Fact: AFL clubs without a coach have a thing for Collingwood assistants and past players. Of the five vacancies for the top job created by clubs this season – Adelaide, Western Bulldogs, Melbourne, St Kilda and Fremantle – two have been taken by ex-Pies, one a player and one an assistant coach. And more could follow.
Mark Neeld was appointed Melbourne coach last weekend, following four extremely productive seasons at the Westpac Centre.
He was held in the highest respect by those on the inner sanctum, not least outgoing coach, Mick Malthouse, who described Neeld’s services to the club as “outstanding”.
Prior to joining Collingwood, Neeld guided Ocean Grove Football Club to a four-peat, with premiership successes from 2000-2003,
Yesterday, Brenton Sanderson was appointed coach of the Adelaide Football Club, and though he played only four games for Collingwood throughout his two-hundred plus game career, most notably at Geelong, he was strongly linked to a move next season to the Westpac Centre as a 2IC to coach in waiting and close friend, Nathan Buckley.
Sanderson beat out the heavily backed Scott Burns, an ex-Pies captain and current West Coast Eagles assistant, to the gig.
It would be no surprise now if Burns fills the position vacated last week by Ross Lyon at St Kilda.
Burns’ impact at the Eagles is obvious, he has a strong repour with the player group, stemming from his days in black and white.
If he doesn’t land at St Kilda, there’s every chance that another Pies’ assistant, Scott Watters, could find himself in the hot seat, having crossed from Western Australia at the end of 2009.
His role has been pivotal in Collingwood making the leap from contenders to heavyweights.
Not to mention that of the current coaches, North Melbourne’s Brad Scott, and Gold Coast’s Guy McKenna, also served lengthy apprenticeships at the Westpac Centre, the latter having also played under Malthouse at the West Coast Eagles.
Scott’s predecessor, Dean Laidley also happened to be an assistant coach at Collingwood under Malthouse prior to his appointment.
Get the picture?
The Collingwood Football Club, in conjunction with Mick Malthouse, is an irresistible combination for clubs making the decision which could yield them a flag.
The Pies have locked away the cream of the crop in their player department, however clubs haven’t been able to look past their first-class coaching panel, not now, not in the past.
It is a testament to the set up that the club employs, though they may be despised by many on-field, there is no denying, the coaching setup is second to none, as is the mentality they drill into ex-players.
And the proof is that up to a third of coaches (including Buckley) in the league next season will have the Collingwood Football Club on their resume!
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