Bulletproof or bust? Why Tigers shouldn't be afraid of an untried coachBy Nathan Schmook
afl.com.au
13 August 2023RICHMOND should not be reluctant to replace its triple-premiership coach with the right untried assistant, according to former senior coach Brenton Sanderson, given the calibre and experience of potential first-time applicants.
Stability in key roles around Damien Hardwick's eventual replacement will be crucial, however, to make sure the Tigers' next coach has the best chance at emulating his predecessor.
Interim senior coach Andrew McQualter and Port Adelaide senior assistant Josh Carr had been viewed as frontrunners for the position, although AFL.com.au reported on Saturday that Carr had pulled out of the race and will instead stay at the Power.
While Carr has withdrawn, there remains a long list of assistants available with "bulletproof" CVs that have been built over more than a decade.
Sanderson, who coached Adelaide between 2012 and 2014 as a first-time coach, experienced early success when he led the Crows to a preliminary final in his first season as a 38-year-old.
He also endured instability thereafter, however, which ultimately contributed to his tenure ending after three seasons.
Now a respected analyst of the game, the 209-game Geelong defender said the right scenario at Richmond would lend itself to a first-time applicant having a successful career as senior coach.
"There should be no apprehension at all if the selection committee find someone who they think is the perfect fit, despite them being a first-time coach. I think they should go for it," Sanderson told AFL.com.au.
"I think there are some great young coaches and first-time coaches out there who all have great experience in the game.
"While they may not have coached an AFL club before, in my opinion that shouldn't in any way be seen as a negative.
"Every great senior coach has had to start somewhere as a first-time coach, whether it's Kevin Sheedy, Damien Hardwick or Alastair Clarkson.
"You learn the hard way … and their clubs have invested in them, kept faith, and they've gone on to become premiership coaches."
As well as Carr and McQualter, the AFL's next group of rising assistants includes Troy Chaplin (Melbourne), Daniel Giansiracusa (Essendon), Jaymie Graham (Fremantle), Ash Hansen (Carlton), Steven King (Gold Coast), Chris Newman (Hawthorn), Hayden Skipworth (Collingwood) and Adem Yze (Melbourne).
Troy Chaplin addresses his players during Melbourne's clash with Richmond in round 20, 2023. Picture: AFL Photos
Sanderson said the work that assistant coaches now do to build their credentials put them in the best possible position to succeed.
"I only coached for five years as an assistant before I became an AFL coach, but I just thought at the time that I was ready," Sanderson, who started with Port Adelaide under Mark Williams before joining Mark Thompson's panel at Geelong, said.
"I think every coach would say they were well prepared and ready if they were offered a role, despite their experience.
"But there are coaches now doing short courses at Harvard, sports courses overseas, and getting mentored by some absolute greats of the game.
"They're looking to build a CV that is almost bulletproof before they put their hand up to go for a role."
Reflecting on his own experience, Sanderson said the keys for a first-time senior coach were stability and alignment with the board and football manager, an ability to appoint some assistant coaches straight away, and a shared vision with the strength and conditioning and recruiting/list departments.
"The first year is normally pretty good, because they are all the people who helped you get the role," the 49-year-old said.
"But it's when there is instability in other areas of the club, whether that's the footy department, sports science, if the board changes, or you have a new director of footy.
"When those roles change outside your control, and if you don't see eye to eye or there are clashes, that just provides enormous challenges for a coach who is learning his way."
Sanderson was able to recruit a trusted lieutenant in former Geelong defender Darren Milburn when he was appointed, as well as ex-Port Adelaide colleague Dean Bailey, whose own tenure at Melbourne had just finished.
However, Bailey tragically lost his battle with cancer in 2014, while the Crows made changes to their head of football and chief executive roles in the same year before a review of the club's football operations.
There were also changes to the Adelaide board and different views on the club's direction, with Sanderson and the Crows parting ways in September 2014, despite the coach having two seasons to run on a contract.
Sanderson was replaced by Phil Walsh, who was tragically killed halfway through his first season in charge in 2015.
In the nine years since Sanderson departed, there have been 15 coaches appointed to their first senior jobs by AFL clubs, with seven of them still in place.
A further five – Chris Scott, Ken Hinkley, John Longmire, Adam Simpson and Luke Beveridge – were appointed to their roles before the end of 2014 and remain at that same club, having shared five premierships.
For Sanderson, there is a lesson in the stability those coaches have enjoyed at different stages of their coaching careers that will be crucial for the next group of first-time applicants.
"I think that's where you look at a strong footy program and a strong club [that knows] if you invest in someone and you make a decision that this is going to be our long-term senior coach, then keep investing in them and keep backing them in," Sanderson said.
"Have the hard conversations if you feel like they are losing focus of the club values and their own values.
"But ultimately the clubs that keep investing in their senior coach and keep putting really good people around them are ultimately the ones who have the most success long term."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/1004536/bulletproof-or-bust-why-richmond-tigers-shouldnt-be-afraid-of-an-untried-coach
