Rankings are fun to make, even – no, especially – when they are made by people who have no idea what they are talking about but still continue to rank based on what they perceive to be good and bad.
Having ranked the 12th to ninth best AFL coaches in yesterday’s piece, today we kick on with numbers eight through five:
8: Damien Hardwick – Richmond (record: 89 games – 39 wins, 48 losses, two draws)
Pros – he finally managed to break the Chris Newman curse and lead the Tigers to the finals for the first time in 11 seasons, playing an exciting and free-flowing brand of football along the way.
Won plaudits for not letting Richmond turn into a basket case as the young players as developed and the older ones retired (people forget many thought the Tigers would go winless for the whole 2010 season).
He seems to have the complete devotion of the playing group, and is a straight talker with anyone who deals with him.
Cons – Okay Damien, you managed to make the finals, and you’re in luck. Instead of an inspired Port Adelaide, you’re playing a Carlton, who needed the goddamn AFL to swoop in and prevent the Bombers to make the finals for them to get in, along with about 9000 other lucky breaks they got in the last round.
Because you’re playing Carlton, the MCG will be packed, so the whole Tiger Army will be there to inspire you.
You’ve got a midfield with Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin and Brett Deledio, all who can kick goals and deliver lace out passes to your two time Coleman medallist full forward, Jack Riewoldt.
All is set for a memorable win and… you lose.
In the game that mattered more than anything else, you couldn’t find a single method of stopping Nick Duigan, in his second game for the year, and a 30-year-old Chris Judd with only a few strands of tape preventing his shoulders from falling off in the first minute of the match.
Yeah, it may only be one game, but that’s a pretty big con, when your team can’t beat a team you were obviously better than in the biggest game your club has played since the end of the Cold War.
7: Brendan McCartney – Western Bulldogs (record: 44 games – 13 wins, 31 losses)
He has the second worst record among any of the coaches, but what he has done growing the Bulldogs’ list up from the bottom has been truly remarkable.
The Bulldogs won eight games last year, and markedly improved in the back half of the season as his players fully embraced the roles ‘Macca’ had assigned to them.
Every time he has graced the media he’s been a class act, and his players couldn’t speak highly enough of him.
The Bulldogs’ list still has a long way to go before it can again contend for a flag, but with McCarthy at the helm they are definitely heading in the right direction.
6: Mick Malthouse – Carlton (record: 688 games – 398 wins, 284 losses, six draws)
Mick came into last season with the expectation he would guide Carlton at least into the finals, if not the top four.
Well he managed to do that, but in the least convincing way possible, claiming eighth place by virtue of Essendon being banned and beating Port Adelaide by one point in the final round.
Once they got their though, Mick managed to lead the Blues to a famous elimination final victory, something Brett Ratten failed to do on numerous occasions.
Mick got this high a position by virtue of his reputation, and the probability is he, like every single person associated with Carlton, overrated the list before the start of the season and was too far gone to readjust a game plan, developed for Malthouse’s superior Collingwood sides.
With another season behind him, expect Carlton, and Mick’s coaching performances, to improve markedly, and maybe make the finals on their own merits this time.
5: Ken Hinkley – Port Adelaide (record: 23 games – 13 Wins, 10 Losses)
The coaching revelation of last year as he lead a Port side many people thought should pack up shop and move to Tasmania, such was their awfulness and lack of crowds, into a team that not only made it into finals, but also beat Collingwood away from home in their first finals game since the Power were systematically tortured by the Cats in the 2007 grand final.
Port fans now have a reason to cheer again, and Hinkley is the reason for it.
It now looks absurd it took so long for him to get a head coaching gig, given he applied to every position that opened up with an incredible assistant coaching resume.
