The Makings of a Successful Team - Mark Thompson
For those of you that don’t know the annual AFL Coaching Conference is on at the Gold Coast this weekend and the Key Note speaker was premiership coach Mark Thompson. In his speech Thompson expressed is philosophy on what he believes makes a successful side. He drew on experiences he had a Essendon in the mid 80’s and he reflected on how confident they were as a team saying he can remember games where we (Essendon) went out there and just thought we were going to win. Some say that is arrogance and yes it is but that is what successful teams have, opposition clubs and supporters hate them for it and their own fans love them fore it.
Here is what Thompson believes all successful teams have in common.
“What they all had in common and what stands out is that they were all very skillful and were able to move the ball from one end of the ground to the other.
“It doesn’t matter what era you are talking about, the most successful teams are harder, more confident and look smarter.
Thompson also mentioned that there were times in 2007 where he was able to relax in the coach’s box and watch his players go about their business. “It’s not that the coach isn’t relevant – but the players know what to do,” he said.
It’s great hearing successful players and coaches talk about their personal experiences and what they think about the game.
See how I think the Cats will go in 2008 by reading their 2008 Preview.
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Back to Back Flags for the Geelong Football Club?
Well is there anyone who can challenge the might of the Geelong Football Club in Season 2008? I don’t think they can, maybe Collingwood, have a read here. Geelong was so dominant in 2007 that comparisons were being drawn to the great Essendon side of 2000 (and that was a brilliant side). I don’t think things will stop here for the Cats, let’s take a look at whom they have picked up and who they have let go.
ADDITIONS:
Father/son selection: Adam Donohue (Geelong Falcons)
Rookie elevation: Jason Davenport, Tom Lonergan
NAB AFL Draft: Dan McKenna (Gippsland Power), Dawson Simpson (Murray Bushrangers), Scott Simpson (Dandenong Stingrays), Harry Taylor (East Fremantle)
DELETIONS:
Exchange period – traded: Tim Callan (Western Bulldogs), Charlie Gardiner (St Kilda), Steven King (St Kilda), Henry Playfair (Sydney)
Delisted: Sam Hunt, Stephen Owen, Matthew Spencer, Todd Grima (rookie), Joel Reynolds (rookie)
Nathan Ablett Gone
Well as you can see from that the Cats certainly have not lost much and have gained some youngsters in which they can take 
their time in developing them. All the trades Callan, Gardiner, King and Playfair didn’t have any impact in 2007 and I don’t think they will be missed at all. We all know of the much publicized fact that Nathan Ablett has walked out and he will be one player that they will miss but I think he can be covered. Ablett’s head really wasn’t in it from the start, if he was fully focused it would be scary to think what he could have become. I just don’t think we will see him line up or the Cats again. It would be great to a player like the “Tomahawk” Tom Hawkins step up and take the reigns in the Cats forward line this year and inject some more enthusiasm in the side. Read more
50 Hours of Road Trauma Education for Steve Johnson
Well Geelong bad boy Steve Johnson has somehow escaped suspension by the Geelong Football Club. They have decided that Johnson, who was caught by police travelling 128km/h in a 50km/h zone, must undergo 50 hours of road trauma education.
Johnson can count his lucky stars that no one was injured and it was not more serious than it was, he said himself that “in a sense” he is still lucky to be at the club. MY WORD HE IS !, again I just wonder if this had been player number 30 on the Cats list what the penalty would have been? The leadership group at Geelong said they took into account his improvement in behaviour in 2007 (so he stays out of trouble for 12 months and he is in the good books again? Please!). There is no doubt that Johnson has issues and only it is only a matter of time before he is making headlines for some other off field incident.
There was a brilliant article by Trevor Grant on this incident in the Herald Sun, you can read it here if you are interested
Gary Ablett Highlights Not to be Missed
Hurry up and bring on the 2008 AFL Football Season! I don’t know about everyone else out there but I am craving some football action. So I have been scouring the web and have come across these 2 fanstastic highlight reels on YouTube that I thought the readers here at AFL Football Blog would enjoy having a look at.
Here they are;
Cats and Tigers unbackable !
Can anyone challenge the Geelong Football Club and the Richmond Football Club for the honours of Premiership and Wooden Spoon respectively? Don’t you just love this time of year in the AFL world, I mean really how can we give an accurate answer to who will win the flag in 2008. At best we give our opinions and read into them what you will. There is not much to talk about other than that at this time of year. If you go on what you read in the main stream media during the pre seasons every team is going to finish in the eight and if you follow one of the AFL Football Forums, every team is going to win the flag.
My 2 bobs worth
I may as well join into the debate because it is always a good discussion topic and raises a lot of passionate talk. Well the Cats are odds on at the moment paying $3.20 for the flag with Collingwood, Fremantle, Port Adelaide and Hawthorn the next in line. I have already expressed by opinion
about who I think is most likely to challenge the Cats in 2008 and I think the Pies will give Geelong a run for their money. I can’t really believe that Fremantle are so heavily backed I just can’t see them being anywhere near the top five or six in the comp. They alway promise a lot Fremantle but don’t deliver much, if you are in a footy tipping competition they are the most frustrating team to try and tip! I personally think that they will struggle to make the eight let alone win the flag.
