Luke Hodge has put together his list of the top 5 coaches in the AFL right now.
The Hawthorn and Brisbane champion explained the areas each coach has excelled in throughout the course of the 2023 season.
“Ladder position has a bit to do with it,” Hodge explained on SEN’s Whateley.
“But it’s also the list that the coach has, have we been able to see a guide to what they’ve been teaching their players, what resilience do they have with a second-up game plan if things aren’t going their way, and the biggest thing is if they can cover for injuries
“It’s a bit of a mix but it’s stuff I’ve learnt over my career that I’ve enjoyed about coaches.”
Hodge insists this list could change in a few weeks’ time, but these are the five he is siding with in this moment.
5 - Michael Voss (Carlton)
“Everyone was keen to see and had high expectations of where they were going to,” said Hodge.
“What I’ve loved about ‘Vossy’ this year, even though we got to about Round 10 or 11, and people thought maybe they’re not as good as we thought.
“He didn’t waiver away, they had the Board upheaval after the Sydney game, everything could have turned upside down at Carlton. He had faith shown to him by the guys above and he returned the favour.
“He didn’t panic, he didn’t go against or pot players in the media. He realised that they had certain areas of their game that they needed to improve on and what we’re seeing now is they’re a team in fine form.
“They’ve jumped up to fifth and we’re sitting here going, ‘Would you really want to play Carlton?’.
“I’ve liked the way Voss has been resilient and hasn’t backed away from his plan.”
4 - Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
“People out there, please don’t think that I’m biased. A former premiership captain and teammate of mine.
“This is because at the end of last year they made a big decision and he was a part of that decision of clearing out a lot of older blokes that will help them win games and bring the list forward quicker.
“His thought process was to give the young guys the reins. He wants to teach the young guys on how to play his style of football. A lot of the older guys still had the Alastair Clarkson model.
“‘Mitch’ doesn’t believe that’s the way of winning the next premiership. He had a bold decision, people said they were tanking, that the list is no good. So far this year they’ve beaten the Lions, Collingwood and St Kilda.
“I’ve got him up there because you can see the game style they’re going to play and you walk away from their games saying I can see how they want to play.
“I think a lot of people would agree that he is a very good coach.”
3 - Ken Hinkley (Port Adelaide)
“Everyone thought by Round 5 this year he was gone.
“What he’s been able to show, what he’s been able to do with his players, the players play for him, you can tell that.
“They’ve had a tough last month, but they’re still sitting fourth. Clearly he is going to re-sign.
“Kenny has shown a lot, he is a passionate man, he’s got his players’ welfare in his mindset the whole time.”
2 - Adam Kingsley (GWS)
“He’s jumped up a lot. It’s his first year as a coach.
“Whenever you bring a new coach in, everything changes. The game style, the assistant coaches, normally the leadership group, normally the captain. You’ve got to teach the players how you want them to play. You need to be a good teacher to do that.
“It’s not always going to be smooth. They were 16th last year and everyone was saying that the list is gone, they’re overpaying their midfielders, their defence was a bit shaky, they’re not moving the ball well enough.
“The players are playing his style of football. He has the ability to change (style) in games as well.
“Such an impressive first year, he’s got them up to eighth.”
1 - Craig McRae (Collingwood)
“I just love his personality, when he explains stuff and how open he is.
“Clearly he gives a lot of responsibility to the players, the feedback he shows when communicating with his players.
“The Collingwood players feel they’re in charge when they are out there because he wants the players to feel that.
“You’ve got to have trust in your players, he’s clearly got that. He seems like he’s simplified things for players so they’re all understanding of the game style.
“He’s been so impressive in his second year. They’ve had a lot of injuries this year so they’ve been able to cover (those).
“Now there’s another challenge for them and we’re going to see over the next three weeks how he responds with no Nick Daicos.”
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