valleys07 wrote:Attended the member convention with Boon yesterday, sticking around for the internal afterwards.
Most of us are members of our respective football clubs. I have been a proud member of the PAFC since 1997. Most of us at one point or another have also felt disconnected from our football club. A number. "Thanks for your annual fee, here is "x" games + a family day- cheers". Gee, thanks.
For me, that point of disconnection came in 2011-12. We were a basket case both on and off the field, and going to the footy had never, nor has it since, been such a chore. Most with half a clue, knew the club was in dire straits (just how dire i'll touch on later). Many things had to change. Whilst the club was instructed by the SANFL to save in order to clear our mounting debts, truth was it needed to invest. That started with our members, and just how far we have come since our darkest days was on show for 750 members at this Australia-first event.
Boon and I both agreed, when the event schedule came through outlining the day footnoted by words along the lines of "phones and voice/video recording devices are strictly prohibited", we were in for a day well beyond the realms of media publications, press conferences, radio interviews and forum ramblings. For the average punter, closer to the inner sanctum of an AFL club we were not going to get.
By the time MC Dwayne Russell officially kicked off proceedings, and Ken had Boon ready to revisit his days down at Rutland avenue with a stirring introduction to season 2018, we were into the guts of the day.
List manager Jason Cripps and GM of Football Chris Davies (aka. George Costanza
) gave us a wonderful insight into list management, which was great for a draft nut like myself. The draft/trade period is like the stock exchange. Determining a juniors worth, the value of the picks you hold, and on the flip- the right time to trade (sell) a player on your list. Information on a particular player in the draft (or the draft itself) and the ability to manage your list to remain in flag contention by determining whether to attack the draft or FA list is fairly obvious to most fans. What we don't see as fans is the level of data captured on each player. How far out Jason and his team analyse each draft and the systems we use to attract free agents to the club. Magnificent. I was immersed.
Performance and List Analytics Manager, Michael Regan was next to the stage. A pitcher to a batter in baseball has 540 possible statistical outcomes. Hamish Hartlett with a kick out of the back pocket carries roughly 12,600 possible outcomes. You wot m8? Charles Barkley's not so encouraging assessment of sports analysts (himself an NBA analyst for a hint of irony) proved the incebreaker, Michael captivating the crowd with an in depth look at the level of data storage within the walls of the PAFC, the varying data types relative to game day (presented by Senior Analyst, Chris Sheedy), high performance etc, and the sheer size of his department (9 FTE in analytics alone
).
Matty Nicks (who is this bloke and what does he do?- Ken Hinkley) was first up after our morning refreshment to give the fans what they came for- insight from our coaches, and a look at our game plan. Starting off with the term "runway" had Boon and I exchanging raised eyebrows, but before too long, the fans were subjected to vision from training sessions showing exactly what the coaching staff were looking for, and on occasion, where our players were going against coaches instruction. Magnificent stuff. For the record- the "runway" is internal lingo for corridor footy. Hardly sharing groundbreaking IP there.
Voss and Bass went into great depth concerning our midfield and backs, with Jared Polec, Steven Motlop, Jack Hombsch and Hamish Hartlett offering us the "player view" in these incredibly insightful discussions. Vossy began discussing the 2 season defining moments for 2017- Ryder to Gray, and the infamous Shuey free kick. Ryder to Gray was used to emphasise how each player performed their role in order for Gray to execute the play. I mean- how Boon missed the likes of Amon & Ebert pulling out of the contest to minimise congestion and how the forwards pushed deep to open up the 50 for Gray to have a ping, but the lass in front got it all first take shows you the level of intricacy involved. Or maybe she was full of sh*t and Boon was in a cab- yep, that is about right
. Anyway, back to seriousness, the concept of shape was used by both Voss and Bass to describe the systems we use. Very much a 2013-15 Hawthorn model I felt. Whether we have missed the boat, or whether seasons 2016-17 were the outliers remains to be seen, but Bass is all about control from the back half. Composure. Getting back to the Shuey free. I did find it interesting that the bloke who has been hung to dry since that night (Polly) was the only player following instruction set by the coaches for that set play. Whilst tackle execution was poor, had players been set up correctly, Polly never would have been put in that situation, and we were off to the Sydney Showgrounds the next week. Sometimes it isn't always what you see.
Ladey was up next. "How come we don't kick enough goals" was just one of the probing questions fired at him, but its clear he isn't happy with our F50 efficiency, nor scoring accuracy. We generate high volumes of F50 entries, but either release the footy too easily, or cramp ourselves up in low percentage areas of the forward line. With 10 forwards set to be squeezed into 6 according to our supporters (
), Lade stated that we will intend to play a three forward system in our forward 50 in a triangle (deep forward and two forwards I’d assume) and three high forwards that are meant to be auxiliary midfielders and help out with defence. His main statement was that if you’re not kicking goals, you need to be applying pressure. Watts will be playing both roles. Lade also spoke of the position of being a dual threat as a forward - the sweet spot where a player can drop deep goal side or lead up to the kicker. He showed vision of Wingard working hard to provide a deep option that was ignored because the play went wide - out of the corridor. He also showed vision of a successful block to create space for Dixon. Once again- hardly groundbreaking, but things to look for when watching from the stands.
Head of Football Development, Aaron Greaves and Carl Woods (manager of Skill aquisition) took us on a path never considered by the contingent of members- the art of communication. The club has appointed professors in language and communication to assist our coaches on how to impart knowledge to our playing group. I loved this segment, seriously underrated and not even considered by myself before Saturday.
Head of High Performance, Ian McKeown, Tim O'Leary (Head of Medical Services/Head Physio) and Stuart Graham (Head of Sports science and conditioning) rounded out the representatives from the coaching group, with a brilliant delve into the impact and use of GPS technology, where members were given a look at what the average week looks like and how data analysis isn't limited to just kms covered during training session, but tracking a players sleep patterns and muscle strength to prevent mental or physical injury, monitoring loads on the track, in the gym and even in the lunchroom. In.Sane.
KT and Kochie rounded out the day with a look at our strategic agenda heading to 2020. KT. Seriously, you could have heard a pin drop when the man had the microphone, and his recap of our darkest days and the steps taken to ensure we are here now pushing strongly towards the next generation of this clubs proud history, nearly had me in tears. He stated one thing that hit home for me, confirming that we were 2 years away from having our AFL licence stripped from us. My lord. He spoke about the pushback we received from the SANFL when trying to invest in the football department in order to grow, with the SANFL basically saying "save your way out of this mess". Proves that he really is calm and collected, but our board is bold and brave. Mock Kochie all you want, but had it not been for innovative thinking, or even being brave enough to spend to begin with- I wouldn't be here talking PAFC at the elite level with you today.
As for the internal, I’ll let somebody else cover that. I was mentally stuffed by then. SPP was everywhere sporting a nude nut, Marshall did a couple of things to suggest he will be a star of the future, Boak was winding back the clock, and I was thankful. Thankful for standing in front of the Quinn stand as the sun set, knowing barring the unthinkable, I’ll be there every year for the next generation doing the same thing, based on information I had heard an hour or so before. Thankful that I was watching an internal play out, having a semblance of understanding of what it is our playing group are trying to achieve in 2018, thanks to my club opening its doors.
We are not perfect. We still have a way to go. Our balance sheet needs boosting. Our lone AFL cup in the foyer of the Port Club needs company, but; I write to you knowing that my, wait,
our club, is leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of the ultimate success and never ending improvement, in order to make its community proud. A community it lost touch with, but is re-engaging with like never before, and not just within 5015.
Thank you PAFC. I have never felt more connected.
