You took over at the start of the split round. Was it good to get straight into it?
Yeah, it was. The way it unfolded was almost perfect because we got the adrenalin and excitement of preparing for one game, and then we got to review it. Thankfully we won, so we were riding the high of the win for two weeks. What that allowed us to do after the West Coast game was just to review our processes, both as a team and as a coaching group, and how we went about it. The second game seemed to take an eternity to come around.

Did the 'up' of a win help you put your imprint on the group over that couple of weeks?
I don’t know if the win accentuated the imprint – only the players could answer that – but it gave you a bit of faith internally that what you put in place was applicable and worked for that game. But then that came to a screaming halt against the Saints. We played OK in patches against them, but it wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard. Their defence was to a level that, for our players, was unprecedented. They said they hadn’t felt pressure in an AFL match that severe, a lot of them, so that was a big reality check.

They’re an astounding team at the moment aren’t they, the Saints?
They are. They’ve done a great job because after the change of coach, from Grant Thomas to Ross Lyon, Ross stripped it right back for them and it looked like he was teaching them about defence. I think that it looked like they struggled to score a few times and probably even their players thought, 'How are we going to score from this game style?' But now they’ve been able to find that balance and incorporate their stars and their offensive brilliance with that defence, so they’ve done well.

Is that something that all teams can learn from, their full-ground pressure that they bring?
Yeah, but it takes a long time to establish that. They’ve had that group together for a period of time now, probably three years with maybe one player here or there that comes in. They’ve been solid, so they’ve been able to educate their players over a period of time. Every club’s got their own different defensive structure and mechanism they’ve put in place. It’s just how you execute them. And they know what they’re doing and how to do it very well.

You've had a good win, a pretty bad loss and now the famous Richmond 'honourable loss'.
That’s what they’ve been, but straight after the game (against Adelaide) we addressed the players and said that that’s not something we want to be talking about. Honourable losses will only last so long this year and, in the end, something has to give and we need to turn those into wins so you can keep believing. You look at it and I’ll refuse to give the players false praise, but they’ve been doing a lot right in the last couple of weeks.

You talked about 'false praise' there. Where do you fall on the belting/praising continuum?
I like to think I‘m a pretty direct and honest coach, and call things that I see from my perspective and/or the match committee’s perspective, and let the players know that. But I’d like to think I’m more positive than negative. My style is based [upon] relationships but I’m not going to tuck things under the carpet, because this is league footy. There needs to be a level of transparency and acceptance and tolerance of what is AFL-standard and what’s not.

How much does it help having run your own team at Coburg?
I wouldn’t have replaced the year and a half I had at Coburg with anything else. It just shaped me so much. I learned a lot off Terry (Wallace) and how he handled coaching. I couldn’t have done anything better to prepare me for what I’m doing now than coaching a VFL side. That year and a half, I think, will prove to be the best thing I did for my coaching career.

Michael Voss seems to be doing pretty well up in Brisbane, but would you be suggesting to people who want to be a senior coach that running your own team is a really important part of the apprenticeship?
I don’t want to get drawn into what’s right and wrong, but there are exceptions. Vossy studied and he did his education and that put him in good stead. And because it was his own club he’d been at, he knew the operations, the culture and the behaviours that were acceptable and then put his own print on it.

For me, I didn’t have the premierships to fall back on, or the Brownlow Medals, so I had to work – in my opinion – harder to establish a level of respect and reputation in this industry. So for me, I thought I had to have coached and I wanted to as well. It wasn’t a bore for me. I loved coaching Coburg.

What have you changed around here – even slightly – since Terry left?
I’ve tried to change the attitude of this group to the way they go about their defence. I feel as though the group felt that the back six would hold up for us as our defence, rather than across the ground, so that’s been the main thing. [I have been] continuing to promote to the group their attitude towards playing for their teammates, to have a team-first mindset. Also, to have them stick to their trademark behaviours: I reckon they’ve just been words for this group, now we’re trying to make them actions and part of how they conduct themselves. So it’s not just a sign that sits up in our meeting room, it’s actually something we live by and believe in and buy into.

There have been a couple of subtle changes to game style [and] we’ve just tweaked a little bit of the fundamentals that Terry had established. An overhaul wasn’t required in my opinion, it was just a couple of things that needed tinkering with.

What is Brett Deledio's best position? Where should he be aspiring to play in three years? At the end of last season I talked to Terry and he was saying Lids had to play more midfield.
We want to exhaust that option to see through repetitive times playing there. His actions will tell us whether he’s a midfielder of if he’s better served elsewhere. The improvement I’ve seen the last two weeks – his preparedness to do the offensive but also the defensive aspects to his game – has been profound. It’s only been two weeks, but there’s been a major shift to his attitude towards playing both sides of the game.

You had Richard Tambling at Coburg after the round three debacle against the Dogs. What did you do? He's been a different player since then.
When he came back to Coburg, I just stripped it back so my only instruction was to play footy. Yes, we had guidelines and frameworks, but he was terrific how he handled that and even when Terry was coach, he started to get a consistent level of footy. We’ve been able to put him in a position that I think suits him; a bit of half-forward, he’s played on the ball at times, he’s even gone to half-back if we needed more run there.

It’s just been work rate. As much as things change in footy, they still stay the same and his work rate’s gone to a level now which ... I wouldn’t say it doesn’t allow him to fail, but it brings up the chances of him playing well much higher.

