Author Topic: Captain to be announced at 2.30pm  (Read 7998 times)

Offline one-eyed

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Model citizen Kane
« Reply #45 on: March 16, 2005, 02:37:18 AM »
Model citizen Kane
16 March 2005   
Herald Sun
Mike Sheahan

CERTAIN people recognised Kane Johnson's subtle leadership qualities early on.

The new Richmond skipper led the Victorian Metro team that played South Australia in the final of the 1995 national under-17 title in Albury.

It was a team that included Lance Whitnall, Brent Harvey, Paul Licuria, Mark Johnson, Chad Morrison, Heath Black, David Wirrpunda and Simon Prestigiacomo. "Kane was quiet and unassuming, but he certainly got the job done," said Kevin Sheehan, AFL national talent manager.

That's exactly what Richmond wanted in its captain, a strong, consistent on-field presence, an organised, stable individual off the ground.

He won't be a Wayne Carey; he'll be closer in demeanour to Mark Bickley, who was his captain in Adelaide's 1997-98 premiership teams.

Bickley described it last night as a great appointment.

"He's the perfect role model for Richmond and where they're at. He's a ruthless, uncompromising player, and a hard trainer, and he expects the same of his teammates.

"He was as thick as thieves with `Roo' (Mark Ricciuto), Goody (Simon Goodwin) and Andrew McLeod in Adelaide; he was always destined to be in a leadership group."

Bickley said Malcolm Blight acknowledged Johnson's maturity when he assigned him to Robert Harvey in the 1997 Grand Final.

"Harvey was probably the premier player in the league at the time and Kane was 19," Bickley said.

"He's probably blossomed at Richmond, given the extra responsibility he's had. He's better, having experienced a few more things; being a pivotal player in a team, having experienced a bit of adversity."

Johnson does seem the right choice. He is the solitary premiership player on the Tigers' list, has been runner-up in the best-and-fairest in each of his two years at Richmond, and is a lifelong supporter. Yes, "is".

In his own words, he "still had a massive feeling for Richmond" during seven seasons with the Crows. "When the time came to come home, it was a huge day for me," he said.

Johnson was born into a Richmond family and wore Dale Weightman's No. 3 on his black and yellow jumper.

He didn't make any outlandish statements yesterday, yet there was one that should titillate all Richmond fans.

"In the last six months, I've seen a massive change in the boys . . . pretty similar to when I started in Adelaide."

The Crows finished 12th in his first year and won the next two premierships.

Terry Wallace said the appointment of Johnson and Nathan Brown as vice-captain should not be seen as a slap in the face to "old" Richmond, represented by Matthew Richardson and Joel Bowden.

"It's not meant to be seen that way . . . it's mixing the old and the new," Wallace said.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,12560696%255E19771,00.html

Offline one-eyed

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Quiet Johnson talk of Tigerland
« Reply #46 on: March 16, 2005, 02:39:09 AM »
Quiet Johnson talk of Tigerland
16 March 2005   
Herald Sun
Mark Stevens

KANE Johnson would have taken life in a Humphrey B. Bear suit ahead of facing the Adelaide media.
 
For all his on-field heroics, including two premierships, Johnson was barely quoted in his seven years with the Crows.

"Put it this way, we never got to find out if he had a Victorian accent or not," long-time Adelaide football scribe Michelangelo Rucci said last night.

But it was a different person who fronted the cameras on his 27th birthday as Richmond skipper yesterday.

Johnson – who won the job ahead of more-renowned media performers Nathan Brown, Matthew Richardson and Joel Bowden – came prepared with a speech, but had no need to glance down as he eyeballed the media pack.

"Probably the weakness has been this sort of stuff. I've never sort of done a lot of this," Johnson said.

"It's something I'll be working on over the next 12 to 18 months to get right.

"I know I've got Browny and the other boys that love their media to help out there."

Johnson said his general reluctance to walk media street was not a factor when he was weighing up whether to put his hand up for the job.

When Johnson arrived at Punt Rd two years ago, he soon realised the different environment demanded he be more accessible.

"I don't know whether it's the intense media that's over there (Adelaide) that turned me away from it.

"There were a couple of incidents early on that sort of shied me right away from media and I decided not to go down that path.

"It's only when I decided to come to Richmond that I realised you have to market the Richmond Football Club whereas in Adelaide it marketed itself – you didn't have to out yourself out there.

"I think I've come out of myself a little bit and obviously need to come out a little bit more. I'll be doing the best I can to accommodate all media."

Brown, a multi-media star in his second year at Richmond, was named vice-captain after coach Terry Wallace decided to go for the "outsiders".

