MELBOURNE great Brett Lovett played 235 matches from 1986-97. After a strong coaching background, including VFL stints with Frankston and Sandringham, Lovett is now in his first season as senior coach of Melbourne’s VFL affiliate, Casey Scorpions. He spoke to melbournefc.com.au’s Matt Burgan about his new role and upcoming season …

How is your new role going as coach of Casey Scorpions?
BL: I’m really enjoying it. I got back into the VFL last year, after having a year at Sandringham. Before that, I had a couple of years coaching my son at junior level, and previous to that I had six years at Frankston. So, I’m really enjoying my coaching and the link back into Melbourne.

How is the alignment working, from your point of view?
BL: It’s very good. The communication from our coaches through the Melbourne coaches is excellent. We’ve got direct phone lines on any issues that arise - not only at my level, but my line coaches to the development coaches at Melbourne. That should benefit all the guys, and it already benefitted our guys, as we’ve had Melbourne coaches come out and take training sessions. To be able to link in with that, and then, when the Melbourne boys come down to play, we’ve all got to be on the same page. So I’m sure that’ll help make the transition for those guys easier.

What would you say is a typical week for you at the moment?
BL: Since November, we’ve been training Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and the players have been doing their own training on Saturday. They go to work or school, and then come to training. So, between 6 and 8 pm three or four days a week, we’re training. They’re getting themselves as fit as they can, so they can compete at VFL level. Once the aligned guys come back and then we’re up against guys on AFL lists, it means the VFL-listed players have to be extremely fit and work extremely hard to give themselves a chance to compete and play well. They’ve also been learning a few game plans. So, that’s what we’ve been doing.

As a coach, what’s it like when you have a mix of AFL-listed players combining with VFL-listed players? 
BL: From a team sense there are things that we have to do, which is the same as in AFL. But you’re managing people and you can’t treat them all the same. Really, we have to fit in with each individual and try and cater for their needs, while getting the right amount of training in and the right amount of time together. We have to make sure we’re on the same page, and on match day we’re all in it together and we commit to each other.

How do you deal with VFL-listed players who also have to hold down a full-time job or study outside of Casey?
BL: Some of our guys have to work back late in their job, and they have miss training because of work issues. So, when this happens, we’ve got to give them the night off and make sure they train in their own time.

How is your role at Casey structured?
BL: It’s a part-time role. I’m based out at Casey, and I live out that way, so it’s only 10 minutes from home to the ground. It’s worked out well for me. I head in at about 4 pm every day and take the boys for training, then head home.

Who are the Melbourne-listed players to watch out for in 2012?
BL: It’ll be mainly the rookie-listed guys initially, unless they get opportunities to go on the senior list. Guys like Jimmy Magner, Jai Sheahan and Daniel Nicholson are the type to look out for.

Who do you think will be the players to progress most quickly?
BL: It’s really up to the guys themselves. Neeldy (Mark Neeld) has made it really clear that if you’re not performing or committing to the game plan, then you’ll be playing at Casey. So, I’m really open-minded as to who I get back. I’m not there at Melbourne on a day-to-day basis, in terms of what they’ve got in mind, so it’s up to the players themselves. It’s up to the players and if they’re not performing for Melbourne or if Melbourne is performing well, which might squeeze a few players back, then that can only be good for both Melbourne and Casey. Other developing guys like Lucas Cook, Jack Fitzpatrick and Josh Tynan, who is in his first year, will be the types of guys [playing at Casey]. But, with a new coach at Melbourne, they’ll get opportunities, and already the likes of Josh Tynan have showed they can play a bit in the NAB Cup.

How are you situated purely in terms of Casey players?
BL: We’ve lost a few senior players like James Wall, who was our co-captain and had nearly 100 games of VFL experience. We’ve also lost Brendan Fevola, Michael Stockdale and - with that - a bit of experience. I’m really big on development and building a team. With this being my first year, I’m really coming in and having a good look at the players we’ve got. I’m looking to give the players we’ve got an opportunity under a new coach, and under a different game plan.

Which key Casey-based players should we keep an eye on?
BL: The regular senior players last year like Rian McGough, Danny Nicholls, Evan Panozza, David Collins and Matthew Fieldsend are among the ones to watch.

And some younger prospects coming up?
BL: Youngsters like Luke Tynan - Josh’s brother - have been on Casey’s list for three years, and are going really well. Jordan Pollard, Michael Riseley, Aiden Lindsay are other youngsters to watch. Hopefully these guys can continue to develop. The reserves finished third on the ladder last year, so hopefully we can see an improvement out of them, and they’ll push for senior spots.

What are your expectations for 2012?
BL: I think we’re pretty much on the same page with Melbourne. Every player wants to win games of footy, so Mark Neeld and the Melbourne footy club will be wanting us to win as many games as possible and play finals. I think Melbourne will be hoping we can play in finals as soon as possible, because it can certainly help the finals campaign. We’ve got to be able to try and do that, but in the back of my mind, we’ve got to be able to go down the development path as well.

How important is it to develop Casey-listed players for elite VFL careers and possible AFL careers? 
BL: We’ve got to be able to develop the Casey players as well, to give them opportunities. That way, we can show recruiters that we’ve got players capable of being drafted in future years. I’ve always been big on players getting opportunities. I’m also a strong believer that while we’re developing, it doesn’t mean that we don’t want to win games of footy, because we do. We’ve got some kids who are really hungry, and want to play to the structures and game plan. That will all point towards winning games of footy.

How long does it take for the players to gel together in a match situation?
BL: But it will take six to eight weeks into the season to see where we’re at with our side. The competition at VFL changes fairly drastically each year, with players coming and going. We’ll be looking to win and develop, and that’ll be a balancing act.

You have very strong Melbourne connections - do you think this will help your cause at Casey?
BL: I think they will. I feel a lot more comfortable talking to people in the Melbourne environment, compared to last year in the Sandringham/St Kilda environment. I feel a bit more at home. Todd Viney, who I’m really reporting to and played 12 years of footy with - I’ve already got that relationship. I’ve also got a relationship with quite a few guys like Cameron Schwab, and Chris Connolly and I played footy against Jade Rawlings and Mark Neeld at some stage. So that’s definitely going to be a benefit for both groups. That’ll help continue to build the relationships between the two groups, and really help us work together.