an interesting topic for the week, isn't it? It's that time of the season where we're fulfilling our dreams or we're living our nightmares. And that's exactly what happens.
Is it a shiver down the spine when you contemplate presenting to the board?
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Chapter 3: How does Phil Davis analyze the current state of the AFL?
And the truth is, like you said before, when we talk to the media as coaches, we fudge the truth a little because we have to, we can't be using excuses. But you're presenting to your board who's in control of your contract and you go, well, there is no excuse here, but this is the facts. It is very hard to survive collisions in our game.
And the collisions, I mean, are the injuries that are caused by the damage that gets done to your team results.
So stay in New South Wales and do the other Sydney team. So the Swans, Dean Cox has them flying. So whatever he presented around the changes that we were going to make when you go back in, you go, we made them.
Oh, Coxie walks in and he's a big, strong man at the best of times. And he walks in and says, I told you so. That's what he walks in his first line is. I told her we were going to make a change and we've made that change, you know, and it's a really significant change. You know, we had game style adjustments that I wanted to implement in the pre-season.
And the reason I wanted to implement this, but of course, this is Dean talking, I believe the game was going a certain way. So he's now storytelling about how good a coach he is to his board. I forecast the game styles that we needed to make. We trained those game styles over the summer. And we went after this handball game and their handball meters game. He walks in and he puts some stats up.
You know, last year we were averaging about 173 meters per game for handball meters. We are currently at 623. We're 450. We're 300% better than we were last year. And we sit on top of the ladder. This was a really risky move. And that's the story. This is a risky move because when you embed something a bit new and different, you've got to have the personnel available.
And he has had his personnel available, bar Errol Goulden, pretty much. So he's talking a big game on what he's done. Then he starts to talk around his recruiting. You know, his recruiting has been first class, you know, because the board would be nervous about the three picks for Charlie Curnow. So he's talking about the recruiting. He says, this has been an outstanding success for us so far.
Charlie has played a significant role without hitting the scoreboard massively, but he's allowing Amadi to play the way he plays. He's putting real class and finish execution in our forward half efficiency through the roof based on the fact that Charlie Curnow is now attracting a lot of attention. That's going to allow Papley Cunningham.
It's going to allow all these players, Amadi, to get off the chain. McDonald is looking like a much better younger player This year, based on what Charlie Curnow's done. So be comfortable, board, that we have invested big into this player. And as we've always done in Sydney, we're not frightened of investing big and we've got a return already with a much bigger return to come.
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Chapter 4: What updates does Mark Schwarzer give on the Premier League title race?
What's the dynamic in the St Kilda boardroom?
Well, I'm interested, as you said at the start, who walks in first? Does Ross already sitting down at the table or does the board walk in? Or is the board sitting down at the table and Ross walks in? So I think that's where they start at St Kilda. And I think it's a really strong plan.
I think it's a really good decision that, you know, they're backing their man, you know, and that's exactly what they've done. They've done that since Ross has gone back to the club. They've told Ross, you know, and they've given him a... an agenda to rebuild and reset that football club and make it competitive, not just make it competitive, make it winnable at the top end of the ladder.
And that's what the plan is. They're progressing. They're not going at the rate that they would like to be going at, clearly. But I think they've had some challenges along the way. So he's going to walk in there, reset the focus and the plan.
He's going to make sure that and he'll get that support because his president's come out in the last day or two and backed up his press conference behaviour. So they're full on. They're right in the Ross basket. It's Ross the boss. There's no doubt, Gerard. Ross the boss is in and he's got control. And I was speaking to Ross at the game on the weekend before the game.
And, you know, me and Ross played together many, many years ago at Fitzroy. So we have a good relationship and I enjoy the way Ross is and the way he coaches. You know, he does it his way. And you love people who have got conviction. You know, he does believe in what he's doing and he knows his plan. He's resetting focus. He's resetting plan.
Youth development is happening is what he's talking about. This is happening. We know. We've been to the draft. We've picked up the talent that we have. Wilson, Philippou, players like that that they've brought into their club and desires. He's not the desire of last year, but he's getting tagged heavily this year.
