Malcolm Blight column: Don Pyke and Ken Hinkley again pledge ‘trust’ in their stars. But even a gun can have a bad day - and there’s a better way

SPREAD the trust and win. Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend Malcolm Blight on the lessons an AFL coach must take from defeat to win a premiership - and his golden rules for turning points into goals.

Crows coach Don Pyke during the 2017 AFL Grand Final between the Richmond Tigers and the Adelaide Crows at the MCG. Picture. Phil Hillyard

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YOU don’t sleep after losing an AFL grand final - as some of us know all too well, particularly after losing three of them.

You don’t sleep after winning grand finals either, but for a different reason. A much better reason.

Don Pyke would not have slept comfortably in the nights after Adelaide’s 48-point loss to Richmond in September’s AFL grand final. And the defeat - and its consequences - will always haunt him.

Those three losses at Geelong still eat my guts out. And I still remember everything that was said about me, the players and the club. The pain does not go away.

It will be no different for Ken Hinkley at Port Adelaide after the loss of a home elimination final in extra time to West Coast on the last kick of the game ... after the Power should never have let that final go beyond four quarters.

Both Pyke and Hinkley have taken the same path to turning their nightmares into dreams this season. Both lost their last games with critical issues in the midfield. Adelaide’s midfielders failed to control the grand final; Port Adelaide’s were again wasteful in the elimination final.

Adelaide has added Bryce Gibbs (from Carlton) to its engine. The Power gains Tom Rockliff (Brisbane).

And that is not the answer.

Then Geelong coach Malcolm Blight after the 1992 Grand Final loss to West Coast Eagles.

Repeatedly, AFL clubs - and coaches - will say they “trust” the players (or “playing group” as the jargon has it today). Pyke will say again and again, “I’ll back the players”.

It cannot be blind faith. And that trust cannot be without an insurance policy ... one that might just come while the coach is tossing in bed in those sleepless nights that come with the job. This is why it is best to keep a pad and pencil on top of the bedside drawers.

At Geelong, the midfield was good enough to get us to three grand finals. But not good enough to win a premiership, even with all the talent we had at Kardinia Park.

This haunting memory was one of the first things I addressed on making a return to coaching at the end of 1996 with Adelaide. It was not going to happen again if the Crows made a grand final.

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley during last year’s extra-time elimination final loss to West Coast Eagles at Adelaide Oval. Picture: Sarah Reed

Crows coach Don Pyke with Phil Harper at three quarter time of the grand final. Picture Sarah Reed

We were not going to blindly “trust” the midfield to ALWAYS deliver. If you wanted to play in the Crows midfield, you had to play in defence as well. History - and those back-to-back flags in 1997-98 - says it was a pretty good rule to put up at West Lakes.

Darren Jarman was a beautiful half-back flanker. He could have won two Brownlows in that role. Mark Ricciuto was a natural in that role. Simon Goodwin. Mark Bickley. Tyson Edwards. And Andrew McLeod was the best of all. He won two Norm Smith Medals, as best-afield in those grand finals, starting at half-back ... and going into the midfield as we addressed the change needed after we fell behind at half-time of those two grand finals. The Crows and Power have certainly strengthened their midfields in the off-season.

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But neither Pyke nor Hinkley can simply have this “trust” with the individuals they have introduced to their midfields. Their “trust” must be in the team.

Individuals do have poor games. And who do you then trust? The trust must be in the team.

Pyke has not declared what has kept him awake since the grand final. That is his right. But if he is to get rid of those nightmares, he will need to reinvent his team. Gibbs alone does not clear away the issues that emerged in the grand final when the Crows lost control of the midfield.

Hinkley’s nightmare is on the scoreboard. In nine games last season, the Power scored more behinds than goals. It lost seven of these matches - two to West Coast, including that extra-time elimination final.

Clearly, Hinkley - and his coaching and football staff - have recognised Port Adelaide has to clean up delivery inside-50. And there will need to be greater accuracy at goal, as Power key forward Charlie Dixon is reminded of the 3.6 from the elimination final.

The debate about how much time AFL players spend on goalkicking drills is irrelevant if the training sessions do not deal with technique. Training 30 minutes a day with the wrong technique will make sure the wrong result hits the scoreboard week after week.

There are three simple golden rules for goalkicking - and they should be noted for every boy and girl starting in Australian football. There should be a gold certificate on leaving Auskick for nailing technique - and then AFL games might have the greater goalkicking accuracy everyone keeps craving.

The three golden rules are - 1. If you are a right footer, line up your right shoulder with the right goal post. 2. Guide - don’t drop - the ball to the foot. 3. And relax the arms.

Then some nightmare kicks will disappear for dream goals.