Rawlings can do a Roos and make the job his ownGarry Lyon | July 29, 2009
WITH the mapping out yesterday of Nathan Buckley's coaching future all attention turns to the vacant Richmond and North Melbourne positions.
While the Roos will be dealing with not having Buckley at Arden Street and assembling their list of potential candidates, it is the Tiger job that delivers the most intrigue.
The reason for that is that caretaker coach Jade Rawlings is having a greater impact on the football club, and its players, than the majority of people in football believed he was capable of.
So impressive has he been, that it is not beyond the realms of possibility that we may be witnessing a groundswell of support for Rawlings, that may make it difficult for the Tigers to overlook him when it comes to choosing their new coach.
There are parallels between this scenario and when Paul Roos was appointed as caretaker coach of the Swans following Rodney Eade's departure with 10 games of the 2002 season remaining.
Almost everyone in football thought Roos was just warming the chair before Terry Wallace arrived.
Someone forgot to tell Roosy, who, in the space of 10 games, won over not only the Sydney players, but also the intensely loyal Swans faithful, whose wishes proved undeniable.
That Roos won six of the 10 games and demonstrated his now universally accepted coaching qualities to make himself the best candidate for the job, made the unwavering endorsement of his players and the supporters merely an adjunct to the package.
Which brings us to Rawlings and further proof that those who speculate from the outside on potential coaches are really just guessing. Few people had Rawlings in the frame for the caretaker's role, let alone the senior job.
His appointment was seen as a safe decision that allowed fellow assistants, such as Wayne Campbell, David King and Craig McRae a shot at the main job, unencumbered by what may transpire in the second half of this season.
In the space of six weeks that perception has altered considerably, to the point that Rawlings must now be a strong chance to emulate the career path of Roos. Two wins and a draw from six games is enough to have the right sort of people sitting up and taking notice.
The victory over Essendon on Sunday was timely. Not only because the Tigers won, but because of the way they went about it and the tough decisions he has made along the way. From the outside looking in, it is finally clear what they are trying to achieve down at Tigerland.
He has not hesitated to remove senior players from the team who have been almost permanent fixtures over the years, regardless of results. Joel Bowden, Troy Simmonds and, last week, Shane Tuck have all been dropped to VFL side Coburg. It was refreshing to hear him say that the modern game is much more than just amassing numbers on the stats sheet.
It was also refreshing to hear him say that Brett Deledio was one poor game away from joining them. He responded in fine style on the weekend.
It appears that he is determined to make up his own mind on the likes of Jordan McMahon, Jarrod Oakley-Nicholls, Jake King and Shane Edwards, and the best way to do that is to give them responsibility at senior level and see how they respond. The same deal may well apply to Nathan Brown, who could be playing for his future in the next month.
He has also been able to extract, in the short time that he's been at the helm, the best out of his most talented youngsters. Richard Tambling and Jack Riewoldt have taken the step from young players who have periods within a game where they show glimpses, to players who are influencing the results of games.
Will Thursfield has re-emerged and Jarrod Silvester has been given an opportunity under Rawlings. As a result the back half looks more capable of matching up with opposition forward lines.
Combine all that with the brilliant Trent Cotchin, Tyrone Vickery and Jayden Post and the future doesn't seem that bad all of a sudden.
So, can Rawlings force the hand of the coaching sub committee and hang on to the job that no one had really given him a chance in?
He has one great advantage over other candidates, he is in the position. That means he can supplement his presentation to those making the decisions with practical implementation on match day — and he can do it with football manager Craig Cameron looking over his shoulder.
On exposed form, he seems to be making an impact on the playing group, with more dare and dash evident in their play and a greater willingness to support one another when they haven't got the ball.
It is hard to quantify just how much this is attributable to Rawlings, for there is inevitably an upsurge in freedom within a group with a mid-year change of coach. But all the signs are positive and, anecdotally, the players have been effusive in their praise of the new man in charge.
From Ben Cousins to Brown, Tambling to Vickery, they have all spoken glowingly in public of Rawlings' qualities as a coach.
He is renowned throughout football for having a fanatical love of the game and an insatiable appetite for its intricacies and nuances. His work ethic is unquestioned and his knowledge of opposition clubs and players almost encyclopedic.
I wouldn't say I know him well, but in my dealings with him I have been struck by his sheer enthusiasm for football. He is also regarded across the board as one of the games "good blokes".
Having spoken to people in the past few days, he is highly regarded at Richmond and the players, particularly those that have played a lot of football under him at Coburg, have enormous respect for him.
If Nathan Buckley was always destined to coach AFL football, Rawlings' possible path to a senior job is almost the antithesis. While Buckley was an out and out superstar of the game, Rawlings was a good, honest player.
While Buckley attracted the sort of media speculation and debate about his future reserved for the likes of him and Michael Voss, Rawlings ambitions were known only to a few.
While Buckley was courted and in a position to choose, Rawlings was always destined to have to convince others of his credentials.
Buckley, confident and self assured at 37 years of age and with more awards and medals than the average, is a massive presence. Rawlings, just 31 and a little raw, is still building his.
Regardless of that, if things go Rawlings' way at the end of the year, he will have a 2-year head start on Bucks by the time he assumes the chair, with a further couple of years under his belt coaching in the VFL.
Who knows which path to the senior chair is the correct one?
All I know is that Roos got a job at Sydney, which was expected to last no longer than 10 games, then made it impossible for the Swans not to appoint him by the end of the year. Three years later he delivered them their first flag in 72 years.
I reckon Jade Rawlings would be fully aware of that particular story.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/07/29/1248546753956.html
