Crows premiership captain Mark Bickley replaces Adelaide’s inaugural skipper Chris McDermott on FIVEaa sports show
CROWS premiership captain Mark Bickley is returning to the media — replacing inaugural Adelaide captain Chris McDermott on the FIVEaa sports drive show.
MARK Bickley’s dream to be an AFL senior coach is gone – at least in the short term – after the Crows premiership captain noted the role can become a nightmare.
Bickley, 45, yesterday became a full-time critic, joining radio station FIVEaa to be a joint host of its weekday sportstalk drive show and a member of its AFL commentary team at weekends. But his dream of coaching an AFL club, a role Bickley sampled for six games (3-3 win-loss) at the end of 2011 – is gone for now and seemingly without too much regret.
“It was a role I aspired to,” Bickley said. “But to see the affect it had on the last couple of coaches I’ve worked with (Neil Craig and Brenton Sanderson), it does not shine a good light on being an AFL senior coach.
“And watching what has happened this year to Brendan McCartney (Western Bulldogs) and Guy McKenna (Gold Coast), it has been unpleasant.
“Coaching goes by the wayside now. Am I unfulfilled? It would have been great to have been in charge of my own team. But there also is a lot of downside to AFL coaching – the tenure is fickle, the work-rate is enormous and the stress it puts on all parts of your life is unrelenting.”
Bickley returns to the media – where he made his name as a sports news reader at Channel 9 after playing 272 AFL games as an inaugural Crow – after six seasons as an assistant coach at West Lakes.
The Australian Football Hall of Famer was removed from new Adelaide coach Phil Walsh’s panel last week, despite having a contract with the Crows for next season. He will remain involved at the Adelaide Football Club as a consultant in marketing and promotions. This will include hosting significant club events.
Bickley will work alongside former Crows team-mate Stephen Rowe and replaces inaugural Adelaide captain Chris McDermott, who sat behind the FIVEaa microphone for two years. Bickley’s first shift will be on November 3.
“It is a dream job,” Bickley said yesterday. “I get to talk sport, so I feel I am staying involved in footy.”
It is the first time Bickley has held a full-time role in radio after sampling the airwaves with casual roles in football broadcasting, breakfast shows and sports talkback.
“I enjoy the media,” said Bickley, captain of Adelaide’s back-to-back premiership teams in 1997-98.