There seems to be some revisionist history playing out at the Gold Coast Suns, as Rodney Eade distances himself and his team from the talk of finals.
Guy McKenna was one of the hard luck stories at the end of the 2014 season.
After Gary Ablett suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in Round 16 against Collingwood, the Suns went from being in the eight to a disappointing 12th by Round 23.
In fact, after losing Ablett the Suns only recorded one more win – against the eventual wooden spoon recipient, St Kilda.
Were it not for Ablett’s injury, many believe McKenna would still be coaching the Suns, including the man himself.
But Ablett did get injured, and the Suns’ season, which started out so bright, faded into the history books as quickly as Ablett’s chances of winning a third Brownlow Medal.
So when McKenna was sacked and Rodney Eade named as his replacement in October 2014, it was clear the Suns board wanted a coach who could take the club to the next level: finals.
Eade seemed the appropriate heir.
In his first season as coach at Sydney, in 1996, he took the Swans to their first grand final appearance in over 50 years.
At the Western Bulldogs his impact was immediate, too, with the Dogs narrowly missing the finals in his first year as coach in 2005, after finishing a miserable 14th in 2004 under the stewardship of Peter Rohde.
Eade has a knack for assessing a team’s strengths and weaknesses and creating a game plan to suit his list; he is unconventional, but has a proven record of turning clubs’ fortunes around fast.
That is why the Suns hired him.
And that is why it is all the more surprising that after one defeat ‘Rocket’ is already throwing the towel in and ruling out finals for one to two years.
The Suns’ loss to Melbourne at the weekend was disappointing, and Eade, visibly frustrated, blamed an over-reliance on Ablett as one of the reasons his team were not finals contenders this season.
But wasn’t this over-reliance on Ablett the main factor in the sacking of Guy McKenna? Can Eade really expect to use this as an excuse for the loss against the Demons, as well as future insurance in case the Suns fail to reach the finals?
It seems absurd to think that the premise for one coach’s sacking is the other’s ‘get out of jail free’ card.
What’s more, after the foundations laid by McKenna, Eade has a young, talented list that are capable of making the eight.
After four years in the AFL, there are now a group of players who have played 50-plus games and are beginning to find their stride: Zac Smith, Dion Prestia, Harley Bennell, Sam Day, Steven May and David Swallow (to name a few) are no longer little boys trying to compete against older, more seasoned bodies. They have matured into footballers.
Combined with trade acquisitions such as Gary Ablett, Nick Malceski, Jarrod Harbrow and Michael Rischitelli, the talent in the Suns’ line-up runs deep.
But that word ‘talent’, at least in Eade’s eyes, is fraught with danger. After the Suns’ loss to Melbourne, Rocket lamented that labelling a playing group as ‘talented’ was risky because hard work, not talent, was what makes teams successful.
Hard work is undoubtedly important. But when talent meets hard work, that’s when teams win premierships.
If Eade doesn’t think he is capable of getting his talent to stand up and win the contested footy, the hard ball gets, and the one percenters, then perhaps he isn’t the right man to be coaching the Suns.
But his track record proves that he is.
And if Eade made an instant improvement at Sydney and the Western Bulldogs, there is no reason his impact cannot be as immediate and profound on the Suns, particularly because the list he has is indeed talented.
It’s always better to undersell and over-deliver, but after one round as coach, Eade’s defeatist attitude is deflating at best, insipid at worst. If Gold Coast fans weren’t feeling disappointed at the end of last season, they are now.
But do they need to be? As the saying goes, a week is a long time in football. Making a judgment call on a team’s likelihood of making the finals after only one week of football seems odd.
The Suns can make the finals in 2015. Someone just needs to remind Rodney Eade.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
It's not necessarily a matter of how many games, it's a matter of actually understanding what they need to be doing and when.
Don Freo
Guest
These guys are heading past 80, towards 100 games played...How long must they play before they are no longer tyros?
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Because every man and his dog has been yapping about how the Suns should make finals since the end of last year. This despite the fact they're mostly a team of young players who don't have the game understanding to operate without direction from Abblett yet. It's a serious problem that they don't have that knowledge yet, and it's one that fixing may actually make them seem worse before they get better.
Ken
Guest
I seriously reckon they should have stuck with McKenna.
conchie
Roar Rookie
Think they should have stuck with McKenna, would have played and probably still will play finals this year. 20,000 members and finals are within reach
conchie
Roar Rookie
is that you fussball ?
Gecko
Guest
I agree with TomC and Mastermind. In an age where clubs are mostly turning away from unproven coaches, Eade is a proven coach and a much sought after one. The results he got from that Bulldogs side (with all its on-field and budgeting holes) was impressive. As for his comments - you could read it as genuinely believing the Suns are no chance, or you could read it as just taking the public weight of expectation off the players (and himself). Let's give him and his team a few more weeks before we rush into verdicts.
