Assistant Coach

[Kildonan]

With the retirement of Bourke and the dismissal of Daniher, the Saints have been interviewing applicants for their replacements.

Names such as Hickmott, Pike, McGuane, Mifsud and others have bandied about.

Cripps has taken one position up, but at least one more assistant coach seems necessary.

The latest rumour suggests that Mick Maguane might be successful.

There is a thread on Saintsational discussing this possibility; Mick Maguane (http://www.saintsational.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16623)

What are your thoughts?

[Kildonan]

Just spotted an article by Jake Nial of the Age, McGuane talks with Saints on coaching role (http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/01/08/1136655086349.html)

McGuane has been keen to break into assistant coaching ranks for some time, having served an apprenticeship in local football with Gisborne, which he coached to consecutive premierships, and Tasmanian club Burnie, which he guided through a season undefeated.

"You just go and work hard," he said, asked how he had sought to overcome past perceptions. "When you're getting results like that — I only lost about nine games in four years — you're doing something right."

[Kildonan]

The word is that McGuane will get the gig, but the news is that there may be another assistant hired as well.

[panthers]

The word is that McGuane will get the gig, but the news is that there may be another assistant hired as well.

"The Word" ??????????

[Kildonan]

It seems my source was spot on.

Saints appoint assistants (http://saints.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=242603)
5:30:23 PM Thu 12 January, 2006
Jason Phelan
Sportal for afl.com.au

"We are delighted to welcome both Mick and Jason to the club and believe they will add considerable strength and complimentary skills to our coaching panel," St Kilda chief executive Jim Watts said of the appointments.


They join senior coach Grant Thomas and assistants Jason Cripps and Matt Rendell on the coaching panel. Thomas also expressed his delight at the appointments.

"Both Mick and Jason have great qualities, terrific track records and are the type of driven guys that continually deliver successful outcomes," Thomas said.

"We are extremely pleased with their appointments and look forward to the influence they will have on the St Kilda Football Club from this point on."

Former Magpie great McGuane was understandably pleased with the outcome.

"I am tremendously excited and I am really fortunate with the timing of my appointment in relation to St Kilda being a club on the rise," McGuane said.

"I look forward to assisting them towards the ultimate goal."

Mifsud, who had formerly coached Koroit in the Hampden Football Netball League, echoed McGuane's sentiments.

"It is an unbelievable opportunity and I am very excited about making a significant contribution to the St Kilda Football Club in its quest to be a power in the AFL," he said.

[Axcellence]

That actually looks like a sound combination. I think these two will definitely add a new dimension to the coaching panel.

Anyone has an idea on what their strengths are / likely input?

[Benson]

Hi Saints fans. I know Jason very well as he coached us up in the western district for a few years and I know him personaly as well, you will not find a more dedicated and enthusiastic person when it comes to his football, Jase believes that you have to work hard if you want to achieve the best out of yourself and he is a good communicator with young people and can inspire them. Jase has an excellent football brain to go with his attitude. Jase works with the Koorie community up here and is well respected for what he has done both personally and professionaly. I hope this helps and I believe that Jason will be good value for money.
cheers and good luck for the year as I believe that the saints are a great side to watch and if the Roos are not going to be premiers then I hope the Saints are.

[nicolbolas]

Hi Saints fans. I know Jason very well as he coached us up in the western district for a few years and I know him personaly as well, you will not find a more dedicated and enthusiastic person when it comes to his football, Jase believes that you have to work hard if you want to achieve the best out of yourself and he is a good communicator with young people and can inspire them. Jase has an excellent football brain to go with his attitude. Jase works with the Koorie community up here and is well respected for what he has done both personally and professionaly. I hope this helps and I believe that Jason will be good value for money.
cheers and good luck for the year as I believe that the saints are a great side to watch and if the Roos are not going to be premiers then I hope the Saints are.


I agree with you wholeheartedly, Jason is an absolute professional in regards to his football. I played under him at Caramut for a number of years, and his ability to communicate and get the best out of everyone involved in the club was a great asset. His work with the Korrie community can also not be discounted in respect that he will be able to pass on his experiences to the Koorie members in the squad and the list as a whole. I personally think it is a great appointment, picking coaches that have been around the "bush leagues" for a few years. They will be more than capable of holding there own in the AFL and even bring some new ideas with them.

Good luck to both appointees and ST. Kilda in general. May they play the same attacking style that has brought them relative success in past few years, however hopefully towards ultimate success

Cheers

[sainter]

Thanks very much for that Benson and Nicolbolas. :thumbsu:

Most of us only know what we've read since he has been linked to the job so it's great to get the thoughts of people who know him well.

Sounds like he not only has a good footy brain but is the kind of person that you want to have around your club.

[Kildonan]

Grant Thomas is full of praise for the new assistant coaches:

Thomas lauds new assistants (http://saints.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=242726)
3:02:38 PM Fri 13 January, 2006
Jason Phelan
Sportal for afl.com.au

Thomas said (of Mifsud) "He's a guy that's got a huge work ethic and whatever needs to be done he'll do and whilst he's not well-known - I'm sure none of the players will know him - I'm sure he'll earn their respect really quickly".