The other teams’ loss is Port Adelaide’s gain; expect the Power to improve this season, although their record may drop due to better competition and a harder draw.
macca
Guest
That is true TomC, also one of his best performance for the year was against Hawthorn - one of the hardest sides where he got 28 touches laid 8 tackles and kicked a goal - I don't necessarily it is a matter of changing him but changing the role he is given. I remember watching the blues play St Kilda at the MCG 4 or 5 yers ago and he got put into the middle in the last quarter with the blues down by 4 or 5 goals (maybe more) and he won nearly every centre square clearance - too often through necessity the blues have asked him to play the sweeping role or the defensive role since. I think if he is allowed to play the majority of his football as a midifielder this year and not get assigned tagging roles or have to spend time down in the back pocket I think a lot of opinions of him will change.
macca
Guest
7
TomC
Roar Guru
One other thing on Gibbs, his ratio of contested vs uncontested possessions significantly improved in 2013, which possibly reflects Malthouse trying to change him somewhat as a player. I must admit I'm not a big fan of Gibbs, but I think the general perception of him as a purely outside player is a little dated.
macca
Guest
Also on Gibbs in 2013 against the top 8 sides (including Essendon) he averaged 23.6 possessions, 3.92 tackles and 0.69 goals in 13 games - that is pretty handy for a "second stringer" who also got assigned tagging or defensive roles.
macca
Guest
Lindsay - My point on Everitt is that seeing as the blues got him and pick 39 for pick 32 he doesn't have to be that great - they blues got him for almost nothing and seeing as he played 20 games for a top 4 side last year he is better for the blues than anyone they would of got at pick 32. "when a team relies on a 30 year old to get the most touches they have a problem." So does Hawthorn have a problem - Sewell, Mitchell, Hodge & Burgoyne all over 30 this year (with 3 of them over 30 last year)? And for the record Judd was the 6th highest possession getters (total) for the blues last year, Murphy, Gibbs & McLean were all above him from the midfield and Walker and Simpson were the top 2. If you went on average possession Judd was second on 22.6, with Gibbs 3rd on 22.4 Murphy 4th on 22.3, Simpson 5th on 22.2 and McLean 7th on 21.1 - so I can't really see on over reliance on Judd in those stats.
macca
Guest
Floyd - they beat the Gold Coast handsomely but did lose narrowly to St Kilda. I am not saying that they are going to be world beaters but just that they were not as far off the pace as some would have us believe and the list has certainly improved over the summer. In fact the losses you point to sort of help my argument - it doesn't take much improvement for the blues to erradicate those poor performances and without beating anymore sides above them than they did last year they already get 2 more wins and push up to 5th or 6th.
berrlins
Roar Pro
fair call on Thomas, I was abit rash there he is a sold trade. But Everitt despite being a top ten draft back in the day he is not what he has cracked up to be. He had flashes at the dogs but was lackluster at times. even at the swans he struggled He gets out muscled by opponents way to easily and gets taken out of the game. Docherty was a easy trade for pick 33 but hes played 13 games, has struggled with injury and like I said is an unknown quantity, he could go either way. as for the midfield, when a team relies on a 30 year old to get the most touches they have a problem. Murphy and Judd is not a bad combination with the addition of Daisy but not fantastic, and Carrazzo/gibbs needs to show alot more to offer support.
Floyd Calhoun
Guest
We'd all rather point to the wins & narrow losses Macca, but don't forget the losses to Gold Coast & Bulldogs. Carlton were 'gifted' a finals berth & did well with it, but let's not get carried away here.
