PAUL Roos is a leader, a legend, an AFL icon.
As a first-rate player, premiership-winning coach and in-demand commentator, Roos has achieved extraordinary success over more than thirty years in footy.
He started playing Australian Rules in 1982, when footballers and coaches were part-time and it was survival of the fittest.
In the mid-90s, as Roos was nearing the end of his 356-game career and the competition was becoming fully professional, he wondered if there were better ways to nurture talent and empower players to build a champion team.
When he hung up his footy boots in 1998, Roos penned a list of 25 key coaching points that he hoped one day to put into practice.
In 2002, he was appointed head coach of the Sydney Swans. In 2005, he led the Swans to their historic drought-breaking premiership by following his own coaching and leadership philosophy.
In Here It Is, Paul not only reveals his 25 coaching tips but also, for the first time, shares his original premiership blueprint with its foundation of positivity and unity.
Paul candidly describes the lead up to the 2005 premiership and that one-point loss against the West Coast Eagles at the 2006 grandfinal.
Here It Is also covers the highs and lows that came with coaching: his unique but successful approach to player recruitment and coaching development, the Swans gameplay being called ‘unattractive’ by AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou, finding a work-life balance in the most pressurised jobs ever, and of course goes into his interactions with club favourites, including Barry Hall and Adam Goodes.
Roos also reveals how he took this plan and the lessons learned at the Swans to rebuild the Melbourne Demons, a club that was on its knees when he was appointed coach in 2013. He shares his insights about keeping perspective, motivating people and the importance of building strong relationships.
As I stood on the stage with the 2005 Premiership Cup in my hand, these words came to me and I went off script.
‘For the people who’ve waited 72 years to see South Melbourne, the Sydney Swans, win the premiership, HERE IT IS’.
ABOUT
Paul Roos is a former AFL footballer and senior coach. He played 269 games for Fitzroy and 87 for Sydney. He was a two-time All-Australian captain and has been inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame. He coached the Sydney Swans from 2002–2010 and led them to the AFL premiership in 2005. He coached Melbourne Football Club from 2014–2016. He lives in Melbourne with his wife and two sons.
