What are you up to these days?
I’ve been coaching Glenelg for the past six years in the SANFL.
This is my sixth season at the helm. We’ve played finals in each of the last four years. We made the Grand Final in 2008 but missed out by about 40 points to Central. We’ve been around the mark without actually taking one out.
What are your memories from the very early Bears days?
I remember it being a really exciting time.
All the players gathered in Brisbane in very early January 1987 and many of us had only met once before at a scheduled training session in Melbourne probably a month or so earlier. Everything was new - it was definitely a feeling of new beginnings.
We put together a team and when you look at the concessions that GWS and Gold Coast have now, the concessions we got back then were considerably inferior. Having said that, we had some very good players who were playing in the twilight of their careers, but still performing well.
I always think it was a really great achievement for us to win six games in our first year, given the circumstances.
There was a lot of debate surrounding where we would play, where our home ground would be and where we would train. We trained at about 12 different venues in the first six months we were there, so it was a fairly unsettling time.
I thought the win we had in our first game over North Melbourne at the MCG will go down as one of the greatest achievements I’ve been involved in during my time in football. The following week we fronted up against Geelong at Kardinia Park and we beat them as well. Two away wins in the first two games was an outstanding achievement.
I believe the concessions that teams like the Gold Coast have been given are necessary to get them started. But in comparison to the concessions we got at the time, it’s really chalk and cheese.
Do you stay in touch with many of your former Bears team-mates?
I run into Brenton Phillips occasionally because he’s the U18 state coach of South Australia. I also used to see a little bit of Mark Williams when he was connected to Port Adelaide because they would always speak with us SANFL clubs about the transfer of their players.
But apart from that, it’s been more about running into guys when you get a chance. Because the role I have at Glenelg is full-time and so busy, I don’t get much time to do anything else but coach and spend time with my family.
As a coach in the SANFL, you would have had plenty of experience with some of our young players such as Jack Redden and Jared Polec...
Jack was a Glenelg boy - he came to us as an underage player from the South-East zone. We’ve been following his form with great interest and he’s doing really well at the moment.
Jared Polec was a gun young player in the SANFL up until he was drafted by the Lions last year. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t go on and become a top AFL player.
I follow Brisbane with a great deal of interest every week and I always hope they do really well.
The Brisbane Lions are currently in the process of updating their database of past players and coaches. If you played a senior match with Fitzroy, the Bears or the Brisbane Lions (or know someone that has) and haven’t remained in contact with the Club, please email your phone and address details to melbourne@lions.com.au so that we can keep you in touch with any future events with past players.
