Opinion
How long is too long in the AFL coaching world? How long is a piece of string?
When we look back at one-club coaches and hark back to the VFL era there was the legendary Jock McHale, who took Collingwood to 16 Grand Finals over 37 years of coaching, and other greats like Dick Reynolds and Reg Hickey.
Fast forward to the AFL era and at the head of the pack was Alastair Clarkson, 16 years and four premierships with Hawthorn, now removed from the one-club coach club but a wonderful record.
Next is Damien Hardwick with an impressive record and likely to lead another challenge for the cup in 2023, with 13 seasons and three premierships to his name who may supplant Clarkson as the most successful premiership coach of the AFL era.
He has already passed Clarkson’s success rate, with a 62.5 per cent win record compared to Clarkson’s 61.5 per cent. Another three seasons will see him equal Clarkson’s record of 16 years. The hype around Hardwick as a coach has been far less than Clarkson, once again showing the value attached to one game in September.
Then there is John Longmire, with 12 years with the Swans and despite his superior 64.1 per cent success rate he is less heralded than either Clarkson or Hardwick, but again only one premiership from four appearances, showing once again the value placed in premierships.
Then there is Chris Scott. In his 12 seasons he has a win record of 72.8 per cent, higher than anyone in the history ofthe AFL/VFL. Scott, who has been much maligned for his refusal to rebuild but compete each year by both opposition and Geelong supporters alike, has now been shown much more recognition with a second premiership.
Scott has refused to go back to the draft well by slipping down the ladder for high draft picks. Instead the club looks for diamonds further down the order and trades from other clubs to keep competitive, with many critical of the age demographics of the team, predicting a fall down the ladder for the last 10 years.
Scott has not folded from his mission of competing every year which has eventually paid off. Hopefully clubs will change their mindset and extend many experienced players once seen as over the hill. Scott, it can be said, has done what no other coach could do: stay consistently competitive whilst changing the game plan on the run.
Although at times he has been considered not innovative enough with the game plan, he was able to make some radical changes to get past that last hurdle.
(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
The question is, where to for the last three one-club coaches from here? How long before the powers that be think their time is up? Can they keep evolving and stay relevant to their individual clubs and playing groups as coach?
In these days of greater professional support staff and assistant coaches I would argue the coach’s role is much more managerial and although still based on performance, there is the capacity to have an extended coaching career at one club much longer than the norm.
Scott will be at Geelong at least until 2025. As for the others, I will leave that to those more in the know at their clubs. There is no reason that any of the three will be shown the door anytime soon barring an extended period of time outside of the eight. Regardless of their future longevity all (including Clarkson) should be considered great coaches of the AFL era.
Spare a thought for Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley. In his 10 years at the club as coach, he’s often been badly maligned by his own supporters despite an enviable win record of nearly 60 per cent. But no premiership success. Anything short of a preliminary final will see him off at the end of the year. Even a poor showing on the ladder in season may see his term as coach come to a sudden end.
Meanwhile, I shall be an interested observer from the local sports bar in Bangkok. The money I save on the $299 AFL overseas subscription will contribute substantially to my bar tab.
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