The Coaches

CatmanForever said:

Senior Coach

Mark Thompson was named as senior coach of the Geelong Football Club in September 1999, and he has helped transform the club over his seven years at the helm. He has led the Cats to the finals three

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chapmanmagic35 said:

Can somebody please delete Renegade's post?

The coaches have done a good job thus far. The addition of Balme, sanderson and Wheadon seems to have helped the coahces from previous years.

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Renegade said:

So you're happy with what he's achieved since 2000?

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chapmanmagic35 said:

I didn't say that. Said he has done a good job thus far in 2007.

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thehoff said:

The best thing you can do is ignore Renegade.... He used to provide decent posts but these days he attempts to play the "bad boy" role and make jokes....

The word goose comes to mind for some reason..

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thehoff said:

The best thing you can do is ignore Renegade.... He used to provide decent posts but these days he attempts to play the "bad boy" role and make jokes....

The word goose comes to mind for some reason..

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Renegade said:

I just say it how i see it. Nothing bad boy about that. I just want to see us win a flag like everyone else here.

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rizzo said:

Must of done something since 2000 to get us to the stage where we are at now?

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sarah.13 said:

Then how about we give S.Wells (recruiting guru) some credit as well!

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chapmanmagic35 said:

Wells also has to take credit for the recruitment of guns like Cameron Roberts and Ezra Bray

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rizzo said:

David Spriggs board

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rizzo said:

Must of done something since 2000 to get us to the stage where we are at now?

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He has the coaching record that many coaches could only dream of having, but for South Barwon coach Dale Amos, the end of the 2008 season will be enough for him.
Despite coaching in 100 games and winning 80 of them, Amos feels that the time is right to hand over the reins.
“I think it is the right time to go,’’ He said.
“It has been 5 years for me as a coach or co coach.
“I have enjoyed the coaching, but it is just the right time.
“The group still has a lot to offer the new coach.
“It is a good time for someone else to take over, it will freshen everyone up a bit.
“I didn’t want to get to point where there is nothing left for me.”
Following his impressive record, the modest Amos was quick to deflect all the pats on the back to others at the club.
“We have had some great leadership through the footy club during my time.
“Also we have a great committee and junior section that we work with.
“I get the pat on the back, but it is a real group effort by everyone here.”
Amos has not ruled out coaching again in the future.
“I’m only 30 years old so I have lots of time.
“Something I might stay in or get back into further down the track.”
In one of the biggest games of the year South Barwon will take on St Mary’s with the winner going through to the grand final.
For the loser, they will get a reprieve, and will play the winner of the Colac versus St Joseph’s clash.
“They have been the standout side all year.
“They recruited strongly and have got a deep list in terms of talent.
“We are really looking forward to the opportunity to pit ourselves against the best side in the comp.
Amos believes the extra week break St Mary’s have won’t be an advantage.
“The fact that we got through injury free and played very well means there is no downside for us.
“Both sides will feel like they are a red hot chance and there will be no excuses from either side.”

Who will win: St Mary’s by 10 points – A really hard game to pick the winner of. They played a classic during the season that went the distance. Both teams have quality midfields and potent attacks, with their top liners probably breaking even with each other. St Mary’s may have a little bit more depth compared to South Barwon and this will see them just get over the line.

Key Players:
Clinton Wells (South Barwon) – Is really starting to hit his straps at the right end of the season after many interruptions. A key player for South Barwon and is their focal point when they go forward. If he can kick a bag then expect South Barwon to win.

Josh Maddox (St Mary’s) – Is a player that might be forgotten about a little bit in South Barwon’s plans. Playing in a team that boasts so many quality players, it is easy to be forgotten about. He has used this to his advantage this year and has become a key player for St Mary’s. When he is on fire he becomes very hard to stop, so South Barwon will need to hold him early.

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I don't blame the players: Mark Thompson


MARK Thompson had a DVD of the Grand Final for close to 2 1/2 months after the game.

