During that period, I was fortunate to be involved in the 2000 grand final with Melbourne. But that’s quite some time ago now.
After stints at North Melbourne, Richmond and St Kilda, I rejoined the Demons late last year.
Coming back to Melbourne for the 2011 season, it’s been incredible to the see the change - not only on the list, but around the club.
The new environment at AAMI Park is vibrant. Although the Junction Oval had a lot of tradition - not always associated with Melbourne - it was a significant venue in the history of the game, at least from a then-VFL perspective.
The Junction Oval might be historic, but it became an antiquated venue from a training point-of-view.
To now be at AAMI Park - a great training environment and facility - is amazing. Being able to walk the corridors and speak with Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick and the Melbourne Storm players and coaches just adds to the environment.
Another thing that has definitely changed is the Melbourne playing group - substantially.
Jared Rivers, Mark Jamar and Brad Green are the only players remaining from my previous time at Melbourne.
It’s been fascinating seeing the transformation of Mark from a rookie through to an All-Australian ruckman. The confidence that he now has is fantastic.
Jared is now a person who is well-respected within the organisation and leads by example.
And I remember Brad coming to the football club as a young kid from Tassie. For him to now be leading Melbourne is surreal. It’s fantastic to see the development he’s made from where he was to where he is today.
Not only is Brad a great player, but he is a great leader.
One of the biggest differences I’ve seen since returning to the club is the amount of people working in the organisation.
Back in the early 2000s, we were very thin with administration and football staff.
It’s really good to see that Melbourne is now strong in the coaching fraternity - not only with the numbers, but the quality we have. This will make a difference with our young list.
From an outside perspective, you understand Melbourne has a good developing list. You respect the list from a distance. But now I’m back involved, I’m pleased to say there are some players better than I expected.
Pleasingly, there are also some familiar faces, including Jackie Emmerton (administration manager), John Stanaway (head trainer), Spike Harris (team manager) and Andrew Daff (head doctor).
Throughout my coaching career, I have mostly overseen the midfield and forward lines. So to be coaching the backline is a great opportunity. And it’s something I’m really enjoying so far.
It’s great to be working with a strong group of players. I’m continuing on from where the last coach Sean Wellman took off, but also adding my perspective to the role.
In many ways, it’s a clean sheet for me, which is an aspect of the role I’m relishing.
