WHO'D be an AFL coach?
The two hours spent in the coach's box each week would be enough to put most people off. We've all seen footage of coaches slamming phones, thumping benches, screaming at the top of their lungs and some, at end of it all, sitting with their heads in their hands.
Although such antics may be embarrassing to the coach concerned when watched on replay, they're totally understandable.
The demands on a coach on match day would overwhelm most. Not only do they have to match tactical wits with the opposition coach, they've also got to manage player match-ups, interchange rotations, injuries and their assistant coaching team. All while trying to deliver the thing that matters most to their supporters - the four premiership points.
When that's all over, they often have to sit back and listen to media experts tell them where they went wrong.
That was North Melbourne coach Brad Scott's experience after his team lost narrowly to St Kilda last Sunday. The main criticisms raised were that North was too tall in its forward line, allowed Saints playmaker Brendon Goddard too much latitude, left defender Sam Fisher free to double-team Drew Petrie, delivered the ball poorly to Petrie and should have left Lachie Hansen on Nick Riewoldt in the second half.
Herald Sun chief football writer Mike Sheahan put these criticisms to Scott. Sheahan said Scott's response was "measured if occasionally testy".
Scott said he had no issue with media experts expressing an opinion. But he made it clear he disagreed with them on most of their criticisms arising from Sunday's loss.
Scott's response was as follows: St Kilda's backline (James Gwilt, Zac Dawson, Sam Fisher and Sam Gilbert) was taller than North's forward line (Petrie, Aaron Edwards and Ben McKinley); McKinley was played to ensure Gilbert had a genuine forward to man up; Fisher had done a good job double-teaming Petrie but his opponent Leigh Adams had kicked three goals in a performance rewarded with AFL Coaches Association votes from both coaches; and North tagged Nick Dal Santo in preference to Goddard, but Goddard was "supposed" to have a direct opponent at all times.
Sheahan said the criticism that most upset Scott was his decision to shift Hansen into attack and Cameron Pedersen onto Riewoldt.
"I'm staggered by this. Pedersen kept (Riewoldt) to zero shots at goal in the second half. Hansen went forward and kicked a goal and they're not happy with it."
As a coach, it's impossible to keep everybody happy. Scott would have known this long before Sunday's game.
Young talent time
Wednesday marks the finale of the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships. The Championships conclude with two clashes of traditional rivals - Vic Metro v Vic Country and South Australia v Western Australia.
The results of those games and, ultimately, the Championships will soon be forgotten. But some of the players running around on Wednesday at Etihad Stadium, will soon become household names.
Their names are already well known to the horde of recruiters who will congregate at Etihad. The Age's Emma Quayle introduced the rest of us to some of the most highly touted of those players in the lead-up to the games.
Quayle's main focus was on the players who are not old enough for this year's NAB AFL Draft but who were born in the four-month window (January-April 1994) that enables them to be traded by Greater Western Sydney to another club.
Players in that age bracket have to nominate to enter a 'mini-draft' by August, with this year's 17 clubs having submitted lists of the players they're interested in last Friday.
West Australian Jaeger O'Meara is one such player. Quayle says he is the most sought-after in this group and, in good news for the clubs, has decided to nominate for the August mini-draft.
It is up to the clubs now to come up with deals that will convince GWS to part with one of their four picks in that mini-draft. The best deal will be rewarded with the best pick and, hence, access to the player of that club's choice.
Quayle says Fremantle, West Coast, Collingwood, Essendon and Gold Coast are among the clubs interested in O'Meara and predicts the Suns' likely pick in this year's draft (No. 4, if it finishes in its current ladder position, 17th) would "surely get the deal done".
One thing's for sure. Having such talented 17-year-olds on offer is sure to spice up this year's trade period.
Some of the other players Quayle says to look out for on Wednesday are Vic Metro's Jonathon Patton, Jack Viney and Tom Curran, West Australia's Stephen Coniglio and Tom Mitchell, South Australia's Chad Wingard and Vic Country's Lachie Whitfield.
Penrith seeks NRL help to tackle Giants
Greater Western Sydney is starting to make its presence felt on its home turf.
At the very least, it's got the NRL sitting up and paying attention. For instance, take the report in Wednesday's Daily Telegraph that Penrith boss Phil Gould will approach the NRL for urgent help in the battle for the affections of western Sydneysiders.
What sparked Gould's cry for help, you ask? A Giants' mail-out last month to 5000 local primary school kids enrolled in Auskick that included a personalised letter from Kevin Sheedy, in which the GWS coach implored them to continue playing Aussie rules.
The Daily Telegraph says Sheedy's letter caused "immediate angst among (Penrith) officials who feel they are single-handedly fighting the cashed-up AFL juggernaut".
Since joining Penrith last month, Gould has identified it needs NRL support in marketing and running school clinics.
The paper also said Gould had formulated a "masterplan" to respond to GWS' marketing initiatives, "one that's believed to rely on the NRL having an on-the-ground presence at the battlefront".
But the NRL said Gould is yet to reveal that plan in detail.
We await Penrith and the NRL's next step with interest.
In short
The AFL may review its rules on dangerous tackles at the end of this year in the wake of Jack Trengove's tackle on Callan Ward last Friday night, The Age reports. AFL football operations general manager Adrian Anderson said the League would move to change its rules if it concluded it needed to "go harder" on tackles such as Trengove's sling tackle on Ward. Anderson said Trengove's tackle should have been penalised with a free kick for rough play.
The trade period may be four months away but that hasn't stopped the Herald Sun running a double-page spread looking at players who may be in demand come October, and their likely suitors. All of the names that have been mentioned as possible trade bait already this year are there - Hamish McIntosh, Brian Lake, Jackson Trengove and Mark Blake - along with players such as Cale and Mitch Morton, Tyson Goldsack, Brock McLean, Xavier Ellis, Brent Prismall and Matthew Bate.
Former Fitzroy and Norwood player Keith Thomas says he is drawn to the challenge of being Port Adelaide's next chief executive, The Advertiser reports. Thomas, who is a former DMG Radio executive and current Norwood board member, said he was considering whether he was suited to the job given his background at Norwood. Outgoing Port chief executive Mark Haysman resigned last week.
Gold Coast player Joey Daye is desperate to win a recall to the Suns senior side in the hope of having his one-year contract extended at the end of this season, The Gold Coast Bulletin reports. Daye played in rounds seven and eight but told the paper he was conscious time was running out for him to convince the Suns to keep him on.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