It wasn't burning a hole in his soul, he said, but he knew he had to watch it. He didn't know why. A cleansing maybe. Closure. Or was it confirmation?

Eventually, about mid-December, he slipped the disc out of its jacket, pushed play and kicked back on the couch.

"I thought I really had to look at it at some stage," he laughed. "I really didn't want to put it on."

What did you think?

"It was a waste of time." And he laughed even harder.

At first, it's a little disconcerting how relaxed the Geelong coach is about the Grand Final, the team, the club and, indeed, life itself.

But that's "Bomber". He mixes humour with bluntness and honesty and is relaxed to the point of nonchalance.
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He considers (mostly) every question he is asked and answers matter-of-factly, be it complex talk about zones or floods and exploiting Darren Milburn or how much he admires Gary Ablett.

Since being defeated by Hawthorn in September - or did the Cats lose it? - Thompson has tried to avoid revisiting the game.

"We lost and there ain't one thing we can do to change the result," he said.

"I don't talk about it much. What's the point? It's done. We lost it. We are thinking about how we can win the premiership this year and what things we need to do to get better to make it happen.

"That's the only thing that really interests me."

He conducted a post-match review of the Grand Final with his assistants and insisted it took no longer than any other post-mortem.

Always hovering, though, was the DVD.

"I didn't watch it all, to be honest. I turned it off halfway through the last quarter," he said.

"I was just sitting there thinking, 'Yeah, that's what I thought on match day'. I didn't want to get myself angry or disappointed, I just checked to see what I thought happened did happen and it pretty much did."

Stressing it was no slight on the Hawks, his prognosis was the Cats played well enough, but kicked themselves out of back-to-back flags.

"Yeah, exactly right, we did a lot of things very well," he said. "In the end it was the two best teams playing the last game and it was a good match, it was a close match, it was a real contest."

Thompson may have dispensed with the Grand Final, but with defeat comes criticism -- of the players and himself.

Should he have been more adventurous early in the last quarter when the Hawks had a stranglehold on the match? Moved backs forward?

Gazza to the square? Was he too inflexible? Why did he largely stay with the structure to the death blow?

Thompson defends himself and the players as fiercely as he did through 202 games at Essendon as a no-nonsense back-flanker.

"Our players are very versatile," he said. "There are a lot of midfielders who can play forward and back. Probably our forwards don't play back, and the backs don't play forward, but our team is very, very flexible.

"It's easy to say we did lose and there were reasons and what we should have done . . . there's lots of experts' opinions.

"But the fact is the way we have been playing, we are a very good team and I've got no doubt we are going to be a very good team in the future."

It was a matter of faith for Thompson.

His team, his players, most of whom he had recruited other than Milburn, Cameron Mooney, David Wojcinski, Matthew Scarlett and Tom Harley, had won 42 games and lost three since Round 5, 2007.

The faith was deservedly unshakeable.

"So I really don't care what people say. If they were in our coaches' shoes they wouldn't be making too many changes either," Thompson said.

"It's easy to say it if you haven't got any responsibility."

The return to pre-season was an easy one in that the coach didn't detect any change in his players, nor has he had to address the Grand Final with any of them.

Thompson wants everyone to simply move on.

"Gee, how long ago was it, four months, five months?" he said. "If you haven't got over it by now . . .

"Right from the first day they've trained well. No messing around with them, no doom and gloom, no blame. It's just another pre-season and we've got to improve our team and our club and they've just done everything and more.

"I haven't had a bit of anger with any individual player at all. That's the honest truth. I don't blame them. It was just something that happened on the day."

So, to 2009.

Thompson is adamant there will be little or no structural change to the line-up.

The backs will stay the same: Scarlett, Harley, Harry Taylor, Milburn (even though clubs tried to expose his willingness to peel off last year), Andrew Mackie and Josh Hunt. Youngster Dan McKenna, trialled in the NAB Cup, is probably next in line.