Lightning Jim
Guest
You're entitled to your opinion Franko but I don't agree that what Ken faced last year was easier than what he faces this year. Maybe the challenge is different but certainly not more difficult. Last year there were myriad issues and obstacles that were successfully addressed. This year there is primarily only one. The danger of complacency, getting ahead of ourselves or being satisfied with what's been accomplished so far. But looking at the way Ken has handled things, his ethos, and the type of coach he is, there is no chance that he would ever let that happen. And saying that they already should have been playing that way because it was the Port Adelaide way (as if that was somehow enough to make it magically happen by itself), is overly simplistic and bordering on fantasy. The reality is that they were not playing the PA way for a long time. Under Williams they lost their way and neither he nor Primus could make it happen. And what most were predicting with Ken as a new untried coach, was a slow painful experience with very little if any progress. The last thing they expected was real success of any kind, let alone on the scale that was achieved in 2013. So what Ken has accomplished should not be minimized. And yes they will need to keep improving this year if they want to take it a step further. But the step needed is not as big as it's made out to be. Steady realistic progress is all we can reasonably hope for. Anything more than that will be a bonus. I think this team has a lot more to give and they now have the belief and hunger to eventually achieve ultimate success. But obviously there will be challenges and setbacks along the way. Nevertheless, the success of last year should stand alone on its own merits, not be dampened or brushed aside by what may or may not happen this year.
macca
Guest
PaulD - You are right that the Lions did the best with the hand they were dealt - something is better than nothing and that the actual loss can only be measured in the years to come but right now they would be filthy. While the likes of Docherty and others weren't regulars the Lions would of been counting on them becoming regulars probably this year and had invested pretty heavily in them.
macca
Guest
8
PaulD
Guest
Look, I think we can agree Carlton did well in picking up Docherty for pick 33 – the thing is though, all the clubs who traded with the Lions did well out of it, since all clubs knew the Lions had 5 players who all wanted out, and if the Lions didn’t play ball the players could take their chances on free agency and the club wouldn’t get anything for them. Rob Kerr, the Lions list manager did the best job he could during the trade period – you could see the Lions were stalling and playing a bit of brinksmanship to try and get as much as possible for these players, but in the end it was always going to be the case that the 5 players all went for bargain prices. That being said, I don’t think it’s the disaster that some people have said – apart from Yeo, none of them were first team regulars. They’re certainly not a Sam Mayes walking out on the club for instance. It’s going to take a few years though to work out the net gain/loss from this exodus though, and a lot of it will depend on how all those 20/30 draft picks they traded for come along and develop. You can bet though that player welfare and an emphasis on making their interstate recruits feel at home will be front and centre in the Lions planning from now on though.
macca
Guest
Sorry again TomC for whatever offence I have caused this time around - I am simply trying to get you on to discussing the crux of the matter - ie did Carlton trade well for those players - and away from the trivialities of whether the players in question went pick 10 or 11 or 12. I know you must be struggling after seeing the much of the Lions promise destroyed by losing so many quality young players over the summer but if we can steer away form personal attacks and just stick with discussing football it would be great.
macca
Guest
4
TomC
Roar Guru
What the hell is wrong with you?
macca
Guest
Ok TomC - I apologise unreseveredly for mistakenly claiming a number 12 and number 11 were actually top 10 picks - I was working from memory and should of taken the time to fact check. Now having cleared that up does the slipping of 1 and 2 picks in the draf order change my arguement that the blues did bloody well in picking Docherty up for pick 33 (I should apologise again becuase I originally claimed it was pick 30) or Everitt and pick 39 for pick 32? If I had of claimed they were top 10 draft picks and they were actually 20 something then that might be relevant but making a federal case out of confusing pick 11 and 12 with pick 10 is just nit picking. Now if you want to actually discuss the issue I am happy to exchange ideas - if you just want to be a pedant please find somewhere else to do it.
macca
Guest
3
TomC
Roar Guru
You're the one raising their draft placings, now you're saying they're irrelevant. We've had this discussion before, Macca. You need to get these things right if you want to be taken seriously. It's so easy to check.
macca
Guest
Didn't realise that was nasty? I was just pointing out the irrelevance of the error to the overall point I was making. If you want to argue that Docherty & Everitt aren't any good go for your life but to focus on the 1 and 2 place discrepency in the draft order and try to compare Everitt to Morton is just being petty and irrelevant.
macca
Guest
2