Career Tigers Bowden and Richardson, whose fathers both played at Punt Rd, are on the next rung as joint deputy vice-captains.

Wallace said one of the hardest things to deal with was the issue of overlooking "heart and soul" players such as Bowden and Richardson.

"How would that be seen from outside . . . would it be seen as a snub of the Richmond of old?" Wallace said.

"It's not the way that we see things. We see this as being a fresh start for the footy club. Each of the four individuals are here in their own right . . . not for history or anything else.

"It doesn't necessarily mean you get success by picking people who have been around a long while. Stephen Kernahan wasn't around Carlton very long when he was put into a captaincy role.

"We believe we needed to make a statement about where our footy club was heading. Whether that offended people or didn't offend people, we just believed we needed to make as strong and loud a statement as we could."

Wallace said Johnson needed to change little.

"He got the captaincy because of who he is," he said.

Johnson will wear the No. 17 guernsey made famous by Jack Dyer, handed over by former skipper Wayne Campbell.

"It's going to be a massive thing for me. I have worn 28 all my life and it's going to be a bit different to have 17 on the back, but I couldn't think of a better number," he said.

Johnson's passion for the Tigers started at the age of four, when he was given his first Tigers guernsey complete with Dale Weightman's number.

"Even when I was playing for Adelaide, I still had a massive feeling for Richmond," Johnson said.

"It's every kid's dream to play AFL football, then it's premierships and probably captaincy after that."

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,12560834%255E19771,00.html

Offline mightytiges

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Re: Captain to be announced at 2.30pm
« Reply #47 on: March 16, 2005, 03:38:16 AM »
kane is the captain, we support him but get real , 10 years of mostly gr8 service should have gotten joel over the line, they say kane grew up a tiger supprter , wow, joel is the son of a tiger champ!

So was David Bourke ;D.
All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be - Pink Floyd

Offline JohnF

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Re: Captain to be announced at 2.30pm
« Reply #48 on: March 16, 2005, 03:39:10 AM »
I can't speak for how the club thought. I can only speculate that maybe they thought along the lines of how many supporters appear to, that being to rate him on playing to a standard expected of him because of his obvious talent rather than rating him as he was playing which was below what he could but still way better than most mere AFL standard footballers.

I think there's alot in that FF although it could be said that is/was systematic of a club that consistently overrated its players by basing its ratings on potential rather than reality.

The rapts on Joel when he was young was that he would be our Hird. The collarbone injuries hindered him alot as he appeared from afar that he would avoid certain contests for self-protection (that one arm attempt at a mark in front of the members in 2003 an example). Even in 2001 he particularly go in to win the hard ball. Prior to the shoulder injuries when he was starting out he was developing that inside ballgetting role in his game. I can't think of a game since where he dominated out of the centre. He typically played more as a skillful flanker before 2004. IMO this and his percieved laconical behaviour on field with the typical brain explosion are where the "soft" perception comes from. His infamous play-on kick-ins that resulted in turnovers and goals to the opposition in 2003 just made you want to wring his neck.

Once a player even a young one reaches a certain level of performance and gets supporter expectations up then falls back below that in some way he'll cop it from the stands. When Joel went to CHB last year he wasn't expected to do so well so expectations were much lower so it was easier for him to reach them. In fact along with what appeared a higher intensity and a more focused attitude he exceeded them by a mile so everyone got off his back. One stat that stands out is he turned a usual negative free kick count into a positive 28-5 one last year. Probably shows he was more disciplined last year.

Statistically Joel's raw stats leave Kane and everyone else at the club except Cambo for dead. Roughly 500 possies from 22 games per year. It was just that Bowden's turnovers were frustratingly dumb rather than as a result of a skill error. Perfect passes straight to the opposition costing us goals. I remember a friday night game against the Crows at the 'G in 2001 where in the first quarter we were killing them from the start and they never looked like scoring. Joel having taken a mark 30m out could have put our 3rd or 4th goal on the board by the 10min mark. Instead he tried to run around the mark and made a mess of it. From the turnover the Crows ran it up the other end for an easy and their first goal. Instead of having all the momentum and wrapping up the game at 1/4 time the Crows got back into the game and then ran over us in the second half. He then did exactly the same thing a few weeks later against the Hawks from memory. It's these sort of braindead acts that made Joel second to Daffy as the supporters' scapegoat before 2004.