Harley's knee injury is not long-term. "It might be anywhere between Rounds 1 and 5," Thompson said.

Milburn, Geelong's oldest player (32 next month) and most experienced (235 games), became an issue in the preliminary final when the Western Bulldogs attacked through his opponent Shaun Higgins as - Milburn - played his usual mix of attacking and defensive footy.

The theory was Milburn could be exposed. Thompson doesn't think so.

"Dasher won't change," he said.

"Teams have been doing that for years and they do it because he's so good at what he does. We've done it to certain players over the time. G

"Guys read the play well and come off at certain times and become a pest, then you try to use their opponents. That's been happening to Dasher for a while. It won't be anything new. He'll just adjust on the run, he's a smart old bugger."

The intrigue is up the other end.

Tom Lonergan and Tom Hawkins will battle for one of the key position spots, Mooney will have the other and Ryan Gamble is likely to play the third tall/small.

"We prefer to run only two (talls)," Thompson said. "There was a time when we ran three, but it hasn't worked for us, and we've got a lot of smaller blokes who can mark the ball."

In a nutshell, it's Lonergan versus Hawkins.

"The only people we will give opportunities too are the ones who deserve it.

"Tommy Lonergan really deserved his spot in the team (last year). We put him in not knowing he would kick all the goals he did and if he deserves to play he'll play, if Tom Hawkins is more deserving he will play."

He described Hawkins' pre-season as "outstanding".

"His body's really good at the moment. He's starting to understand the demands of footy and when you see him you'll see he is a different body shape," Thompson said.

"He's well and truly on his way to becoming a player.

"He was too heavy, too big. It's an agile, fit game where you have to turn a lot, a lot at high speed. His body wasn't coping and that's why he was getting sore feet, sore bones."

Have you made a decision?

"No."

Thompson dismissed the suggestion anything less than a premiership would be a failure.

"We're doing a lot right at the footy club at the moment, everything, our fitness guys, the weights guys, our medical team, coaches, the VFL, development stuff, we're doing a lot right," he said.

"The players are confident in their own ability, the coaches are confident the players will be able to do it.

"But we have to improve."

Pinpointing exactly where for a team so dominant across the board is no easy task. It's more attitude than cosmetics, Thompson said.

"There are things I don't want to share," he said.

"I think we could be a better team, a more selfless team. I know people think we are too selfless but I don't think we are. We could be more for each other on the field. I think we would be one of the better sides in that regard, but there is still improvement.

"I'd like to see us with a 'best team' culture."

Thompson, 45, is the happiest he has been for some time.

His team has played two years of devastating football and will again - he wants to stay at Geelong.

"I feel very much a part of Geelong," said Thompson, who is living with his partner of a couple of years, Jana, not far from Skilled Stadium

Unlike other coaches, past and present, he has found what he believes is the balance between football and private life.

"I go home at the end of the day do what I do, read, watch TV, exercise," he said.

"And I really enjoy going to work. I love the people I work with. I have a lot of respect for the players, we are a really dynamic, innovative club at the moment . . . it's a great place to work."

It wasn't always like this.

At the end of 2006, as Thompson endured his own life change - he and his wife separated - the club set about an extensive review of the workplace.

"There were a lot of things going on, but the two years previous were OK, we played some decent footy," Thompson said.

The personal front? "That's all settled now."

Happy space? "Yeah. And have been for a while."

"You know, it wasn't as tough as people thought. We just had a bad year. We won the pre-season cup and there were 10,000 people celebrating the day after.

"The year was off. You could say I was off, but I wasn't the only one that was off. And just because I was off doesn't mean the whole club was off.

"In that regard we all made a pretty good decision to hang in there and persist with one another."

Thompson stressed that his personal situation then had no bearing on the team's performance, just as his personal situation since has had no bearing on the team's rampant form over the past two years.