It's a much harder challenge for him this year, but he's working his way through that. There's positives. Recruiting, the long-term and the big contracts that they brought in, they didn't do it for today and they didn't do it just for this first six rounds of the year. We did this when the team's getting closer to ready for
that those recruits are going to be there and playing good footy, understand our systems, the way we like to play, the way we do play, and they will add to the team at the right time. Right now, we're probably in the journey of waiting for that youth to catch up a little bit still. Most importantly, we're waiting for Max King to come back.
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Chapter 5: What challenges does Justin Rodski discuss regarding the Melbourne Storm?
Enjoy early deals at Hyundai Pre-Office. On now at participating Hyundai dealers. Pay.com.au and Radius Telematics manage your fleet with Radius GPS trackers. Visit Radius.com. Waitley on SEN.
It's not going to be called opening round.
Everyone admits that that was a failure. Opening round is dead. It's dead.
Forever?
Forever. The agenda setters last night. The demise of opening round will be mourned by no one in the southern states. It progressively proved a failed experiment over its three years of operation. You identified it quickly and told the league in no uncertain terms.
What started as a well-meaning idea to compete with the NRL in New South Wales and Queensland played out as a disjointed and flat start to a season. You need to launch big, not in dribs and drabs. The cost of northern exposure was the exclusion of the heartland in Victoria, South Australia and WA, where the majority of people watched the games.
Instead of unifying the constituency, it caused fracture and resentment. The resultant early season buys proved as irritating as they were disruptive. Having your team go missing for 16 or 17 or 18 days once the season started would pass muster at no marketing agency in the world.
It is self-evident that to get the pop at the launch of the new adventure, you need 18 fan bases engaged in nine matches. And the bigger, the better. It facilitates excitement and critically the re-establishment of rituals. and it was a formula that had served the game well. There is no coincidence that round six just brought the biggest crowds of the season.
Finally, nine games in the right configuration, but it took until mid-April. Next season is a one-off. The 150th celebration test match will have clear air from the AFL, which is hugely significant for its stature and prospects. It didn't feel guaranteed that cricket would be granted March 11 to 15 without competition. And I applaud all involved that this appears now to be the case.
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Chapter 6: How does Peter Blucher present nerdy stats related to the AFL?
Derek, why can't round one be a derby in every state? No one travels. Fans get to see their club at the start of a season. Every game will be a sellout. Queensland teams on Thursday, New South Wales teams Friday, then Vic WA and South Australia Saturday and Sunday. Call it footies back or welcome back fans or just round one. We don't need a gimmick. That's from Deb.
Our AFL season ends with a bang with a big artist playing the grand final. We should start the season in a similar vein by making each match an event, at least one in each capital city. Get big local or touring artists to headline the footy. That'll compete with the NRL Vegas. That's from Paul. And again, making this Vic-centric and no focus on northern states.
Again, I honestly don't know what you're listening to, if that has been your take out. as Gary Lyon would do. The eminently sensible Phil Davis. There are big topics to cover this week. We reconnect.
So welcome back, Phil. Good morning, Gerard. Nice to be back. We both had a little week off and we're refreshed.
All right. There's a lot for us to deal with. So long-time captain, senior figure in the Players Association, prominent voice in the mental health debate, and probably critically this week outside the footy bubble. Just let's pick your mind on the Elijah Hollins scenario, how it's played out so far and what's to be learnt. Where would you like to start?
I think we should start and everyone should start in the first place is with Elijah and ensuring that he's okay, he's got the support that he needs. I think we all were, you know, feeling for him when we saw the footage and then the flow and effects has been quite significant and you can only imagine what a destabilizing week it's been for him coming up to now.
It wasn't great footage from what we've seen. The stories don't help or add to it. However, it is part and parcel of a $2 billion industry with such media interest that it will always get legs of its own. So I think, first of all, it's all about Elijah, ensuring that he's got the support I feel for him and his family.
So I hope they're going, okay, let's give him the support, give him the best chance. to be the best version of himself going forward, not just in the near term. I think secondly, you then elevate at Carlton and you ask yourself, were they aware? Why were they not aware? Or why did they do nothing? And I think when you think about it from that lens, you either go, A, if they weren't aware,
Why not? Like, what's going on there at that football club that you can't detect such a... what appears to be abnormal behaviour? And, you know, there are many reasons. You know, players fleeting touch points, so worried about their own game. Coaches trying to cover multiple things. You know, Michael Voss is in charge of circa 50 people game day. The CEO's removed.
