MELBOURNE great Todd Viney says his new position as general manager of player development will be a wide-ranging role within the football department.
Viney will work closely with coach Dean Bailey and list manager Tim Harrington, along with overseeing the progression of the players’ skills and attributes needed at the highest level.
“I’ll be spending a lot of time with Dean and the coaches about the type of game style we’re looking to play, which we hope is going to be good enough to take us to our 13th premiership,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“The coaches spend a lot of time developing that game style, so I’m [also] working really closely with them and Tim Harrington, who is general manager of list management.
“We’ll make sure the players have a clear understanding of what the game style is and what the roles are within the premiership model. It’ll also include the level to which we have to get to, as far as their skill execution and the game understanding and the physical attributes to play those roles.
“So I’ll be working pretty closely with them (the players) to make sure they keep developing those skills to where we want to go, which is a 13th premiership team.”
Viney will work closely with coach Dean Bailey and list manager Tim Harrington, along with overseeing the progression of the players’ skills and attributes needed at the highest level.
“I’ll be spending a lot of time with Dean and the coaches about the type of game style we’re looking to play, which we hope is going to be good enough to take us to our 13th premiership,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“The coaches spend a lot of time developing that game style, so I’m [also] working really closely with them and Tim Harrington, who is general manager of list management.
“We’ll make sure the players have a clear understanding of what the game style is and what the roles are within the premiership model. It’ll also include the level to which we have to get to, as far as their skill execution and the game understanding and the physical attributes to play those roles.
“So I’ll be working pretty closely with them (the players) to make sure they keep developing those skills to where we want to go, which is a 13th premiership team.”
Viney returns to Melbourne with a most impressive CV.
He featured in 233 matches for Melbourne from 1987-99 and was captain of the club from 1998-99. Viney was also a member of Melbourne’s 1988 grand final team and played for Australia (1998) and South Australia (four times) in representative football.
He was also named in Melbourne’s team of the century.
After retiring, he was involved in player management and later coached Victorian country club Moama.
He was also an assistant coach during Melbourne’s 2000 grand final year and later played a pivotal role as an assistant coach in Hawthorn’s 2008 premiership.
Following Hawthorn’s flag, he returned to his native South Australia and the spent 2009-10 with Adelaide.
The 1993 and 1998 Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott Memorial Trophy winner said his new position was yet another progression in the game.
“It’s certainly a role my previous club Adelaide didn’t have. I think the game is developing enormously and clubs are looking to do things differently and they’re looking for an advantage,” Viney said.
“The experience I had at Hawthorn holds me in pretty good stead, because we’re very similar … we recruited some really young talent and they’re all coming through at the same time.”
Now in the early stages of his new position, Viney has already been impressed by the talent assembled at Melbourne. But he said maximising the talent was crucial.
“You don’t get a second chance to develop that talent,” he said.
“The club has invested in the development of that with my new role, so we can plan for the strategic planning of those young players.”
Viney said being part of ‘Clarko’s Cluster’ - a premiership game-plan devised under the tutelage of Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson - was an example of being involved in developing a game style/plan.
“Even though was had super talent with Jarryd Roughead, ‘Buddy’ Franklin, Jordan Lewis and Clinton Young, we still needed to develop a game style,” he said.
“Sometimes we were laughed at by the media … but we stuck to our task and didn’t deviate. We made some hard decisions and developed our players and four years later, we managed to win the 2008 premiership.
“The club (Melbourne) has shown a lot of foresight developing this role.”
The 44-year-old said his experiences as a player and coach will hold him in “good stead” for his latest role.
“That was an exciting time coaching for the first time [at Moama]. It certainly wasn’t at the highest level, so you have different frustrations with that. It’s not the be all and end all, but I enjoyed coaching my own team,” Viney said.
“Winning a premiership was something I always dreamt of doing as a player - although I didn’t manage to do that. But as a coach, it was exciting, although not quite as a much as a player. It was a massive high.
“Then I went to Adelaide and they were just a really professional club. I think those add to your overall experiences.
“You pick up things from the coaches that you played under to the ones you’ve coached with and you see the game evolve. I’ve picked up a fair bit of experience and I think I’m in a good position to pass on [that knowledge].”
He featured in 233 matches for Melbourne from 1987-99 and was captain of the club from 1998-99. Viney was also a member of Melbourne’s 1988 grand final team and played for Australia (1998) and South Australia (four times) in representative football.
He was also named in Melbourne’s team of the century.
After retiring, he was involved in player management and later coached Victorian country club Moama.
He was also an assistant coach during Melbourne’s 2000 grand final year and later played a pivotal role as an assistant coach in Hawthorn’s 2008 premiership.
Following Hawthorn’s flag, he returned to his native South Australia and the spent 2009-10 with Adelaide.
The 1993 and 1998 Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott Memorial Trophy winner said his new position was yet another progression in the game.
“It’s certainly a role my previous club Adelaide didn’t have. I think the game is developing enormously and clubs are looking to do things differently and they’re looking for an advantage,” Viney said.
“The experience I had at Hawthorn holds me in pretty good stead, because we’re very similar … we recruited some really young talent and they’re all coming through at the same time.”
Now in the early stages of his new position, Viney has already been impressed by the talent assembled at Melbourne. But he said maximising the talent was crucial.
“You don’t get a second chance to develop that talent,” he said.
“The club has invested in the development of that with my new role, so we can plan for the strategic planning of those young players.”
Viney said being part of ‘Clarko’s Cluster’ - a premiership game-plan devised under the tutelage of Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson - was an example of being involved in developing a game style/plan.
“Even though was had super talent with Jarryd Roughead, ‘Buddy’ Franklin, Jordan Lewis and Clinton Young, we still needed to develop a game style,” he said.
“Sometimes we were laughed at by the media … but we stuck to our task and didn’t deviate. We made some hard decisions and developed our players and four years later, we managed to win the 2008 premiership.
“The club (Melbourne) has shown a lot of foresight developing this role.”
The 44-year-old said his experiences as a player and coach will hold him in “good stead” for his latest role.
“That was an exciting time coaching for the first time [at Moama]. It certainly wasn’t at the highest level, so you have different frustrations with that. It’s not the be all and end all, but I enjoyed coaching my own team,” Viney said.
“Winning a premiership was something I always dreamt of doing as a player - although I didn’t manage to do that. But as a coach, it was exciting, although not quite as a much as a player. It was a massive high.
“Then I went to Adelaide and they were just a really professional club. I think those add to your overall experiences.
“You pick up things from the coaches that you played under to the ones you’ve coached with and you see the game evolve. I’ve picked up a fair bit of experience and I think I’m in a good position to pass on [that knowledge].”