"It's not because of my personal life that that's happened, it's a question about a whole group of people being employed and the place being run as efficiently as it's ever run before. Better people work there.

"It's not because I was in a happy space, it's irrelevant.

"The coach is not as vital now as it once was."

The coach is also different to what he was.

Not that he is considering leaving the Cats - he has had talks with chief executive Brian Cook about a new contract - but asked to select the qualities needed of a coach, he said: "It's whether he can teach, can facilitate, a great listener, whether he had the technical skills to know about lots of different things like psychology, technology, human movement, fitness . . .

"It's a big job, but it's all about delegation and trusting people to do the job properly and not having to stick your finger (in) or have the final say on everything.

"That's where I just let people do the job better than I've ever done.

"Once, the club wanted me to be everything.

"We just restructured it after the review and started to coach, spend time with the players, that's the biggest difference."

It also involved a fundamental philosophy change for the coach.

F or the first seven years - with the club finishing no higher than fourth and no lower than 12th - he pored over stats, attempting, he said, to coach from the spreadsheet: depth of inside 50s, hot spots, rebounds, stoppages, go-to forwards, contested footy, loose balls, hard balls and the latest, chain analysis, which charts the journey of the ball, and by whom, from stoppages and defence.

If anything, Thompson has returned to good, old-fashioned people coaching, building bonds between player and coach, player and player, reinforcing team mentality and responsibility, reinforcing relationships.

"I was a facts and figures man and I've grown away from that because I see them as less important than some of the other stuff," he said.

"The relationships and the communication and just appreciating what people can do and try to help them.

"I used to try to analyse and work out games of footy from stats and now I just don't go there at all. We don't do that many stats at Geelong."

He stressed that the players and their well-being were the single most important aspect of footy clubs.

"We look after our people pretty well," Thompson said.

"This is pretty broad, but if you get recruited to Geelong we've got a commitment to make you the best footballer you can become and that's a pretty big commitment.

"It's not about how long Mark Thompson lasts at Geelong, or the assistant coaches, that stuff doesn't get talked about and I don't want people talking about that.

"We want to make the players better, so we are a better club.

"This is a great game but it won't be a great game unless we have the players.

"The players put on the show, they should get a lot of the money, they should get a lot of the credit and we've got a lot of responsibility to keep that happening."

He has a feel for the players and many would opine that that's been the significant outcome of the review.

Thompson is a footballer's footballer who became coach and is now coaching as well as he ever has.

He says he is not driven by revenge or redemption.

"Redemption? I don't worry about it too much. It is a thing that people can't let go and I find that strange because it's only a game of football.

"People take it so serious, get so emotional, get so angry, I just can't understand that about people and football."

Haven't you been all of those things?

"What do you mean . . . it's called passion. Have I been fair? Do you think most people who take the field try their best? They do.

"I feel for players. A lot of them try their best, they work enormously hard, be everything to everyone at times and I think some of it's unfair."

After an hour, Thompson was off to another meeting; a Gen Y meeting about the players.

"They rule the world, or they're going to rule the world," he laughed.

"We think we have to change them to suit us, but we probably have to change to suit them."

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Geelong coach Mark Thompson commits to staying at Cats


Thompson, who was courted by Essendon in the lead-up to the 2007 premiership, has told the Herald Sun he wants another contract at Geelong.

On the eve of his 10th season in charge of the Cats, Thompson is one of seven coaches out of contract at the end of the season.

"I want to coach for a little while yet while I'm enjoying it," he said. "I'm happy at the moment. It's a pretty dynamic place to work."

While Thompson's commitment to the club will enthuse Cats fans, he is more excited about a reconfigured role for the inspirational Ablett.

Just as his father did, Ablett is set to become a more prominent player in the forward line, instead of resting on the bench after his midfield stint.

Ablett, who kicked 26 goals last year, will almost certainly be left alone at full-forward and his teammates pushed up to the 50m arc - a frightening set-up for opposition teams.

