Wallace's views on lists and recruiting

[one-eyed]

Plough's views on the Dogs = a portal to Richmond's future list make-up and recruiting plans?

27 March 2007   Herald-Sun
Terry Wallace

... the Doggies have the deepest list of any football team in the country.

There are players who will either be interchange or emergencies for the Dogs who would get a game in the starting 18 with any other club, including West Coast and Sydney.

And when you have the best depth in the competition, you have a genuine chance to win the flag.

Without a doubt, they have more midfield runners than any other combination in the AFL.

They have up to 15 genuine running machines and will usually have at least 12 genuine runners in the starting line-up each week.

It makes it almost impossible to lock down [all]... Someone will always get out of the loop.

The Dogs' physical size will always be questioned, and the importance of Luke Darcy, Chris Grant and Brian Harris is immeasurable.

So how does one team get the jump over others with such a strong list? By getting all aspects of the system right.

There are several factors that determine a club's future success.

THE DRAFT

In the early days, while other teams were throwing draft picks away to pick up ready-made players, the Bulldogs were doing the opposite with players such as Luke Penny, Kingsley Hunter, Michael Martin, Brett Montgomery, Stephen Powell, Leon Cameron and Paul Hudson, some of whom were excellent players, leaving the club to build a future generation.

This new generation started when recruiting manager Scott Clayton arrived at the club in 1999.

TRADE

The Bulldogs' trades have fitted into two categories: for speed, which is the basis of their line-up, and size, which has been on a needs basis.

They have been able to add Eagleton, Matthew Robbins, Peter Street, Andrew McDougall and Akermanis to give them greater depth.

DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH

Everyone would love to find a diamond. In football that's what it is like to pick a player late in the draft, or the rookie draft, who becomes a star.

The Bulldogs have been successful in finding some diamonds in the rough. Clayton has made an art form of picking guys out of speculative selections.

Gilbee (pick No. 43), Daniel Cross (No. 56), Ryan Hargrave (No. 66), and Harris (No. 71). Matthew Boyd (23rd pick in the rookie draft) and Dale Morris (19th pick in the 2005 rookie draft).

WHO SELECTS FUTURE STARS?

David Parkin is one of the greatest coaches I played under, yet he would be the first to admit his job was not to recruit. Give me quality players and I will give you a premiership was his philosophy.

I am always amazed when I hear experts from the media speak about coaches losing their jobs because they have not selected the right players for their club. Likewise, I have a laugh when some coaches want to take over the whole recruiting process.

The coach's role is to work with the recruiting department to ensure that everyone has an understanding of the type of players the club is trying to develop for its future.

But it is like any other form of business. If you have a manager in place who you trust, you must allow them to do their job.

Recruiters have an intimate knowledge of players, so you must allow them to make their selection. Their job lives and dies on their ability to make the right selections.

I believe the draft is the recruiting department's responsibility, while trading is the responsibility of the senior coach and the match committee.

THE RECRUITING EXPLOSION

As AFL clubs have realised the importance of getting their recruiting right, there has been an explosion in spending in these areas.

Less than a decade ago the best recruiting managers in the AFL were earning less than the club's football manager.

Yet on-field success relied on bringing the right players to the club.

When I look at my time at the Western Bulldogs, I believe the most important decision I made was to convince management to bring in Clayton as head of recruiting.

Since his arrival for the 1999 national draft, he has selected a group of players who will ensure success for the next decade.

When I decided to return to football, I chose Richmond because I believed they had another experienced recruiting manager, Greg Miller.

He's the director of football and alongside him is Francis Jackson, who has been in the game for more than 30 years and understands what it takes to play at the elite level.

The analysis that goes into the selection of players, from personality profiles through to strength and conditioning tests, is so detailed that clubs now send recruiters to track speeds and distances run by 16-year-olds.

In today's AFL, where big spending is part of success, clubs can't afford to be left behind in their recruiting.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21451667%255E19742,00.html

[letsgetiton!]

when is terry going to start to "love " the tigers more than the bulldogs

i respect terry as a coach but i am sick of with continual love 4 thw doggies

[mightytiges]

when is terry going to start to "love " the tigers more than the bulldogs

i respect terry as a coach but i am sick of with continual love 4 thw doggies

He's just saying what he knows well. He would know those doggie players inside out.

I'm more interested in how it relates to us. 15 running midfielders is something we are building up to even if we are realistically still years away from their peak development. Clayton arrived at the dogs in 1999 and Plough arrived here in 2004. So we are effectively 5 years behind the Dogs as far as our youngster development goes.

I still think Plough underrated the importance of KPPs in that article. Not so much in terms of quantity which he oftens gets criticised for especially when at the Dogs but moreso in terms of quality. Richo should remind Tezza of that fact each and every week. The premiership sides still have strong spines and especially a big key power forward. Something the current doggies still lack despite the abundance of quality smalls. They'll be hoping MacDougall will fill the void. IMO the difference b/w winning in 2005 and losing in 2006 for the Swans was the loss of Jason Ball as well as Barry Hall having a shocker while vice versa for the Eagles with the big improvement in Quentin Lynch. 

  Also interesting that Wallace puts all his faith in the recruiters Miller and Jackson. As a coach's survival depends on results and results depend on the quality of players on your list then you would want to know as much as possible from the recruiters and as well as first hand when possible what each draftee can offer the club before the draft.

[torch]

"I still think Plough underrated the importance of KPPs in that article."


i do agree to a curtain degree with that.

i have a doggies mate who said the only problem with wallace is that he left us with no KPP.

and i have watched the doggies season in 98 on tape, and they didn't have a dangerous spine. expext for Grant ...

know Premiership teams have a strong spine ...

i ask these questions to terry ...

whats our spine like for this year untill 2010 like ???

and what would be interesting ...

is to see who terry has recruited (or whoever) since he took over at the doggies and tigers ...

so ... from 1996 pre-season draft to 2001 ... Western

then 2004 - now ! ... Richmond

[mightytiges]

I'm not saying Plough hasn't recruited any KPPs at Richmond (Patto, Hughes, Riewoldt, Polak, Thursty) but they need to develop into top quality KPPs for us to become a premiership team. Under finals pressure you need someone big with reliable hands who the smalls can can go to under pressure and take a telling grab. It straightens a side up so they have more confidence to play through the centre corridor instead of being forced wide all the time going for a safer option.   

[Harry]

Who did Francis Jackson previously work for?  Who were his noteable recruits?  I haven't heard anything about him but he is supposedly a great recruiter.

[mightytiges]

Who did Francis Jackson previously work for?  Who were his noteable recruits?  I haven't heard anything about him but he is supposedly a great recruiter.

Francis Jackson has worked a long time alongside Miller. He was at the Kangaroos with him and with Neville Stibbard. He was part time with us under Miller last year. Also was U19's coach at South Melbourne in 1979 and Sandy coach in 1987.