Post Game Pondering: AFL 2020 Rd 9: Carlton vs Hawthorn

[LP]

Looks like the honeymoon is over.

While in perception it may be true, in reality Teague is still just a beginner for a variety of reasons, he needs to be judged in his 3rd year.

Why do I think this;

• Firstly, he is a newbie with new tricks, opposition coaches are yet to see or learn them, it takes a few games before they are prepared for coaching against Teague so in the short term he has an advantage in this area. The Dawks are probably his worst case, as BB has all the inside guff so Teague's advantage is minimised!
  
  
  
• Secondly, he is yet to be exposed to all the tricks of opposition coaches so he has to learn them, this is his big disadvantage. It's easy to learn about opposition players, even your own players, you have so much video available on them. But it is too hard to tell from video what was a coaches move and what was a player acting with initiative.
  
  
  
• Thirdly, our team still has relatively little experience of Teague's style and what works and what doesn't. So the players will do stuff outside the plan, acting with initiative or in the old ways that they think might help, it might help but it can also unravel Teague's plans. It takes a season or two to get this right.
  
  
  
• Finally, Teague has to demonstrate that once opposition coaches get a handle on his style that he can do something outside the box. Something that sets his team free of opposition countermeasures. It's not something you can learn overnight, and I doubt you can ever learn it as 2IC no matter how long you've been there. It's a big chair thing, and is as much about player management as it is about team tactics.