"He continually wants to improve and get better. It's probably the first time you guys have heard of him, but it won't be the last thing you hear of him because I'd be very surprised if his career doesn't continue and blossom into something even bigger. He's a quality and very unique individual.

"Great people are only an opportunity away from being better and Jason Mifsud is a great person - you could appoint him to any position whether it be in business or in sport and I think he'd do a terrific job."

...and of McGuane "He's a real winner, he's a premiership player, but when he's coached he coaches to win and I think that's very important".

"It's been widely documented that he's very tactically astute and reads a game very well. I think his ability to impart knowledge to our midfield in relation to something as simple as running patterns and how to read the play … with such a young midfield that's really important."

Sounds like Mick might get the midfield assistant coach spot.

[Kildonan]

Here's an article about Jason Mifsud from the Warrnambool Standard:

SAINT JASON (http://the.standard.net.au/articles/2006/01/13/1136956329312.html)
By LIZ McKINNON and GREG GLIDDON
January 13, 2006

Mifsud, 32, has spent the past seven years as Koroit playing coach, including leading the side to a memorable 2003 premiership win. He was named alongside former Collingwood legend Mick McGuane on the Saints' new coaching panel.

Mifsud starts his new role on February 1 after being a surprise pick ahead of several higher-profile former AFL players.

Mifsud was drafted to St Kilda in 1993 but never played a senior game.

``It's been a full-circle aspiration,'' he said, ``It's something I'm excited to be and excited by. Grant (St Kilda coach Grant Thomas) has been a great mentor.

``I'm going to have a 100 per cent crack and give it my best.''

Interestingly, Grant Thomas has this to say with regards to the recruitment of Mifsud:

Thomas revealed he had always earmarked Mifsud as a possible assistant coach.

``I asked him to come up for a chat with (assistant coaches) Matt Rendell and Jason Cripps. I never even sat in on the interview and both were impressed, as I knew they would be,'' he said.

``He then had a second meeting with our chief executive and he was as suitably impressed as well.

- might rebuff some of those claims about nepotism / that Thomas hired Mifsud himself to surround himself with non-threatening assistant coaches etc.

[mad-saint-guy]

I don't know much about Mifsud, but I wouldn't say he's been an outstanding coach in the Hampden League. One premiership in 7 years with a fairly good list (lead by ex-saint Joe McLaren) ain't too flash, although he does have a very good reputation and was an awsome player.

He's already coached the saints to a flag, so he just needs to convert that to AFL level and we'll be right.

[bluejay]

Hello all,

firstly let me say I have been a footy fan just since 2003, when an AFL PC game fell in my hands and tried it out. I knew about the sport thanks to the TV, but I started to get involved passionately in it thanks to the computer game. And thanks to it I also became a sainter! So you can imagine I am a total newcomer to the footy universe. Last year I followed the St Kilda games through the AFL website video system, which is not live. But I tried not to know the score before watching them 1 or 2 days after they really took place. I also started playing footy in the little league that exists here in Catalonia since the last 2 years.

Now, to the question of this thread... I would like to know who was Mick McGuane as a footy player. I can read everywhere he was a former great magpie player. But nothing else. I guess everyone knows him and they don't feel the need to explain it again. But I don't. So, would you please be so kind to explain his achievements in the past to me?

Another question I have is referring to one of the assistant coaches that resigned after last season. Does anyone know the real reason Nathan Burke left?

[Kildonan]

Welcome Bluejay to Big Footy and in particular to the Saints board.

You show uncommon good taste to follow the Saintly ones, I applaud you.

Who was Mick McGuane as a footy player?

As you have already heard he played for Collingwood (and was traded to Carlton at the end of his career where he played 3 games). Mick was a good footballer and a bit of a rogue, his on-field antics were apparently minor compared to his off-field behaviour. I admit that most of what I have heard would be considered hearsay and I am not able to reproduce that on this forum. Suffice it to say thet he has been associated with drinking and gambling and living life to the fullest. He is smart and has a great coaching record with lesser AFL leagues.

My only recollections of him were football related and his career ended in 1997 so starting to become faded. He was a tough uncompromising footballer who was a household name in that era (Late 80's til mid 90's). He was a dual winner of Collingwood's Copeland Trophy, member of the Magpies' drought-breaking 1990 premiership team, Victorian representative and All-Australian in 1992.

His coaching record includes two premierships in three seasons with All Seasons Bendigo Football League club Gisborne, plus a flag with Burnie in the Northern Tasmanian Football League. Last season he took a voluntary opposition analyst role with Richmond, which was to become a part time paid position there this year.


Nathan Burke released a statement that he didn't see himself as a career senior AFL coach. He resigned (wasn't pushed) so that he could establish himself in a career that he felt would be more to his liking and offered greater security.

