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West Coast have been one of the AFL stories of the year and they wrote the latest chapter last Friday night when they defeated premiership contenders Geelong to confirm themselves as genuine top four challengers. Their story has got people scratching their heads asking how last year’s wooden spooners have come such a long way in such a short period of time.
A lot of us have our own theories on West Coast’s rapid rise, but it’s easy to forget this is the club who won the premiership only five years ago.
Of course, two of the club’s biggest names Ben Cousins and Chris Judd have moved on since the 2006 flag. But several key members of that premiership side remain at the club such as Dean Cox, Daniel Kerr, Darren Glass and Andrew Embley.
However, perhaps most pertinently 2006 premiership-winning coach John Worsfold is still at the helm. And premiership-winning coaches are pretty tough to find in the AFL nowadays.
It may come as a surprise to some that there’s only three premiership-winning coaches currently coaching an AFL club.
That’s an incredible fact but it just goes to show how undervalued proven success is in the AFL.
There’s been a tactical evolution in the game over the past decade, which I’d argue has seen clubs give up on seasoned coaches with a successful track record, for the new breed who can handle the changing nature of modern footy (Eddie Maguire’s Collingwood could be the latest to do just this).
Currently, there’s plenty of pressure on seasoned coaches Rodney Eade and Neil Craig at the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide respectively. Of course, neither has ever won an AFL premiership as a coach but they’ve led their respective sides through fairly successful eras.
Eade, who had a lot of success at Sydney including a Grand Final appearance in 1996, has guided the Dogs to three consecutive Preliminary Final appearances in the past three seasons, while last year was the first time Craig’s Crows – who he guided to the minor premiership in 2005 – have ever missed the finals.
Yes, they haven’t won the ultimate honour, but from their record it’s fair to say both know how to create a winning mentality and successful culture.
Okay, both aren’t enjoying their best periods as coaches right now, but given their record, you’ve got to back them to find the formula to take their respective sides back towards the top.
In this context it’s worth remembering, there were plenty of critics calling for Worsfold’s head last year. He wasn’t alone too, with suggestions the Eagles should trade Dean Cox, which seems absurd now.
Worsfold maintained throughout 2010 that the Eagles were building towards a premiership and despite that appearing to be a ridiculous claim, the club’s board backed him in.
It’s easy to forget, Worsfold began re-building after 2007 (following the departure of Cousins and Judd) with the club finishing in 15th with four wins in 2008 and 11th with eight wins in 2009. They appeared on the right track towards a premiership window at that stage, before an awful 2010 where they seemed to go backwards, winning just four games and finishing last.
Of course, sometimes things are beyond a coach’s control and injuries to key men Cox, Kerr, Glass and Embley in 2010 didn’t help. But with those players back and with Worsfold adopting a more modern gamestyle in 2011, things have changed suddenly for the Eagles.
Now they appear to be back on track with the plan they started in late 2007. It’s an example which should resonate with other clubs who may be weighing up their current coach’s future.
Coaches who can instill a winning mentality in a team aren’t easy to find.
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