Roly has got off lightly because he has some runs on the board, and we were decimated by injury. But on paper we have rolled out a team comprised of competent AFL players, and we have been uncompetitive. As Polly says, we have actually got worse over the season.
I don't have an explanation for why that has happened. It's confounding that, for example, Mundy has turned into a serial butcherer of the football. How can someone who has demonstrated such sublime skills over a decade forget how to kick a football? How can Ibbo, with all his experience, play like a rookie with the ball in hand? How can Stephen Hill, after so many years in the system, kick with his non-preferred foot like a teenager? I don't know whose fault all this is, but the coach has to wear some of the blame.
As for list management, that's a team effort, and there are merits in locating the final decisions outside of the coach's control. Occasionally, what's best for the coach, and what's best for the club will be at odds. But that model only works when the list managers are competent, and the coach has input. It's disingenuous of Roly to say it's not his decision, but it's probably fair to say it's not JUST his decision.
If I was in Roly's position, I would answer a question about Ballas by saying something like "he's a much-loved part of the club, and that Freo is always a better team whenever he runs out in the jumper - but it's unclear whether that will still be the case in 2020 which is when he wants his extension to last. We're going to have to sit down and work though that, because there's no easy answer to that question."
But that's not Roly's go. He'd prefer to dismissively deflect it. You probably get like that after a decade of dealing with idiots in the media.