"He could end up playing 70 per cent of the game onball and playing 25 per cent forward, so he's maintaining energy and still has an influence on the game," Thompson said.

Quality possession in the forward 50 has become the gold nugget as teams continue to implement midfield zones.

"It's the hardest part of the ground, and we all know you have to score goals to win the game," Thompson said.

"If you have the players who contest and do stuff better than the guy next to him, you're more chance of scoring goals," Thompson said.

The Ablett move forward was briefly trialled last year in a season Thompson described as "amazing" from his matchwinning 24-year-old.

But Thompson was unsure whether Ablett could improve.

"I don't know whether he can get better. I don't know if we need him to get better. He's just an amazing player at the moment," the coach said.

"He's at the top of his game . . . maybe he will get better, I don't know. You don't need more from him, really."

Voted the 2008 AFL Players' Association MVP, Ablett's disappointments came on Brownlow Medal night and on Grand Final day, when he wept on the MCG after the loss to Hawthorn.

"He's an elite player. He looks after his body really well," Thompson said.

"Sure, he was disappointed. He wanted to win the Brownlow and probably would've if he didn't get injured.

"Grand Final day he had played his heart out. He just wanted to win and I think he did absolutely everything he could possibly do to help us win.

"I'm glad he was disappointed. I was glad he was disappointed for not winning the Brownlow. He probably would've won our best-and-fairest, too, if he didn't get injured. He had a great year, he is a great player and I think he handles himself just marvellous."

Meanwhile, Thompson has had brief discussions with Cats chief executive Brian Cook about his future, but is not expecting his contract to be hurried through.

"There's no rush. I'm not going anywhere else," Thompson said.

"We've talked about it and we're OK with everything."

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Mark Thompson: Cats must stay at the top

Michael Auciello

March 23rd, 2009

Geelong coach Mark Thompson has made no knee-jerk reactions to last year's grand final loss.

MARK Thompson doesn't believe in premiership clocks. Or premiership windows.

Well, in a roundabout way maybe, but not really.

His faith instead lies in having the ability to prove there's no need for either of them.
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Why can't his team, if managed and developed properly, play in the finals and compete for a premiership indefinitely, he asks.

"I don't see any advantage or any point in being (at the top) for three or four years, I know that it's hard to stay at the top, but that's the challenge we have," he said.

"Brisbane won a lot of flags and they've fallen off, West Coast have won their flag then they've had a couple of years down the bottom and that's not a healthy place to be.

"The aim of the club should be to try and play finals every year, but not just end up seventh or eighth either, it's to end up in the top six, top four, top two."

It's probably an easier thing to say when you're in charge of a team at the peak of its powers.

Geelong has dominated the competition for the past two years, and looks set to do it again for at least a third.

But the coach's desire to rid his club of the cyclical nature of AFL football is a sign of how far the Cats have come.

This is Thompson's 10th season at the helm at Skilled Stadium, a place he says was "pretty sad" when he first arrived.

"Falling down stadium, no cash flow, lots of debt, ageing list, the captain and coach had just walked out - it was in a pretty bad way I thought," he said.

Now it has energy, it's adventurous, professional, innovative and dynamic.

Perhaps most importantly, it wins a ridiculous amount of football games.

Thompson, as always, is straightforward about how much more his side can improve after four or five years of almost constant upward movement.

"I'm not sure if we can get that much better, like, I don't know if there's another 50 per cent improvement in us," he said.

"But I still think there is some improvement. Barring that last game, last year was a pretty sensational year.

"We can get better at finishing games off - just being hard and ruthless and professional all the way to the end of the matches. I don't think playing in little bursts for one quarter is enough, I think we've got to try and maintain that consistent level of play and not worry about the scoreboard as much.

"And we certainly need to inject more talent into the team, find opportunities for young players - that's one way we can get better."

Another area Thompson wants to look into is the development of a swingman who can play both forward and back.

