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Frawley faces boiling point
By Tim Watson
February 21 2003
There is not a coach in the AFL who will not feel the pressure in 2003. A win will bring a week of relief, a loss will be a step closer to internal and external questioning.
In this highly competitive game, the scoreboard is the only arbiter. The new boys will experience a honeymoon period while Leigh Matthews can lounge around on the Gold Coast in a safari suit for the next 12 months and no serious questions will be asked, certainly not about his fashion sense.
The off-season training period gives all coaches the chance to bask in the glow of optimism. But the game-day faces are about to reappear.
Feeling the pressure more than most will be Richmond coach Danny Frawley. The Tigers were the most disappointing side of 2002, tumbling to a lowly 14th after a top-three finish in 2001. In the process, Frawley's win-loss record fell below 50 per cent for the first time since he took over at Punt Road.
Ten coaches in 20 years tells you a lot about the tolerance of defeat at Richmond and no one recognises that more than Frawley.
Coaching is a work in progress but the game does not afford such patience. The best of the modern-day - Kevin Sheedy, Denis Pagan, Leigh Matthews and Mick Malthouse - have all delivered flags in four years. They knew what they wanted and how to deliver it; that is the benchmark.
The pain of last season will have taught Frawley much about the vagaries of the job. It is time for him to act upon the lessons learnt. He should begin by playing his cards closer to his chest. He is by nature a trusting person who wears his heart on his sleeve but he gives too much to the media.
The on-going contractual dramas with Matthew Richardson and the retirement of Matthew Knights were major distractions.
And he should be less reasonable and more demanding. Ninety-five per cent of players need to be pushed, carried and dragged to reach their full potential. A friend who had coached extensively told me when I went coaching - "give an inch and lose your tape measure". To my peril, I dismissed his appraisal of human nature.
The bar needs to be set at a height not even Richardson can jump over.
Somewhere in the rubble of defeat, Frawley lost his confidence, and instinct, too; he was a shell of the strong, confident man we saw in 2001.
Continual defeats do this. Instinct and confidence are Siamese twins: wound one and the other dies. Paralysis and indecision set in. I have seen Sheedy look vulnerable only once and that was at the end of a six-game losing streak.
The break away from the pressure will help restore Frawley's confidence, as will the acquisition of Kane Johnson and Justin Blumfield.
But the two most important acquisitions could be Greg Miller and Wayne Brittain. Brittain will energise the coaching staff with his upbeat, positive attitude. At training he is fascinating to watch, barely able to restrain himself from joining in. Fresh out of the coaching box, he gives Frawley nearly 200 games of experience - invaluable on match days when locking horns with Pagan, Sheedy and co.
Miller has made an impact already. Relentless in his attempt to improve the list, he was instrumental in the Johnson and Blumfield signings and was within a whisker of luring Matthew Lappin from Carlton.
His handling of Blumfield's arrest in December was decisive. Last season, the incident would have been turned into a public hanging, leaving Frawley dangling alongside.
Miller has already pledged greater support for Frawley from the footy department, believing that on-field riches - of the type he saw at North Melbourne - cannot be delivered without it. Top of his list of jobs at Punt Road was the restoration of harmony.
Salary inequities and muddling in the front office had led to mistrust between the two parties. With those bridges mended, Frawley can concentrate on his job.
And that is where Miller might prove his greatest worth. With a birdseye view of Pagan's development and premiership years during the 1990s, the former Kangaroo chief executive has the credentials to mentor Frawley, who has never hidden his desire to learn.
Frawley's coming of age as a coach could yet prove to be the best arrival at Punt Road in 2003.
By Tim Watson
February 21 2003
There is not a coach in the AFL who will not feel the pressure in 2003. A win will bring a week of relief, a loss will be a step closer to internal and external questioning.
In this highly competitive game, the scoreboard is the only arbiter. The new boys will experience a honeymoon period while Leigh Matthews can lounge around on the Gold Coast in a safari suit for the next 12 months and no serious questions will be asked, certainly not about his fashion sense.
The off-season training period gives all coaches the chance to bask in the glow of optimism. But the game-day faces are about to reappear.
Feeling the pressure more than most will be Richmond coach Danny Frawley. The Tigers were the most disappointing side of 2002, tumbling to a lowly 14th after a top-three finish in 2001. In the process, Frawley's win-loss record fell below 50 per cent for the first time since he took over at Punt Road.
Ten coaches in 20 years tells you a lot about the tolerance of defeat at Richmond and no one recognises that more than Frawley.
Coaching is a work in progress but the game does not afford such patience. The best of the modern-day - Kevin Sheedy, Denis Pagan, Leigh Matthews and Mick Malthouse - have all delivered flags in four years. They knew what they wanted and how to deliver it; that is the benchmark.
The pain of last season will have taught Frawley much about the vagaries of the job. It is time for him to act upon the lessons learnt. He should begin by playing his cards closer to his chest. He is by nature a trusting person who wears his heart on his sleeve but he gives too much to the media.
The on-going contractual dramas with Matthew Richardson and the retirement of Matthew Knights were major distractions.
And he should be less reasonable and more demanding. Ninety-five per cent of players need to be pushed, carried and dragged to reach their full potential. A friend who had coached extensively told me when I went coaching - "give an inch and lose your tape measure". To my peril, I dismissed his appraisal of human nature.
The bar needs to be set at a height not even Richardson can jump over.
Somewhere in the rubble of defeat, Frawley lost his confidence, and instinct, too; he was a shell of the strong, confident man we saw in 2001.
Continual defeats do this. Instinct and confidence are Siamese twins: wound one and the other dies. Paralysis and indecision set in. I have seen Sheedy look vulnerable only once and that was at the end of a six-game losing streak.
The break away from the pressure will help restore Frawley's confidence, as will the acquisition of Kane Johnson and Justin Blumfield.
But the two most important acquisitions could be Greg Miller and Wayne Brittain. Brittain will energise the coaching staff with his upbeat, positive attitude. At training he is fascinating to watch, barely able to restrain himself from joining in. Fresh out of the coaching box, he gives Frawley nearly 200 games of experience - invaluable on match days when locking horns with Pagan, Sheedy and co.
Miller has made an impact already. Relentless in his attempt to improve the list, he was instrumental in the Johnson and Blumfield signings and was within a whisker of luring Matthew Lappin from Carlton.
His handling of Blumfield's arrest in December was decisive. Last season, the incident would have been turned into a public hanging, leaving Frawley dangling alongside.
Miller has already pledged greater support for Frawley from the footy department, believing that on-field riches - of the type he saw at North Melbourne - cannot be delivered without it. Top of his list of jobs at Punt Road was the restoration of harmony.
Salary inequities and muddling in the front office had led to mistrust between the two parties. With those bridges mended, Frawley can concentrate on his job.
And that is where Miller might prove his greatest worth. With a birdseye view of Pagan's development and premiership years during the 1990s, the former Kangaroo chief executive has the credentials to mentor Frawley, who has never hidden his desire to learn.
Frawley's coming of age as a coach could yet prove to be the best arrival at Punt Road in 2003.