What type of player should the club target in the next draft?
I asked that question of somebody this morning – I want someone to tell me [laughs]. I think we’re pretty well served in a lot of areas here. Our backline is well stocked up with tall backs – we don’t have a monster, all our backs are 192(cm).

We have some pretty good small backs, our midfield is starting to have a fair few people go through there, we’re grooming a couple of young ruckmen, we’ve got some clever forwards with some young talls, and also bring (Robin) Nahas into it, (Mitch) Morton’s a clever player, (Tom) Hislop’s improving, Tambling’s shown he can play forward.

So you look at the framework of how the team looks, there’s plenty to work with. So I couldn’t answer it at the moment but that decision will be made, if I’m lucky enough to still be sitting in this seat, in October.

Given you've been on the fence as far as being inside and outside the club for the first half of the year, how do you rate the season so far?
It’s disappointing. If you went back to most people's predictions at the start of the year, a good 50 per cent of tipsters would have thought Richmond would be in the eight. I think this group thought they were capable of getting there as well.

The round one debacle – whether it was stage-fright or just another team better prepared for the moment, who knows – unfortunately seemed to have a residual effect with our group mentally. Overall it’s been disappointing, but I feel very confident that the steps we’re taking with this group puts them in terrific stead for what they can achieve next year.

How have Chris Newman and Jake King been in the aftermath of the whole Terry thing?
I haven’t sensed one problem with it and I’m pretty close with both of them. It was a tough time – Jake got pretty upset with the way his name was bandied around on footy shows and he was criticised for his involvement, but people didn’t know how it unfolded. And Chris Newman did what he thought was right.

I know Terry respected Chris for going to him, and the outcome was very unfortunate, but for a young captain to be honest with his coach ... there was a level of respect [in] the fact that the captain was willing to go and speak to the coach about an issue that bobbed up rather than just sitting on it and letting it fester.

You still talk to Terry. Is that a mentor-type role?
Yes and no – it’s just a good friendship. A couple of times he’s given me his opinion on how the game looked and bits of feedback, which I really appreciate. He’s sat in the chair. And to his credit, he hasn’t tried to be negative about changes I’ve made, or to impose himself. He’ll call me with an idea about my presentation, about how I can possibly get the job next year. All that’s taken on board and appreciated.

Do you have a mentor?
I don’t have a specific one – I have a few people who I bounce things off. One of those people I was with at Coburg, who knows me very well and is able to ask questions. David Parkin’s a person I’m very close with from Hawthorn times when he was there for a couple of years. Dermott Brereton has been outstanding, and we speak regularly about how the team’s going and things that I can be conscious of. I want to be challenged, I don’t want people to just pat me on the back and say everything’s good.

Why did the Tigers look so sharp in the first term against West Coast – your first game in charge? You have been major turnover merchants all season, but used it really well then.
If we could have bottled that up and taken it, we’d be laughing all the way to the bloody grand final! It was very eye-catching footy and the thing that it allowed me to do was get my head around what was going on in the coaches’ box. For the first 15 minutes, I was very thankful it was going well out on the ground, because the information streams were far different, the whiteboard was far different, and what you need to be aware of in the AFL was far different to the VFL.

Honesty has been a theme – players are saying it, you're sounding it – is that a key?
In my opinion it is, it’s my style. We’ve got a bit of a mantra, I suppose, as a coaching group, that when the players are here we’re available. That’s why we’re doing this interview at this time, because no one’s around so it’s not compromising potential time with the players. I want the communication to be open, for them to be comfortable to say things to me about how they’re going, but also that they know in no uncertain terms about where they’re positioned in terms of selection and how their form’s going.

How many more hours have been added to your week since stepping up?
The life of a VFL coach is pretty difficult, because with an aligned club the VFL players are only available to train at night. So you’re doing three nights a week on top of our full-time hours at Richmond, so that was tough. But my wife is extremely supportive and so while I was doing that I never felt pressure.

So now I feel as though my days are jam-packed – I’m in pretty early and here until a reasonable hour – but when I get home, I can play with my daughters, give them a shower, put them to bed, read them a story. That stuff was not available for the last year and a half. People say to my wife, 'Oh, you won’t see him anymore', and she says, 'Well, I actually see him more often'. So that’s worked out fine.

Last season you had a pretty settled back six. This year it's been all over the place down there and we're not going so well. Coincidence?
I hadn’t thought about it that way – I suppose it has been a little bit ... (Shane) Edwards has come into it, (Alex) Rance has come into it, (Jarrod) Silvester, (Will) Thursfield had a slow start to the year and to his credit he fought through form problems and one or two small things that needed to be addressed, so I think that group will improve as the year goes on.

Even in the last few weeks we’ve seen a stronger defensive effort across the ground, which has helped the back six to be able to compete without pure ball coming through the middle of the ground unopposed.

When dealing with players older than yourself, including your brother-in-law (Matthew Richardson), are there issues or is it a non-event?
When you look at it on the surface and deciding on people’s futures who are older than you, it seems a pretty big deal. But I don’t look at it that way at all. I’ve worked really hard to establish a good rapport and hopefully a level of respect with the senior guys since I’ve been here. I’ve had great relationships with Richo, Troy Simmonds, Kane Johnson, Nathan Brown, Joel Bowden and – this year – Ben Cousins.

It’s not like you play a certain number of games and you’re above everybody else. They want to be coached and I don’t want to be disrespectful to them by not coaching them, by not giving them the feedback that they deserve like the other players. When you speak about it in terms of age it feels weird and funny, but I’m comfortable with it.

So it comes back to honesty.
It all keeps coming back to that.