Cameron Mooney has done it in the past but is now settled into a forward line that revolves around him, while the likes of Dan McKenna and Tom Lonergan are possible candidates for the position.

Thompson has already stated that he won't fit both Lonergan and Tom Hawkins into the same forward line.

Hawkins has been a constant source of fascination for fans and media alike since he was the big and powerful presence in the under-18 competition.

But Thompson, as bluntly as he's ever put it, said he's not holding his breath on the expectation surrounding the 20-year-old - from outside the club anyway - to come to fruition.

"There's always just been an expectation from everybody that he's going to be the next Tony Lockett or the next Superman, the next super player of the AFL and, to be honest, I don't think he'll ever get there," Thompson said.

"I don't think he'll ever be a super, super, super player, I think he'll be a pretty good footballer - solid.

"I think he'll take time, I don't think you'll see anything outstanding for maybe two or three years. I think there's a lot of pressure on young Tom to be something that he's probably not going to be for a fair while, and I don't know why it happens.

"Some people just have that sort of pressure on them and I don't think he really needs it or deserves it. Without him ever admitting it, he would feel it (the expectation) because he gets it, because I feel it for him, and if I feel it for him then he's certainly going to feel it.

"I can't do much (about it), except for when I get interviewed by journalists, to tell people that I probably don't expect as much as them and I don't understand why there's this expectation, because he hasn't really done anything."

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Nigel Lappin: Cats have triple-flag feeling



GEELONG could be better than the triple premiership Brisbane Lions of 2001-03.

It's a big call, but it comes from a very well-qualified source: Nigel Lappin.

Lappin, part of the Lions' "fab four" midfield until his retirement at the end of last season, is now an assistant to Cats coach Mark Thompson.

And he is very impressed with what he's seen so far.

"They have won 47 of the last 50 - that was a feat we could never do," Lappin said.

"They have the ability to win multiple premierships. They are hard to win and you have to be spot on with your preparation, but they have got the talent as well as the desire."

History shows the Cats could not convert their dominance of the 2008 season into a second flag when they were stopped by an inspired Hawthorn in the Grand Final.

But Lappin, never one for grand statements, says the Cats have the time and the ability to match Brisbane's record.

Geelong has modelled itself on that great Brisbane team and admitted regular maulings by the Lions helped make it the side it is.

The team balance is very similar - big down the spine, attacking small defenders and clever goalsneaks, all built around a superstar midfield.

The Cats' quartet of Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel, Joel Selwood and Joel Corey is the undisputed premier midfield in the competition.

Throw in tagger Cameron Ling and the recent addition of Joel Selwood and they have six top-line players.

Michael Voss, Simon Black, Jason Akermanis and Lappin were the front-liners of the Brisbane engine room, Shaun Hart ran the opposition ball winners into the ground and Luke Power joined the ranks to add another classy ball user to the mix.

Lappin says the similarities extend beyond the physical capabilities to the personal qualities of the two groups.

"There is certainly similarities in the way the groups prepare, their attitudes, where they are at with their physical and mental maturity," Lappin said.

"They are a driven group, they are all in here for extra work each week, they work hard on their skills, are committed to their footy, they want to be the best."

The word out of Geelong is that Lappin is as fit as the men he coaches, prompting Lions captain Jonathan Brown to declare that his former teammate should never have retired.

But Lappin says he is at peace with his decision.

"I have never woken up and thought, 'Gee I wish I was still playing'," he said.

Lappin was the low-profile Lion; despite being selected in a club-record four All-Australian teams, he was happy to let teammates hog the spotlight.

So how does he go standing in front of a group of players, all stars in their own right, and laying down the law?

"That is part of the job I don't find that easy, I've just learnt you have to coach to your personality type," Lappin said.

"I'm pretty quiet and the side is pretty much in maintenance mode any way.

"But there's four or five younger guys that need some extra guidance and I enjoy that.

"And the senior players have been fantastic - they have shown an enormous amount of respect."

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