What effect has all this had on the Eagles for 2006?
Hansen feels confident the team has stuck together well and is now stronger than ever.
“You come together when your backs are up against the wall,” he said.
“Hopefully coming out of this we are just going to be a stronger and closer-knit group, because we realise we have to be there for each other both on and off the field, for the good times and the bad.”
“We’ve definitely experienced both over the last six months, going from a grand final to the media scrutiny we have copped over the last few weeks.”
“None of this has changed our football ability or our preparation.”
I hope he’s right. There is no doubt off-season dramas can have a negative impact upon a team - players are human regardless of how professional and able to switch on or off they are. However, the positive thing in my opinion is that we are still a number of weeks off the season proper and the Eagles being out of the NAB cup has them flying beneath the radar. This still gives Woosha and the boys time to glavanise themselves and focus on the task ahead in season 2006.
It also gives the leadership of club time to consider what, if any changes, need to be made at the club to ensure that issue after issue does not continue to bob up and detract from the mission at hand. Molly comments on this post that perhaps there are cultural problems at the Eagles with the players running the show. It’s a good question.
I think good clubs do have strong player leadership. Look at the character of the vast majority of premiership captains. Look at the number of coaches who were players of strong character and often played under strong coaches who themselves were excellent on-field leaders. This article details some of the player-led culture at the 2005 premiers:
The other shock for a Melbourne boy is being inducted into the Swans’ notoriously tight players’ society.
“There’s definitely that Bloods’ culture which is held in high regard,” Richards said.
“We were sat down and the leadership group gave us a presentation on what is expected of new guys and it’s something that is spoken about a lot too. At Essendon, there wasn’t as much of a player-driven code, it was more driven by the coaches whereas here the players are more behind the code. They work with the coaches.”
Player driven culture is not necessarily a bad thing. It can be a fantastic way of re-inforcing the teams goals and values. But it can also transmit some renegade behaviours. The success of a player-driven leadership culture really depends on the sort of player leaders you have.
Thinking about the Cousins incident and the other incidents of recent times, I think the ex-captain needs to take a fair amount of responsibility. I think Ben’s dropped the ball.
Cousins was the unchallenged captain of the club, Brownlow medallist, 4 time All-Australian. He’s universally been looked to as the go-to man. But too many errors of judgment have not only let himself down, but possibly also his team.
Chris Judd was quoted as saying at his press conference (in reference to not being a role model) that “other people’s happiness is not his responsibility” - and that is true enough. But that is not what a role model is, nor is it what a leader is either.
A team captain is a leader of the players - on field and off field. They follow his example. They are the sort of professional other players want to be. When young guys are growing up and trying to make their way in the AFL and in life, who do they look to? The club leaders. To take a line of what happens on field is all that matters is naive. Not so much because of the effect on the public (although sponsors etc may disagree) but because of the effect it has on the other players following and how that affects the club and it’s culture.
I’m not wanting to be a prophet of doom and say that’s it, we can’t win. That’s rubbish. But I also think the club’s leadership, the match committee and the players have a long road ahead of them to refocus the team and reach the heights we are all hoping for in this season.
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