u/theatomicrock

I’m not usually one to point the blame at coaching, but today really drove home a point I’ve been feeling lately.

Mini seems to have a very specific system he wants to play. High forward press and deep inside 50 entries. Statistically this works for other teams as the deep inside 50s aren’t every single entry, so defenders aren’t always set up for them. Teams know this is what we do and set up accordingly. At some point the “stay the course” narrative starts to become redundant. A goal conversion of 13% is laughably bad. 1 goal per 9 i50…

The high forward press means we allow all their forwards to be goal side, and transition kills us. This can work obviously, but it feels like it’s really hurting us with our current defensive stocks. Happened multiple times today with Duggan and Lindsay (rookie and experienced) letting Hamilton goal side to run in to an open goal. Our deep forward entries mean the ball hits the ground within 20m of the goals, and we’re playing Waterman, Shanahan, CDT + J Will up front. Aka, no ground representation. It feels like the system is a running contradiction where we never play our players to their strengths/abilities. The ball hits the ground, teams rebound, the opposing team’s forwards are goal side, and the cycle repeats.

In Broad’s retirement speech this week, he said something to the effect of “it was nice to have a coach who recognised our strengths, and played us based on our strengths and not our weaknesses”. Importantly, this means Hardwick built the roles for his system AFTER seeing what his players could do. It feels like Mini seems to have reversed this. He has a set system and roles which he asks players to fill. For example, today he played Herbert 1v1 with Greene… he completely exposed a guy whose strengths are completely misaligned with this role. He sets up a midfield which says Harley + Kelly do whatever you want, and whoever the third player is HAS to be defensive. That set up means Duursma can’t go in there, Bo Allan can’t go in there and guys like Hewett, who’s strength is inside-outside clearance breaking, is being asked to be a pure defensive mid (which he clearly doesn’t suit).

Rolling a midfield of Graham, Kelly + Yeo in the second last game of 2026 feels incredibly confusing and shows a real lack of development.

Meanwhile, Mini has continued to protect his chosen guys like Duggan and Davis, moving them around to ensure they don’t get exposed.

I’m sure there’s a lot going on behind the scenes, but from a footy nuffy perspective, I’m worried about Mini.

With the recent news of Elijah Hewett being circled by other clubs, I’m struck by a pattern.

Waterman was the WCE whipping boy for years whilst he was played off a wing. Now he’s an AA forward.

Elijah Hewett feels like another victim of this circumstance. Regardless of his last few games, Elijah is going to be a fantastic player. His balance in the contest and his skills make him stand out. Some of his moments have been special. The recency bias is ridiculous. How many 20 y/o have 22 and 2 in their 18th game, whilst playing in the worst team in the AFL ? It wasn’t just 22 and 2 either, he almost won that game off his own back.

Although he’s struggled to build his workload coming off a number of injuries, we have not let him play in his most damaging positions. He has been playing as a defensive forward stuck on the fat side of the ground.

If we lose him to another club, I have no doubt he will go onto to have a brilliant AFL career, and we will lose a key cog in our rebuild.