Caretaker coach Neil Craig remains unsure whether he will be a candidate for the permanent Melbourne job, but admitted enjoying his return to the hot seat despite a 35-point AFL loss to St Kilda.
Craig, who took Adelaide to finals regularly in his eight seasons there, stepped up from his role as the Demons’ sports performance director to replace sacked Mark Neeld during the week.
He admits he’s unsure whether the passion and desire remains to be a long-term senior coach – saying his main concern is for the Demons players.
But he will measure his own ambition to coach Melbourne over the next 10 weeks as he guides the club until at least the end of the season.
“I enjoyed it (today). Whether AFL senior coaching is still for me … personal indulgence is to use the next 10 weeks to get clarity on that,” he said.
“Whoever sits in the chair next year, you have to have the passion to do it.
“It’s the passion and enthusiasm you need that keeps coming up, because it’s a tough industry.”
Melbourne’s instability – having had six coaches in seven years – has led to Craig’s immediate concern being for players constantly having to deal with chopping and changing at the top.
Some at Melbourne, like No.1 draftee Jack Watts, have played under four coaches at just 22 – something Craig says needs to be addressed with whoever is brought in long term.
“I have great empathy for Mark (Neeld). I feel for the players what they’re going through,” Craig said.
“Jack Watts says he’s had four coaches in five years – you don’t want to expose players to that. That’s not what high-performance sport’s all about.
“I have great empathy for them. I want to care for them for the rest of the year, and we need to play some better footy, because that’s where the real enjoyment comes from.”
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