Just on Kane. His tackle rate has doubled since he's been at Tigerland and as John pointed out he's averaged roughly 450 possies from 19/20 games the past 3 years. Before 2002 he kept suffering from hammies. He only played 13 and 18 games in the Crows' premiership years yet was argubly second to Macleod in both GF wins. He's stood up in the big games which is something our core players over the last decade have been accused of not doing. This IMHO is why Wallace emphasized Johnno's 2 flags as a major reason he got the gig.

Well said MT.


Offline JohnF

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Re: Captain to be announced at 2.30pm
« Reply #49 on: March 16, 2005, 03:41:31 AM »
kane is the captain, we support him but get real , 10 years of mostly gr8 service should have gotten joel over the line, they say kane grew up a tiger supprter , wow, joel is the son of a tiger champ!

So was David Bourke ;D.


roflmaoo! David Bourke also gave many years of great service - to the opposition  :banghead

Offline WilliamPowell

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Re: Captain to be announced at 2.30pm
« Reply #50 on: March 16, 2005, 09:56:25 AM »
I think the right bloke got the job and that is not a citicism of the other 3.

I always had a feeling that the approach was going to be go for those who don't have those long established links to the "old" Richmond - go for the fresh blood. In a way it is unfortunate that both Richardson and Bowden have been around the Club for the last 10 year or so - they are sort of "tarnished" if you like by our "mediocrity".

The only decision that has generally surprised me was Brown getting the Vice Captaincy. I didn't expect that one.

I'm not a stats person so I go more on what I see. I've seen only one ordinary year from Joel - 2003. (even then he was fantastic in a few games) Around that I've seen 3 excellent years - 2001, 2002, 2004. Prior to that he showed what he could do but suffered serious collarbone breaks that threatened to end his career.


Over the years I have been one of Joel's biggest critics. That stats argument is an interesting one. I like looking at stats but I like to go on what I see.

Stats are so misleading.

My argument has always been a bloke can have 30 kicks but it is what happens with those 30 kicks that should determine how well a player goes. If you player A has 30 kicks and 20 of them go to the opposition, or a 1 on 2 contest results in a turnover what value are those kicks to the team? Player B has only 12 kicks and 10  hits the target and the other 2 are goals - what value do you put on those possessions?

Who's hurt the opposition more player A or B?

That's been my biggest criticism of Joel - his stats IMO have been misleading. But that to a large extent is in the past....

He won me over in the second half of last season after he came back from being dropped. Perhaps it was the "kick up the backside" he needed because from what I saw he was a very different player when he came back. Kudos to him for that :thumbsup

 


"Oh yes I am a dreamer, I still see us flying high!"

from the song "Don't Walk Away" by Pat Benatar 1988 (Wide Awake In Dreamland)

Offline Tiger Spirit

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Re: Captain to be announced at 2.30pm
« Reply #51 on: March 16, 2005, 05:04:46 PM »
I think the right bloke got the job ...

Have to agree there WP.  I was hoping maybe someone might surprise and get the role, but the man most likely won out.  And the longer the whole thing went, Johnson just proved the most consistent candidate, both on and off the field.

Good luck to Kane.  I’m sure he’ll do a great job. :thumbsup

I don’t think that things such as length of time at a Club and any family links are relevant.  Really, why are they even mentioned?  Especially if someone else proves the better option?

The right decision was made based on relevant criteria, rather than emotion.

The other good thing is that it seems to have been a worthwhile experience for the players to have gone through and they will have got something out of it all, regardless of what their role is now.
Everything that is done in this world is done by hope.  --Martin Luther

The time you enjoy wasting isn’t wasted time.

Offline mightytiges

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Johnson on Sport 927
« Reply #52 on: March 17, 2005, 03:09:32 AM »
Johnno's interview as captain on Sport 927 yesterday:

http://www.sport927.com.au/gateway/Daily_Audio/Sound%20Grabs/KJ_160305.asx

First official duty was in Ballarat after this interview. Wonder if he said hi to Spud as they passed Bungaree lol.
All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be - Pink Floyd

Offline one-eyed

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The new breed of skipper
« Reply #53 on: March 20, 2005, 05:00:53 AM »
The new breed of skipper
Rohan Connolly
The Age
March 19, 2005

Rohan Connolly looks at what makes a captain in the era of consultants and psychology tests for leaders.

In the rebuilding of Richmond that has gone on since Terry Wallace was appointed coach, few issues have consumed as much time, energy and resources as that of the captaincy.

Kane Johnson's appointment to the post this week was the culmination of a process not only exhaustive, but unheard of in AFL football only a few years ago. "We did so much work. Who knows? Maybe we went overboard," Wallace said.

The Tigers took on management consultants the Mettle Group to help them choose the right man not only to lead the team on the field this year, but a whole club through what Wallace hopes is a cultural as well as football revolution.

"They came in and said, 'What are you looking for in a leader?', and as a match committee, we all had different answers, so we went through 22 traits of quality leaders," Wallace said.

"They held up a flash card which explained what each trait is about, and we had to categorise in importance and rank them one to 22, so we actually got a much stronger opinion of what we were looking for.

"They took that, and then did some testing with the guys on who could actually deliver the sort of things we as a match committee were requiring."

The process took about one month, about 30 days longer than the same search would have consumed of any club's time only a decade ago.

Perhaps that increased diligence is beginning to unearth a new type of AFL club captain. Not necessarily the game-busting superstar such as Wayne Carey, James Hird or Michael Voss, but a man whose pure leadership abilities make him just as indispensable. Players such as Johnson, new Hawthorn skipper Richie Vandenberg or Sydney veteran Stuart Maxfield.
...
Vandenberg's appointment led more uncharitable (and a tad optimistic) Hawk supporters to recall former Richmond premiership captain Bruce Monteath, who by the time he accepted the 1980 cup was only a borderline selection and spent the better part of the grand final on the interchange bench.

Monteath, who played 118 games for the Tigers over six seasons between 1975-80, was a handy West Australian ruck-rover dwarfed in terms of status by the likes of Royce Hart, Kevin Bartlett, Francis Bourke and Kevin Sheedy.

But by 1980, after a few leaner years than a great team had become used to, there were sharp divisions between senior Tigers and a younger emerging core. "I interviewed all the players at the end of 1979," said then Tiger coach Tony Jewell, "and it was interesting that all the young blokes in the side, like Dale Weightman, Terry Smith, Greg Strachan, who'd all played in a premiership in our thirds, all had the feeling the older blokes didn't think they were good enough. Funny enough, when we spoke to the senior blokes, they didn't really feel the young blokes had stepped up to the plate.

"The view came through that the side wasn't jelling, so we decided to try to move away from the Bourkes and Clokes and Woods, and have someone perhaps halfway who could lead the lot of them.

"Bruce was a pretty good player whose reputation suffered because he sat on the bench for the grand final, but even the story behind that shows what sort of captain he was.

"His form was terrible coming into the finals, and he had a bad ankle. We told him his position in the side was shaky, and he came to us and, rather than have us cop flak about dropping the captain, offered to say his ankle was crook so the press wouldn't make a big thing of it. That was why he was captain."

During Richmond's search for the appropriate replacement for Wayne Campbell, Wallace, besides the consultancy's view, polled his senior list, who each voted 4-3-2-1 for final candidates Johnson, Nathan Brown, Matthew Richardson and Joel Bowden, separate from a match committee poll, with all six members casting similar votes.

But Wallace also went back more than 30 years, to the successful rebuilding of North Melbourne in the early 1970s, for inspiration, reflected in the eventual appointment of Johnson and Brown, who have been at Punt Road only two and one seasons respectively.

"We wanted to make a whole change within our club, and we had a look at when Barry Davis (Essendon captain) and John Rantall (South Melbourne great) arrived at North (under the 10-year-rule, along with coach Ron Barassi) as team leaders. They had almost a whole culture change. I know it's 30 years later, but we sort of see ourselves in the same position.

"That wasn't saying that the Bowdens and 'Richos' weren't great people, but that just because people had only been around the club two years didn't mean they weren't the right leaders. Davis and Rantall hadn't been around North at all but had come from solid backgrounds.

"You might say Brown hadn't with the Western Bulldogs, but he was part of successful sides when he first arrived, and Kane of course played in two premiership sides (with Adelaide). We just thought it was an opportunity to change the whole outlook of where we were headed."

Johnson, says his new coach, sets an example "you'd want every kid coming into your footy club to follow". "It's just the manner in which he does everything, plays the game, puts his head over the ball when he has to, trains the house down, he's as good a trainer as anyone we have, he just does all the right things."

Of the four candidates for the captaincy, Johnson was the least "flashy" on-field, a trait Wallace notes in Manchester United's long-running success. "Look at the history of modern sport, captains like Mark Bickley (Adelaide) and John Worsfold (West Coast). Blokes like that you follow because you know in the trenches they're going to do whatever it takes to get the job done. I see Kane as that type of person."
...
With Richmond's great captaincy search finally ended, Wallace is comfortable the Tigers definitely have the right man, and that the process has been worthwhile. "It's about the direction of your whole footy club . . . If you haven't got someone who is going to direct it from within the playing group, your core is going to be splintered pretty quickly."

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2005/03/18/1111086013829.html