Don Freo
Guest
He has already been at Gold Coast longer than he should be.
pjm
Roar Rookie
Eade is a master of prolonging his time at clubs while they under perform.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Bomber didn't quite say it like that Cameron. He said that Gary likes his body to be 100 percent and sometimes he can struggle. I will admit that what you said is probably what he meant to say. However, I think this is sometimes a big problem for players, and I like the fact Ablett has the confidence to tell people like Bomber that he is not right. Too many times do we see players carry injuries which end up shortening their career, yet it is seen to be 'mentally' weak if they can't play through these very injuries. Lets take Michael Clark for example. As a physiotherapist, I am of the opinion that **** poor management of his chronic back condition is probably going to rob us 5 years of seeing him play top level cricket. His bilateral hamstring strains are also probably linked to his back issue, which anyone in the medical field can see a mile away, despite what is being said by his medical staff to the contrary. He has already stepped down from limited overs cricket for this very reason and he is only 33! To be honest, that entire segment with Bomber last night was odd, and I'd be surprised if it's still running by the end of the season in it's current format.
Don Freo
Guest
Geez AR...you and Rick on the same thread. 2015, the year of harmony!
AR
Guest
On that, Don Freo, we are in furious agreement.
Don Freo
Guest
Nah. The 'best 250' is just a random number. Why not the best 350 or 450? Do you know where the real quality ends. For instance, at Freo, there would be over 30 players worthy of a top 22 position. This would be the case at Hawthorn too. Reducing it to 12 would only have the effect of giving us less games to watch.
Don Freo
Guest
That's is Bomber though. He just says stuff...one very loose unit.
Cameron Rose
Expert
No, I think it was a message to his players more than relieving any heat off himself. He's the voice of experience, he can be listened to. Ablett seemed all too happy to let everyone know he was struggling, with the constant almost theatrical grimacing, and his tentativeness at times. Nor was he running as hard as he should have been to make up for it. Bomber Thompson said on AFL360 last night that Gary is someone who can struggle mentally when his body isn't absolutely 100%. That statement tied it with what we saw on the weekend.
Don Freo
Guest
It could be an indication of the D's strength rather than GC underperformance.
Ozzie Rooles
Guest
It's a simple equation of supply & demand for labour. If a job requires skills that aren't widely available then, unless you can find enough quality personnel to fill the vacancies you end up hiring low quality talent. By reducing the AFL competition to 12 teams it means the best 250 players will be on display each week. Eliminate the suburban-quality Aussie Rules talent who are currently masquerading as "world's-best" professional sportsmen. Of course you don't need to eliminate the Qld teams. Keep them in & eliminate some others. But a 12 team competition is all that the current Aussie Rules player market can handle. Or, as I said, the other option is to increase participation by 1000%. Real participation - registered players playing for registered teams in full 18-a-side competitions. The desperate measures to recruit ex-Gaelic footballers, basketball players & Gridiron players shows the AFL knows there is little hope of significantly increasing participation rates in Australia. If you're recruiting players who don't have basic Aussie Rules technical skills is there any wonder the quality of the competition is hopeless, apart from the top few teams? All you end up with are very fit athletes running around aimlessly like kids when the first play team sport - no feel for where they should position themselves, where they should run, when they should run.
Casper
Guest
Don - I think if one of reasons that Sumner quit is because he couldn't handle a bit of yelling, then the Suns are better off without him. The guy has got a bit of talent, but he really lacks composure with his kicking. Not sure he would ever overcome that to be a decent AFL player. As far as the Suns go, the loss to the D's could be the wake up call they need.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
You don't think Eade said those things to take the pressure of himself Cameron? Also, what type of 'behaviour' are you alluding to of Ablett on the weekend?
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
That may possibly be the case AR, but I have to agree with Don here to some extent - shock horror! I was not a big fan of the sacking of Bluey and something in his interview with Mike Sheahan the other day tells me it's got a lot to do with Blighty. I'm not entirely sure what that is, but I suspect they got rid of Bluey in the hope of getting Bomber and it failed. This scenario is not too dissimilar from the Lions and I believe they made a snap judgement on Voss in the hope of getting Roos. It failed and nothing to me suggests Leppitsch is going to be any better than him. Both of these sackings were just weird. They lacked any real conviction and my two scenario's above - I believe - are the only logical reasons behind such sackings given where both teams were heading - which was up! The sacking of Harvey oozed conviction from Fremantle, that's how you go after your man. Did you see Bomber last night on AFL-360? He was asked about the Gold Coast position and his answer was even more weird. He was talking about going from the top of the tree for the position, straight to the bottom after going away to Mexico for two weeks in the summer. He specifically said that having his phone turned off for 2-weeks is probably the reason???? Seriously, what kind of answer is that to a pretty serious question. Firstly, how does one think they were top dog for the position and then not understand why they went to the bottom after being away for 2-weeks? Secondly, who turns their phone off for two weeks if a club is trying to get into contact with them regarding a senior coaching position in the AFL no less? Something is just out of place for me here and 1 + 1 = 5 as far as I'm concerned. One thing is for sure, Rodney was not the first choice and I think we have already started to see their error. Who comes out after round 1 and says their team is not ready for finals for at least 2 years? Come on, that's just bad form!