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Chapter 7: What is the significance of Anzac Day in the context of the AFL?
For City Power, Melbourne's weather, mostly sunny, a top of 25. City Power working in all conditions to keep your power connected, essential as. The eminently sensible Phil Davis with us on a Wednesday. Let me run a couple of clubs past you. The Western Bulldogs, who are the source of much debate and concern this week. How do they meet your eye?
Yeah, one of the worst nights in football I've seen for a football club. Like, if I think about it, I'd have to fact-check that one, but nothing comes to the top of my head, Jared. I saw their injury list the other day, and it starts to get to a point where I had them well and truly in my top six, well and truly in my top four, and was really liking what they were putting together.
And you get to a point now when, A, they're real ā They're real differentiator and Sam Darcy's out for the season. That immediately brings you back to the pack. Like, for me, that's an immediate drop from the top four. And then you have all these other injuries. You know, I really hope Tom Liberatore's okay. I hope he's being looked after and the right decisions made there.
The other, it's just so, it's so disruptive. Gerrard. they're now going to be in a fight for the top 10, I think, Jared, in one night, which is really sad to see because I was so excited. for Amit and Luke Beveridge and the whole team there and Matt Egan about what they were putting together.
But yeah, that's about as rough as it gets and we'll find out what scrap and fight is in the kennel soon.
The Sam Darcy injury, just separate to the team's fortunes, just for him and what he'll go through now as a generational talent before us. Does he get his full run at it? How does he recover? What thoughts do you have for Sam?
Yeah, I would very quickly create a list of all the great players that did ACLs in the first six years of their career. So you had Matthew Richardson's of the world, Taylor Walker's of the world. There are a lot of great players that have done these early in their career and
Sam's the ultimate professional, but what a long-term injury does for you, Jared, it really sharpens your professionalism and your ability to know your body and develop your body. I've said multiple times when I was at the Giants about first years, why don't we treat them like they've had an ACL and you put them in a full, robust 12-month program because you learn incredible habits.
And Sam's already got good habits. I think he'll go to another level. He'll be stronger. The other thing that I thought was fascinating about the injury was you can tell by the reaction of A, Deceuninck and those around him, that this was bigger than just that game. And we all know how important Sam is to the competition now, which is, I think Sam can hopefully bottle that, get to work.
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Chapter 8: How do the guests reflect on the opening round's effectiveness?
from a style of play wasn't the most attractive, you still felt that they had done enough so far and are in control and should carry it over the line. What we've learned with Manchester City and Pep Guardiola, you can never write them off. Yes, yes. How much does history play a role in these things, do you think, Mark? Because Arsenal's history has all been trawled up at the moment.
I think it's massive.
I think, you know, they've won a title for 22 years. How many times in the last couple of years have they been second?
They've played a lot better in the past and still not managed to be able to win the title. They've accumulated far more points. This is a season where they don't have to accumulate as many points, but they seem to be faltering at a time when it really, really matters. That's going to be, yes. How is their fan base dealing with this, would you say? I think they're on edge.
I really do. I think they feel like not again. A bit of deja vu.
And the fact is that it's Man City who are the ones that seem to be really in form and in control now of their own destiny. How has Pep mustered this squad? How have they built their momentum? Well, obviously they've had a lot of changes and I think it's taken time for those players to gel, start to deliver now. And I think for Pep, you know, he's obviously got a lot of experience.
He knows how to deal in these really tough situations, these high pressure situations. And it's been impressive to watch. They are just finding the right rhythm at the right time. And if you've got a manager like Pep Guardiola who've won so many titles, have been there before, know what it takes to win, it's a huge advantage. So six to go for Man City.
You referenced that game in the next 24 hours and five remaining thereafter. So who's your tip? I think it's Man City. I've said it for a while. I've actually said for a while that I really fancy Manchester City to push Arsenal all the way. And I still fancy them to possibly pip them at the post.
And obviously, as we are now, like you mentioned, six games for Man City and five for Arsenal, they are in control.
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