Roy Laird wants to rebuild a winning SANFL culture at Central District
Hard-working Central District coach Roy Laird, a seven-times premiership coach, has agreed to remain at the helm for a 16th season next year and he is still driven by winning.
LISTENING to Central District coach Roy Laird speak about his parents and upbringing provides an insight into his character.
He is seemingly forever serious, even grumpy. Every now and again there is a smirk, a hint of laughter, but for the most part it is all business.
Lazy players annoy him and those who simply have a fair dinkum crack, no matter the depth of talent, give him more pleasure than the gifted, natural athlete.
“I had parents who flogged themselves working in hard, manual labour,” Laird said. “That was my upbringing and the culture that I adhere to.
“I have fun and a laugh, my kids are my life and I have a great time with them. But I want to win every possible game and have every possible training session done to its enth degree to a high level.
“And that is where my angst comes from. I’m a perfectionist, but you can’t reach perfection. If you are not striving for it though, you are not going forward.”
Laird has agreed to extend his stint as Bulldogs coach into an incredible 16th season next year. Only legend Jack Oatey had a longer uninterrupted period coaching an SANFL club with his 21 years at Sturt.
As is the case with the previous 15 years, he seals the deal with a handshake. That is another gift from his upbringing, his word has more strength than a signature.
In his time at the helm, the game has changed from “man- on-man and hard at it needing to be the tougher team”, to much more focus on strategies and tactics all over the ground.
But there are Laird traits which will never alter. Such as refusing to compromise the strong beliefs he took into his debut season in 2003 when he replaced now Hawthorn boss Alastair Clarkson.
Laird has had to adapt as the game continues to extend the boundaries. However, for the most part, he believes the ingredients which build a quality player have remained intact and he notes the competition is no less demanding in terms of physicality.
For Laird, it is black and white, there is no grey area in calling it as he sees it with his no hidden agenda, no-nonsense approach. His honesty has made for uncomfortable moments with players and he admits he has had to learn from his mistakes.
“For a long while I’d say ‘no, no, this is the wrong way to go’ in terms of coddling players, but the mental capabilities of players to accept criticism has certainly fallen away,” he said.
“Players want more encouragement in what they have got to do, rather than criticism on what they are not doing well. In my dealings with some players, it has not helped our relationship, but at the same time I’m mindful they are good people.
“We try to recruit good people and although my intentions are to improve them as players, at times the player has not liked the way I have gone about it.”
Laird and West Adelaide’s Mark Mickan are the only non-full-time coaches in the league. Former Bulldog Ian Callinan is among those he will confide in and he has “people” around him he fully trusts.
Time management is among his skills. It has to be given he has three children and manages his expanding Harcourts Playford real estate business. Laird is confident the balance is right.
He has seven league premierships on his resume, but none since 2010. And the Bulldogs are eighth on the ladder this season.
“I’m not worried about my reputation, I just want to build a winning culture with this group,” Laird said. “I’m driven by winning.
“I’m disappointed where we are at, I want to be a winner. There are elements of me who are angry, frustrated and disappointed.
“But I have not seen a drop-off in want and desire and enthusiasm from the players and I admire that.”