PAUL Roos will reach two significant milestones this Sunday, when he coaches Melbourne against Collingwood at the MCG.

Roos will notch up his 250^th game as an AFL coach, while he will join Robert Walls in equal ninth position on 606 matches for the most games played/coached in VFL/AFL history. Roos played 356 games with Fitzroy and the Sydney Swans, while Walls notched up 259 games as a player and 347 games as coach.

Only Kevin Sheedy (919 games – comprising 251 games as a player and 668 games as a coach), Michael Malthouse (892 games – comprising 174 games as a player and 718 games as a coach), Jock McHale (878 games – comprising 261 games as a player/player-coach and a further 617 games as a coach only), Leigh Matthews (793 games – comprising 332 games a player and 461 games as a coach), David Parkin (729 games – comprising 211 games as a player and 518 games as a coach), Ron Barassi (719 games – comprising 254 games as a player/player-coach and a further 465 games as a coach only), Norm Smith (659 games – comprising 227 games as a player and 432 games as a coach) and Allan Jeans (652 games – comprising 77 games as a player and 575 games as a coach) have been involved in more matches.

Next in line, is Rodney Eade (598 games), who played 259 games as a player and 339 games as a coach.

Roos said he was pleased to reach the milestone with Walls, who was his first Fitzroy coach.  

“The Wallsy thing is a bit of a connection, because he was my first coach and he taught me a lot about footy as a young kid. It was a different time back then, when we were all part-time and we didn’t have close relationships with the coaches,” he said.

“It was more discipline and telling you the right and wrong and eye-balling you face-to-face. But it’s good, because he gave me my first opportunity [as a player] and he was the first guy I actually spoke to when I took on the coaching role [with Sydney].

“I sat down and had a coffee with him and went through some of the things that he believed in. I saw him not long ago, after he’d been in France for a year and enjoyed that.

“He’s a good connection and he’s a well-respected player and coach … you never think about it, but at the end of the year, I’ll start to reflect on those a bit more fondly than I do now.”

Reflecting on last Sunday’s thriller against North Melbourne, which Melbourne lost by four points at Blundstone Arena, Roos said “there were a lot of emotions rolled up into one footy day”.

“It was tough to lose. It was a fantastic comeback, so there were a lot of footy emotions that fans go and see all rolled up into one game,” he said.

“Normally those emotions probably happen over a three or four week period, but we got it all in one day.

“We were 42 points behind and got in front, and North Melbourne, fought back, which you’d expect they’d do. Then Kenty (Dean Kent) kicked a goal and Billy [Stretch] nearly marked it, [so it was a big day].”

But upon dissecting the match on Monday, Roos said Melbourne’s frees against proved costly.

“Having watched it a couple of days since, the difference for me, was the free kicks. They (North Melbourne) got six goals from free kicks and a couple of 50-metre penalties. At the end of the day, when you’re dissecting a game like that, in the cold, hard light of the day – that’s what you’ve got to do,” he said.

“We look at why we lost the game. In the end, we just lost it because we gave away too many free kicks. That was the difference in the game.

“Statistically, we did really, really well. North is a terrific side. They’ve been top four two years in a row and they’re big bodies. [Jarrad] Waite and [Shaun] Higgins come [into the club] and they’re looking to win a premiership – they’re at that level.

“Overall, it was a really pleasing performance … but you can’t give bottom teams easy goals, let alone top four teams.”

Roos said his side faced another “really tough week” against Collingwood.

“They’re still pretty young – that’s the thing that strikes you when you look [at Collingwood]. There is a lot of hype in footy and a lot of expectation externally from all different footy clubs,” he said.

“Pre-season, we get caught up in the noise of who should be top four and who’s going to win a premiership and who is top eight. Collingwood was seen as a top eight team, but the reality is that they’re still pretty young.

“Bucks (Nathan Buckley) has said that all along, and I spent some time with him [on AFL 360], and we’ve talked a lot about footy. They’re a youngish team with some experienced players, so we’ll prepare for their best – and their best this pre-season was really good and their best last year was exceptional.”