Nathan Burked has joined a consultancy firm known as the Mettle group, I have been in contact with them and the General Manager, Adam Jacoby, has confirmed his appointment. I wish him well, he was a great servant to our club and one of the nicest fellows you could meet.

[sainter]

Welcome aboard Bluejay.

StKildonan summed up Mick McGuane pretty well. He did kick one of the more memorable goals ever seen when he took the ball out of the centre and had 7 bounces before slotting it home. It may be available online.

I don't think there was anything sinister involved in Burke's resignation. He'd been at the St Kilda Football Club since 1987 and wanted to move onto bigger and better things. He'll always be a Saints legend.

[bluejay]

Thank you for the warm welcome, St Kildonian and sainter. And also thanks for the explanation you gave me.

I will just add that I asked for Burke's resignation because I have watched a couple of games of the past in the AFL website (specially, Stuart Loewe's 300th game) and he really was a hell of a player in the midfield. Which led me to believe he might have been able to be a great coach after all... but it's his decision; totally respectable.

Thanks again, looking forward for more Saints victories in the future!

(And excuse me if sometimes my english is not good enough)

[Kildonan]

Bluejay, your English is better than many on this web site.

Another article from The Age that might interest you has caught my attention:
http://Punting on Mick (http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/01/23/1137864860345.html)
January 24, 2006

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/ffximage/2006/01/23/wbFOOTYmcguane_narrowweb__300x420.jpg
Mick McGuane, a dasher as well as a thinker in his heyday at Collingwood.
Photo: Jim Hooper

St Kilda goes for substance ahead of image in hiring Mick McGuane, writes Michael Gleeson.

Grant Thomas was more interested in what McGuane could offer than any concerns over side issues.

"I had a good honest chat to Mick and he was honest with me. He has mucked up, but I have probably mucked up more than him. We are pretty keen on Mick working closely with the midfield and helping them to understand their own game better and the game they need to play. He will work heavily as a coach when we have got the footy, how we move the footy."

A good article which affirms much of what I told you earlier and gives more detail to his coaching history.

[bluejay]

Yes, it was indeed a very interesting article. Speaking of which, what sources do you normally use to keep yourself informed about Saints everyday news? The official website is fine, but there are not news everyday (at least, not during the offseason) and I would like to find something less subjective.

[sainter]

These are the footy pages for Melbourne's two daily newspapers. As you could imagine they can have as much as 24 pages dedicated towards footy during the season. They are updated each day and are a good source of information during the season.

www.realfooty.theage.com.au (http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au)
www.heraldsun.com.au/footy (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/footy)

You may have already checked out the official AFL site but if not:-

www.afl.com.au (http://www.afl.com.au)

Our major supporter website is www.saintsational.com (http://www.saintsational.com). If you follow the link to the forum you'll find where most of our supporters hang out online. I don't mind advertising the site here because most of our regulars here would post there and if we're to get more traffic to this site we need to encourage some of the supporters to post at both sites.

[Joffaboy]

Hey Sainter, I like your avatar, EPL team and signature :D

[mad-saint-guy]

This is also a great site, it has a link to (almost) every saints article on the net, and also has our draft picks, guernsy history, club history, team of the century etc...

members.iinet.net.au/~skewes/saints/st_indx.html

[sainter]

Oh dear,

I'm sure I'm in the running for the quickest Moderator to be sacked.

Bluejay (and all Saints fans),

If you click on the Saints link at the very top of your screen, or go to www.bigfooty.com/portal/saints (http://www.bigfooty.com/portal/saints), you'll find an assortment of Saints articles in the media as well as many other features.

:o

[sainter]

Hey Sainter, I like your avatar, EPL team and signature :D

Didn't know you were a Southampton fan. :thumbsu:

You're more than welcome to post on the Soccer boards and ruffle some feathers. There's a few Pompey fans asking for it. ;)

[Kildonan]

Hello all,

firstly let me say I have been a footy fan just since 2003, when an AFL PC game fell in my hands and tried it out. I knew about the sport thanks to the TV, but I started to get involved passionately in it thanks to the computer game. And thanks to it I also became a sainter! So you can imagine I am a total newcomer to the footy universe. Last year I followed the St Kilda games through the AFL website video system, which is not live. But I tried not to know the score before watching them 1 or 2 days after they really took place. I also started playing footy in the little league that exists here in Catalonia since the last 2 years.

Now, to the question of this thread... I would like to know who was Mick McGuane as a footy player. I can read everywhere he was a former great magpie player. But nothing else. I guess everyone knows him and they don't feel the need to explain it again. But I don't. So, would you please be so kind to explain his achievements in the past to me?

Another question I have is referring to one of the assistant coaches that resigned after last season. Does anyone know the real reason Nathan Burke left?

There was mention of Nathan Burke at the Saints AGM that I thought you might be interested in Link (http://www.saintsational.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16848).

[bluejay]

Hey,

thank you all for these great resources for my favourite Aussie Rules club (of course, except for the one im captain of, hehe). I look forward to read all the info in the saintsational forum and others. And who know if I am going to post something at all some day!

:cool: