Candidate for Election: Simon Wallace

[Simon Wallace]

I give you the tip, I and tens of thousands like me didn't lift my financial investment in the Club (remember the "give 110%" campaign?) to put us in a position to flush $2m.  Dimma has shown he is able to change his coaching style, sometimes mid season, and with the change in those around him I'm very much looking forward to seeing how we play in the real stuff when it comes around.  Until then, words are empty as are promises to improve.  This year wasn't disappointing; it really hurt and some of our performances, and our 22 games as a collective, were totally unacceptable.

We've changed some of the ingredients over the offseason but I think it's pretty clear the recipe needs altering too.  I wouldn't dream of telling him or any other member of the footy department how to play/ coach, and I'd be disappointed if I wasn't told to jog off if I attempted to do so.  Resource, support, empower then assess the results.  Not hard, nor is it complicated.  And I desperately want him and us to succeed. 

My views on the extension are noted within the Prospectus, and I reiterate that mine are opinions formed from afar and hence without the insight of those who made the decision.  I've also said I'd find it incredibly difficult to agree to an extension of any dept head's contract more than 6 months before it expires.  I think it'd be pretty irresponsible of me to form a myopic view on the coach when it's neither my field of expertise nor am I as informed as others closer to him and the club.  I am pleased we have made changes in the offseason and I'd much rather we were reactive than inactive.  That so many changes were made at once, after a season that was so clearly unexpected internally, invites the question as to whether the board has been too credulous.  Asking questions and even being a healthy sceptic is hardly treason.  I would see that as my responsibility.

Frankly I don't see any value in me speaking as if I'd have the powers of a dictator if I get elected to a 10 person Board.

[YellowandBlackBlood]

Well said. 

[big tone]

I give you the tip, I and tens of thousands like me didn't lift my financial investment in the Club (remember the "give 110%" campaign?) to put us in a position to flush $2m.  Dimma has shown he is able to change his coaching style, sometimes mid season, and with the change in those around him I'm very much looking forward to seeing how we play in the real stuff when it comes around.  Until then, words are empty as are promises to improve.  This year wasn't disappointing; it really hurt and some of our performances, and our 22 games as a collective, were totally unacceptable.

We've changed some of the ingredients over the offseason but I think it's pretty clear the receipt needs altering too.  I wouldn't dream of telling him or any other member of the footy department how to play/ coach, and I'd be disappointed if I wasn't told to jog off if I attempted to do so.  Resource, support, empower then assess the results.  Not hard, nor is it complicated.  And I desperately want him and us to succeed. 

My views on the extension are noted within the Prospectus, and I reiterate that mine are opinions formed from afar and hence without the insight of those who made the decision.  I've also said I'd find it incredibly difficult to agree to an extension of any dept head's contract more than 6 months before it expires.  I think it'd be pretty irresponsible of me to form a myopic view on the coach when it's neither my field of expertise nor am I as informed as others closer to him and the club.  I am pleased we have made changes in the offseason and I'd much rather we were reactive than inactive.  That so many changes were made at once, after a season that was so clearly unexpected internally, invites the question as to whether the board has been too credulous.  Asking questions and even being a healthy sceptic is hardly treason.  I would see that as my responsibility.

Frankly I don't see any value in me speaking as if I'd have the powers of a dictator if I get elected to a 10 person Board.

What Damien has shown is he cannot win finals. How long do you give a coach with that record. We are a very forgiving club. 17 out of the 18 clubs would have marched him out the door by now.
I've paid my money to this club for years so we could be in a position to make tough calls if they needed to be made. I don't think sacking Damien is flushing my money out the window. In fact if we had of I would have joined up again in 2017.
Sacking a few assistant coaches is just pathetic in my opinion. Gutless in fact. And if anyone thinks that is going to change this club around than I feel sorry for you.
Hell, its almost the same list as well except for only a few.
Anyway I wish you luck but what this club needs is leaders on and off the field, people willing to make a few enemies, not more of the same. 👍

[YellowandBlackBlood]

I give you the tip, I and tens of thousands like me didn't lift my financial investment in the Club (remember the "give 110%" campaign?) to put us in a position to flush $2m.  Dimma has shown he is able to change his coaching style, sometimes mid season, and with the change in those around him I'm very much looking forward to seeing how we play in the real stuff when it comes around.  Until then, words are empty as are promises to improve.  This year wasn't disappointing; it really hurt and some of our performances, and our 22 games as a collective, were totally unacceptable.

We've changed some of the ingredients over the offseason but I think it's pretty clear the receipt needs altering too.  I wouldn't dream of telling him or any other member of the footy department how to play/ coach, and I'd be disappointed if I wasn't told to jog off if I attempted to do so.  Resource, support, empower then assess the results.  Not hard, nor is it complicated.  And I desperately want him and us to succeed. 

My views on the extension are noted within the Prospectus, and I reiterate that mine are opinions formed from afar and hence without the insight of those who made the decision.  I've also said I'd find it incredibly difficult to agree to an extension of any dept head's contract more than 6 months before it expires.  I think it'd be pretty irresponsible of me to form a myopic view on the coach when it's neither my field of expertise nor am I as informed as others closer to him and the club.  I am pleased we have made changes in the offseason and I'd much rather we were reactive than inactive.  That so many changes were made at once, after a season that was so clearly unexpected internally, invites the question as to whether the board has been too credulous.  Asking questions and even being a healthy sceptic is hardly treason.  I would see that as my responsibility.

Frankly I don't see any value in me speaking as if I'd have the powers of a dictator if I get elected to a 10 person Board.

What Damien has shown is he cannot win finals. How long do you give a coach with that record. We are a very forgiving club. 17 out of the 18 clubs would have marched him out the door by now.
I've paid my money to this club for years so we could be in a position to make tough calls if they needed to be made. I don't think sacking Damien is flushing my money out the window. In fact if we had of I would have joined up again in 2017.
Sacking a few assistant coaches is just pathetic in my opinion. Gutless in fact. And if anyone thinks that is going to change this club around than I feel sorry for you.
Hell, its almost the same list as well except for only a few.
Anyway I wish you luck but what this club needs is leaders on and off the field, people willing to make a few enemies, not more of the same. 👍

Although I agree with much of what you are saying, Simon also puts forward the suggestion that possibly those finals losses were not just Hardwick's fault alone. Maybe the result was due to other factors such as the line coaches for instance. Playing personnel isn't solely Hardwick's fault either. While I think the buck stops with him, we now have to wait and see if the chemistry of the team has improved with the changes made. If not, then it will be a very easy decision to sack him during the year. I hope Simon can influence the board on making the hard call when needed. That's what members will want him to do. At least we have a handy couple of coaches in Blake Caracella and Craig McRae hanging around ready to take the reigns if necessary.

[Chuck17]

I give you the tip, I and tens of thousands like me didn't lift my financial investment in the Club (remember the "give 110%" campaign?) to put us in a position to flush $2m.  Dimma has shown he is able to change his coaching style, sometimes mid season, and with the change in those around him I'm very much looking forward to seeing how we play in the real stuff when it comes around.  Until then, words are empty as are promises to improve.  This year wasn't disappointing; it really hurt and some of our performances, and our 22 games as a collective, were totally unacceptable.

We've changed some of the ingredients over the offseason but I think it's pretty clear the receipt needs altering too.  I wouldn't dream of telling him or any other member of the footy department how to play/ coach, and I'd be disappointed if I wasn't told to jog off if I attempted to do so.  Resource, support, empower then assess the results.  Not hard, nor is it complicated.  And I desperately want him and us to succeed. 

My views on the extension are noted within the Prospectus, and I reiterate that mine are opinions formed from afar and hence without the insight of those who made the decision.  I've also said I'd find it incredibly difficult to agree to an extension of any dept head's contract more than 6 months before it expires.  I think it'd be pretty irresponsible of me to form a myopic view on the coach when it's neither my field of expertise nor am I as informed as others closer to him and the club.  I am pleased we have made changes in the offseason and I'd much rather we were reactive than inactive.  That so many changes were made at once, after a season that was so clearly unexpected internally, invites the question as to whether the board has been too credulous.  Asking questions and even being a healthy sceptic is hardly treason.  I would see that as my responsibility.

Frankly I don't see any value in me speaking as if I'd have the powers of a dictator if I get elected to a 10 person Board.

What Damien has shown is he cannot win finals. How long do you give a coach with that record. We are a very forgiving club. 17 out of the 18 clubs would have marched him out the door by now.
I've paid my money to this club for years so we could be in a position to make tough calls if they needed to be made. I don't think sacking Damien is flushing my money out the window. In fact if we had of I would have joined up again in 2017.
Sacking a few assistant coaches is just pathetic in my opinion. Gutless in fact. And if anyone thinks that is going to change this club around than I feel sorry for you.
Hell, its almost the same list as well except for only a few.
Anyway I wish you luck but what this club needs is leaders on and off the field, people willing to make a few enemies, not more of the same. 👍

Although I agree with much of what you are saying, Simon also puts forward the suggestion that possibly those finals losses were not just Hardwick's fault alone. Maybe the result was due to other factors such as the line coaches for instance. Playing personnel isn't solely Hardwick's fault either. While I think the buck stops with him, we now have to wait and see if the chemistry of the team has improved with the changes made. If not, then it will be a very easy decision to sack him during the year. I hope Simon can influence the board on making the hard call when needed. That's what members will want him to do. At least we have a handy couple of coaches in Blake Caracella and Craig McRae hanging around ready to take the reigns if necessary.

Nah stuff it let's just slag the poo out of our new recruits

[Diocletian]

Here comes the new boss, same as the old boss....

[Penelope]

How would having the majority of our games played in a timeslot that gets very little national free to air coverage benefit sponsorship and membership growth

[big tone]

I give you the tip, I and tens of thousands like me didn't lift my financial investment in the Club (remember the "give 110%" campaign?) to put us in a position to flush $2m.  Dimma has shown he is able to change his coaching style, sometimes mid season, and with the change in those around him I'm very much looking forward to seeing how we play in the real stuff when it comes around.  Until then, words are empty as are promises to improve.  This year wasn't disappointing; it really hurt and some of our performances, and our 22 games as a collective, were totally unacceptable.

We've changed some of the ingredients over the offseason but I think it's pretty clear the receipt needs altering too.  I wouldn't dream of telling him or any other member of the footy department how to play/ coach, and I'd be disappointed if I wasn't told to jog off if I attempted to do so.  Resource, support, empower then assess the results.  Not hard, nor is it complicated.  And I desperately want him and us to succeed. 

My views on the extension are noted within the Prospectus, and I reiterate that mine are opinions formed from afar and hence without the insight of those who made the decision.  I've also said I'd find it incredibly difficult to agree to an extension of any dept head's contract more than 6 months before it expires.  I think it'd be pretty irresponsible of me to form a myopic view on the coach when it's neither my field of expertise nor am I as informed as others closer to him and the club.  I am pleased we have made changes in the offseason and I'd much rather we were reactive than inactive.  That so many changes were made at once, after a season that was so clearly unexpected internally, invites the question as to whether the board has been too credulous.  Asking questions and even being a healthy sceptic is hardly treason.  I would see that as my responsibility.

Frankly I don't see any value in me speaking as if I'd have the powers of a dictator if I get elected to a 10 person Board.

What Damien has shown is he cannot win finals. How long do you give a coach with that record. We are a very forgiving club. 17 out of the 18 clubs would have marched him out the door by now.
I've paid my money to this club for years so we could be in a position to make tough calls if they needed to be made. I don't think sacking Damien is flushing my money out the window. In fact if we had of I would have joined up again in 2017.
Sacking a few assistant coaches is just pathetic in my opinion. Gutless in fact. And if anyone thinks that is going to change this club around than I feel sorry for you.
Hell, its almost the same list as well except for only a few.
Anyway I wish you luck but what this club needs is leaders on and off the field, people willing to make a few enemies, not more of the same. 👍

Although I agree with much of what you are saying, Simon also puts forward the suggestion that possibly those finals losses were not just Hardwick's fault alone. Maybe the result was due to other factors such as the line coaches for instance. Playing personnel isn't solely Hardwick's fault either. While I think the buck stops with him, we now have to wait and see if the chemistry of the team has improved with the changes made. If not, then it will be a very easy decision to sack him during the year. I hope Simon can influence the board on making the hard call when needed. That's what members will want him to do. At least we have a handy couple of coaches in Blake Caracella and Craig McRae hanging around ready to take the reigns if necessary.

Like it or not the buck stops with the coach and it's been that way since Geez was a boy and fair enough, he has had more than enough time to shape the playing list and coaches to what they were/are. He even said so himself about the list earlier this year.
The Board made a massive mistake in giving Dimma another 2 years but to save face the Board gets rid of the assistant coaches and does an external review which nobody is allowed to see but more importantly nothing really changed.... That sounds more and more stupid the more you say it.

[Yeahright]

I've also said I'd find it incredibly difficult to agree to an extension of any dept head's contract more than 6 months before it expires.

What if the contract extension is offered to encourage them to take an offer from somewhere else though? Does that change your thoughts?

[WA Tiger]

I give you the tip, I and tens of thousands like me didn't lift my financial investment in the Club (remember the "give 110%" campaign?) to put us in a position to flush $2m.  Dimma has shown he is able to change his coaching style, sometimes mid season, and with the change in those around him I'm very much looking forward to seeing how we play in the real stuff when it comes around.  Until then, words are empty as are promises to improve.  This year wasn't disappointing; it really hurt and some of our performances, and our 22 games as a collective, were totally unacceptable.

We've changed some of the ingredients over the offseason but I think it's pretty clear the recipe needs altering too.  I wouldn't dream of telling him or any other member of the footy department how to play/ coach, and I'd be disappointed if I wasn't told to jog off if I attempted to do so.  Resource, support, empower then assess the results.  Not hard, nor is it complicated.  And I desperately want him and us to succeed. 

My views on the extension are noted within the Prospectus, and I reiterate that mine are opinions formed from afar and hence without the insight of those who made the decision.  I've also said I'd find it incredibly difficult to agree to an extension of any dept head's contract more than 6 months before it expires.  I think it'd be pretty irresponsible of me to form a myopic view on the coach when it's neither my field of expertise nor am I as informed as others closer to him and the club.  I am pleased we have made changes in the offseason and I'd much rather we were reactive than inactive.  That so many changes were made at once, after a season that was so clearly unexpected internally, invites the question as to whether the board has been too credulous.  Asking questions and even being a healthy sceptic is hardly treason.  I would see that as my responsibility.

Frankly I don't see any value in me speaking as if I'd have the powers of a dictator if I get elected to a 10 person Board.

Nicely structured. Wouldn't you agree Dio???

[Diocletian]

No, it's a load of evasive, sidestepping bollocks that only raises more questions than it answered.

[WA Tiger]

No, it's a load of evasive, sidestepping bollocks that only raises more questions than it answered.

So exactly the answer I said you would you get...

[Diocletian]

No it wasn't....you said it would be diplomatic, that was flat out crap with a terse and defensive undertone...in fact it was a lot like of most of your posts...

[WA Tiger]

No it wasn't....you said it would be diplomatic, that was flat out crap with a terse and defensive undertone...in fact it was a lot like of most of your posts...

So the response was diplomatic, you should learn from that response. Maybe go practice for a while.

[Diocletian]

Can you read - I said it wasn't diplomatic...and why do I need to learn to be diplomatic...I'm not running for the board..

I'll concede he did actually answer my question about Halfstep - he won't push for him to be sacked and obviously thinks he can turn it around...whether or not that comes from concerns for the bottom line more than anything I'm still not any clearer on and he didn't really address whether he thinks we'll do just as much, if not more damage to our bottom line if he stays on and continues to coach poorly...he also seems to think I expected him to walk in , take charge, make unilateral decisions and tell the coach how to coach when I did no such thing..smacks of deflection, something you're quite fond of, so no surprise you admired the response...is it not still the board who ultimately decides the coach's fate? That has nothing to do with telling them how to coach....also he didn't answer my query about whether or not he thinks our list management/strategies have been  a major problem and need to be addressed either... fact is we have blokes who over seven years and by their own admission stuffed up our list - even if they'd tried to shift the blame to us supporters - yet are still employed by the club...why wouldn't we expect someone running for the board to at least acknowledge that issue?

To your original point on the last page - I would suggest a candidate that, rather than being "diplomatic", actually did come out and say we need a new coach and new list managers and articulated why, would be quite popular at this point and would garner more than just a few votes. Remember, they have to convince the members of their worth, not the incumbents.