Coaches set aside friendship for grand final

Updated September 29, 2012 08:37:57

John Longmire thought he'd be back on the farm. Alastair Clarkson joked he might be in a mental institution.

But when they met as teenage players at North Melbourne in 1987, neither man could have predicted this in his wildest dreams.

The long-time friends and former team-mates are rival coaches in Saturday's AFL grand final.

Clarkson is on the verge of his second premiership in charge of Hawthorn, while Longmire has been superb since taking over from Paul Roos in Sydney's coaching succession plan.

There have been one or two awkward moments over the years when the rival coaches shake hands at the end of the grand final.

But these two will have no trouble showing each other respect once the premiership is decided.

"It's been a great story, the Longmire story, and one that I've obviously shared with him for a fair bit of the time," Clarkson said.

"Jobs are so hard to secure at AFL level, it's hard enough to think we'd be coaching against each other, let alone coaching against one another in a grand final.

"I'm sure there will be someone shattered tomorrow night and someone obviously overwhelmed with the victory.

"At some point in time over the next few weeks we'll get together and have a quiet ale and enjoy the fact we've been up against each other in an AFL grand final."

Longmire met Clarkson on North Melbourne's infamous trip to London in 1987, when they played Carlton in the exhibition match that became known as The Battle Of Britain.

Clarkson enraged the Blues when he broke Ian Aitken's jaw.

A decade later, as their playing careers were ending, Clarkson and Longmire had key roles in the evolution in the AFL players' association.

Then came coaching and now they are on the verge of another premiership.

Clarkson has his 2008 flag as Hawthorn coach, plus he was an assistant when Port Adelaide won their first premiership in 2004.

Longmire played in North's 1999 premiership team and was an assistant coach under Roos for Sydney's drought-breaking 2005 success.

"Whether it's mates or whatever, you try to find a little bit extra and I'm sure Clarko will be trying to find a little bit extra our way," Longmire said.

"We are good mates, we've known each other for a long time, but it doesn't change anything in regards to our preparation.

"Both of us will be trying to beat each other tomorrow and that's the way it should be."

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, sydney-2000, hawthorn-3122

First posted September 29, 2012 08:35:20

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Swans' Longmire wins coaches award

Updated September 25, 2012 21:33:27

Sydney may not have had Brownlow Medal success, but the Swans have had an early grand final week win with coach John Longmire picking up the AFL Coaches Association award for coach of the year.

Longmire won the peer award, the Allan Jeans senior coach of the year award, in only his second year as a senior coach.

He received the award - named after the famous St Kilda and Hawthorn coach who died last year - on Tuesday night, four days before the Swans' appointment at the MCG for the grand final against Hawthorn.

Longmire took over in Sydney from premiership coach Paul Roos for the 2011 season. His team finished seventh and lost to Hawthorn in an elimination final.

Entering 2012, the Swans were not tipped by many pundits to challenge strongly for the flag, but the Sydneysiders had a roaring start to the year, going undefeated until round six when they lost a tight game to Adelaide.

Sydney was 8-3 at the half-way mark, and finished the home and away season with 16 wins, good enough for third spot on the ladder.

The Swans then smashed their two hoodoo sides, Adelaide and Collingwood, in the finals to earn a spot in the club's first grand final since 2006.

But it was the game style, as much as the results, that brought plaudits for Longmire's coaching.

He maintained the core of the hard-running, hard-tackling, defensive-minded style that had been the hallmark of the Swans under Roos, and added an extra attacking dimension.

Longmire introduced a more expansive style of play to make use of the blazing speed of Lewis Jetta and others, and used a range of scoring options from Sam Reid and Adam Goodes to converted defender Lewis Roberts-Thomson and midfielders Kieren Jack and Ben McGlynn.

In other awards announced at the AFLCA ceremony, Richmond's Brownlow Award place-getter Trent Cotchin (107 votes) won the player of the year award by eight votes from Collingwood's Dayne Beams (99), with Gold Coast's Gary Ablett and Adelaide's Patrick Dangerfield (92) in equal third.

Essendon captain and Brownlow medallist Jobe Watson came sixth with 89 votes.

Hawthorn and Carlton premiership coach David Parkin was named the fourth "Coaching Legend", following Hawthorn premiership coach John Kennedy senior (2009), Melbourne and North Melbourne premiership coach Ron Barassi (2010) and Richmond premiership coach Tom Hafey (2011).

The best young player award went to Essendon's Dyson Heppell, ahead of West Coast duo Jack Darling and Andrew Gaff.

Fremantle's Peter Sumich won the assistant coach of the year award and Collingwood's Craig McRae took out the development coach of the year award.

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, sydney-2000, nsw, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted September 25, 2012 21:33:27

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Opposing coaches back Giants

Updated February 20, 2012 08:45:24

The belief that Greater Western Sydney will struggle to win an AFL game this season came under fresh scrutiny after the Giants' competitive start to the preseason.

That the newcomers, with limited experience and potential more than polish, will finish dead last in their maiden season was considered a fait accompli a long time ago.

Over the past month the bar was lowered once again, with AFL legend Leigh Matthews the most notable to suggest GWS would be doing well to win one match in 2012.

On Saturday night the Giants were given their first chance to answer the critics on the field.

It was a response muffled by the fact the preseason contests featured 20-minute halves, and were devoid of a handful of Collingwood and Western Bulldogs stars.

Nonetheless, it was an answer of some sort - especially the three-point loss to the Magpies where Phil Davis was the only Giant with AFL experience to play.

"You've got to give credit to that group of young players," Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said.

"They could have easily won the Bulldogs game as well. So they'd be rapt with their performance."

Time will tell just how meaningful the Giants' competitive preseason losses were, but already Buckley suspects the likes of Matthews may have got it wrong.

"What you saw was great enthusiasm and exuberance from a young group of players," he said.

"The problem that you get with that over the course of a football season at an elite level ... is that you're going to get your ups and downs.

"(But) it was a one-on-one contested brand of football all over the ground, and if you can play that brand of footy, well then you can compete against anyone.

"So there's no reason why they can't compete well and compete hard, and win a few games. Their fair share of games."

Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney also praised the Giants after the Dogs' five-point win over the hosts.

"They were terrific. I think they showed with ball in hand what they're going to be. They were good around the ball, had some stronger bodies," McCartney said.

"They'll get better and they'll improve, and if you keep doing that - well the game takes care of itself."

GWS chief executive Dave Matthews was impressed with how his side performed in the spotlight.

"This is a group of guys who obviously don't read the papers," he said.

"The critics aren't inside the club, so they don't actually understand the sort of training and preparation.

"...We're hopeful that we can sneak in for a couple of wins.

"And more than anything, just show a lot of competitiveness and spirit like we did (on Saturday night)."

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted February 20, 2012 08:43:14

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