Chat about the Dolphins
Shannon Grant has left the Dolphins after one season after a meeting with club officials today.
Here is the link to story in Frankston Leader
http://frankston-leader.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/coach-shannon-gra…
Surprised it hasn't been mentioned today, but Craig Hutchison's column in the Herald Sun today says Shannon Grant has been asked to take a 50% pay cut for 2010 if he wishes to keep coaching the Dolphins, while many players have also been asked to take significant pay cuts.
It also indicates that to gain extra funding, the club must disclose its finances to AFL Vic.
Any comment from VFL footy followers, and more importantly any Frankston fans?
As the VFL home and away season comes to a close I reflect on the surprisingly disastrous season at Frankston.
With three wins and a second bottom finish, the club recorded their worst season in almost a decade. By round 10 the determination to ‘go one better’ was replaced with the excuse of developing the list.
My confusion and frustration now begins. How a team that were a point away from last year’s preliminary final and may have played in the grand final could forget this so quickly. 2009 should not have been a year to finish bottom – it should have been a year to consolidate on the success of last year.
New coach Shannon Grant has continuously made note of the number of new young players and how they cannot be expected to win the game off their own boots. There may have been new players at the club but there were also a number of experienced senior players who had achieved plenty in their own playing career. Where were these players? Playing out of position or in the reserves without an explanation to why their position changed or when they might have gotten a call up. These senior players played second fiddle to the younger players who had not made the proper transition to the faster, smoother pace of VFL.
If something’s not broke why fix it. Grant should not have come to the club, having never coached before, expecting to dramatically change the operations and dynamics of the team. Following the team’s dream run last season he should have taken the opportunity to work with the players and trust that they could teach him a thing or two about being a good coach. Instead, he came to the club, insulted and infuriated committee members and supporters, and drained morale so much that players no longer enjoyed playing.
A club that once prided on having the drive and edge to stand alone is now the laughing stock of the VFL. Grant did not support his players at the level they needed or trusted that they knew what worked best for each other. Instead new players at the club were been given incredible opportunities (without proving themselves) while other players were essentially spat in the face.
Frankston’s future as a viable, stand alone club weighs on my mind. With the end of the season it will be interesting the exodus of experienced players. How will the club be successful if the 2010 list consists of first and second year players? How can a club that has fallen so far in just one season not ask what has happened? How can they walk on eggshells and blame everyone and everything else rather than the newest addition to the club – the senior coach….
Story by Simon McEvoy
From Frankston Standard Leader
FRANKSTON will ask the VFL to investigate incidents in Saturday’s game against Sandringham that left three Dolphins players in hospital with concussion.
Byron Barry, Clinton Proctor and Marcus Marigliani suffered head injuries.
Barry and Proctor were placed in neck braces and stretchered off.
Proctor was knocked unconscious in the final term after being slung to the ground in a ferocious tackle by St Kilda defender Matt Maguire. It was fair, but brutal.
Marigliani collapsed in the Frankston rooms after the game, the effect of a head injury taking its toll.
All three players were released from hospital on Saturday night.
It was a rugged “I Love Frankston Dayâ€.
Barry and Proctor were worse affected, nursing strained ligaments and bruising around the neck.
“I’ve never known three head-high hits all in one match where you’ve had three guys hospitalised, it’s unusual,†Frankston manager Bryan Mace said.
“I’ve never struck that before.â€
Mace said he would write to the league asking for it to review the video tape.
“It just seemed unusual that you get three neck injuries like that. Whether the tackling has been done a little bit differently I’m not too sure,†Mace said.
“I reckon in the AFL the tackling, in particularly at the St Kilda club, has gone up another level. And the handball has gone up too.
“So we’re going to have to pull our fingers out to keep up. Because the way were able to keep with AFL clubs was by tackling pretty hard and taking away their skills.
“We’re not a big team, we haven’t got a lot of heavy, big physical blokes.â€
Frankston lost the game by 30 points, despite rushing to a 19-point lead after 10 minutes.
Sandringham stormed home, kicking the last seven goals of the game. The Dolphins were kept goalless in the last quarter.
Frankston coach Shannon Grant said his side’s tardy ball use proved costly.
“We had a crack, our intent was very good but we just butchered the footy,†he said.
“We turned it over when we had it. We turned it over too many times when we were under pressure.
“The way footy is played these days if you continue turning the footy over they are going to hurt you.â€
Frankston has begun the season with two losses, but Grant remains positive.
“Look mate, they are doing so much right and they are a good bunch of blokes, you can never question their intent and the way they go about it,†he said.
Sandy full-forward Nick Sautner was kept quiet by Dolphins captain Shaun Pollard but broke free after half-time to kick 6.2.
Pollard, nonetheless, was one of Frankston’s best, along with Justin Berry (27 possessions), Matt Burns (28), Proctor (24), Daniel Keely (23), Neil Winteron (25) and Paul Kennedy (21).
The Dolphins host Casey Scorpions on Sunday.
RESULTS
Frankston 4.3, 6.3, 8.4, 8.6 (54) lt Sandringham 3.2, 5.4, 9.5, 13.6 (84).
Goals: Frankston: Dickson 2, Lourey 2, Corp, Proctor, Baguley, Murray 1.
Best: Frankston: Keely, Berry, Baguley, Pollard, Dickson, Shinners.
Reserves: Frankston 3.0, 5.3, 9.5, 16.5 (101) d Sandringham 4.4, 7.4, 10.4, 13.7 (85).
Frankston Standard player of the year awards:
Round 1 against Coburg Tigers: 3 Bret Dore, 2 Justin Berry, 1 Aaron, Murray.
Round 2: 3 Daniel Keely, 2 Justin Berry, 1 Mark Baguley.
On the eve of his first season as a coach, Frankston’s Shannon Grant says he cannot wait for the VFL season proper to start.
Frankston has played a series of practice matches including a close win over 2008 runner-up Port Melbourne recently - Grant's first win as a coach.
Asked on ABC 774 if he had cause to “bake†his playing group, Grant said he had kept his cool.
“We are a pretty young group, we have a lot of 18 and 19 year olds coming through from the Under-18s TAC Cup competition,†Grant said.
“I’ve been pretty patient so far. We’ve had three praccy matches so I’m sure in the next couple of weeks when the serious stuff begins there might be a few then.â€
Grant said his interest in coaching had spiked over the past few years.
“Probably three or four years ago I gave it some serious thought,†Grant said. “Ask me 10 years ago and I probably wouldn’t have.
“Once you’re career comes towards the end you start to think what you want to do and what you’re next move is once you’re playing career finishes.
“Last year as the year went on, the closer it got to finishing, I really had that incliniation I wanted to coach.
“I’ve been given a fantastic opportunity to coach Frankston, a stand alone side in the VFL.
"Looking forward to it, can’t wait for the season to start in two weeks time.â€
