Mick McGuane has his say on pre-season leadership moves and voting
Vice-captain Zach Merrett out of the leadership group, 19-year-old Sam Walsh becoming a leader and St Kilda giving votes to the property steward. Mick McGuane wonders what is going on.
Essendon
Don't miss out on the headlines from Essendon. Followed categories will be added to My News.
It was the morning after a bruising clash with West Coast in 1988 and Collingwood’s revered skipper Tony Shaw arrived at our 8am session with so much tape on him that he looked like a mummy.
He had dislocated his elbow the day before and spent the night in hospital, but still managed to turn up for our eight-lap recovery session the next morning with a sharp message: “Don’t let me beat any of you home!”
There was no way I was going to let him beat me that morning.
From memory, he still finished in the top eight, despite his obvious pain.
He wasn’t going to play for at least a month, but Shawry was selling us a message of hope. We beat a previously undefeated Carlton the next week.
Watch every match of the Marsh Community Series AFL pre-season comp LIVE & On-Demand on KAYO. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
That was my first real example of strong leadership.
Great leaders are purveyors of hope.
Michael Voss was respected through sheer competitiveness and in his twilight years through his extraordinary preparation.
Nick Maxwell did it educating young stars such as Scott Pendlebury and Dale Thomas, through Williamstown beach recovery sessions at 9am.
Leadership comes in many forms. And modern leadership groups are bigger and more inclusive than ever before.
Gone are the days of a captain, vice-captain and deputy vice-captain.
This is the time of the year when the clubs release the ins and outs of their leadership groups.
Sam Walsh is in at Carlton in his second season; Zach Merrett is out at Essendon; the Brisbane Lions have included nine players; and St Kilda gave votes to the property steward and head trainer in their leadership election.
Talk about inclusiveness! Astounding!
YOUNGSTERS VOTING? PLEASE...
Any club that gets their first-year players to vote has a flawed system. Youngsters struggle to differentiate between leadership and friendship.
I’ve got a problem when a club’s entire playing list votes on potential leaders, let alone staff members, other than the coaching panel.
Saints coach Brett Ratten wanted a more inclusive vote, which is why he asked staff members to be part of the process.
With no disrespect to the property steward, just because I fold my jumper up and hand it back in the right manner doesn’t make me a good leader.
Please! Now I’ve heard it all!
How Merrett was excluded from the Essendon group in any voting system defies logic.
He was put under the microscope for good reason early last year and responded in the right manner.
Then he captained the club in Dyson Heppell’s absence at stages of last year.
Unless there is something we don’t know about Merrett’s pre-season, that’s bewildering.
Or does he not endear himself to the whole list? Is he selfish, not selfless, in their eyes?
On the flip side, the players voted Orazio Fantasia to remain in the leadership group, but he knocked it back.
He almost left the club late last year – and could still seek an exit – which makes it a bizarre decision in terms of voting him in.
Are they trying to seduce him into staying?
Sam Walsh looks a captain in waiting. But I wonder why the Blues needed to put so much pressure on the 19-year-old so early in his career.
He’s just finding his feet in what could be a challenging second season when opposition clubs will target him.
Why not let him just play and learn from watching leaders Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty?
MORE AFL NEWS:
Young Collingwood side takes on Carlton in pre-season practice match
Majak Daw’s return for North Melbourne is a story of love and bravery, writes Mark Robinson
Luke Hodge and Wayne Carey to form part of Channel 7’s Friday night footy commentary team
THE IDEAL LEADERSHIP GROUP
There are exceptions to every leadership rule – Carlton successfully annointed Stephen Kernahan in his second year at the club, Wayne Carey was a great Kangaroos leader from a young age, and Garry Lyon was given responsibility at an early age.
Lyon told me this week he was given the role too early, and admitted he went on for two years too long as captain.
Don’t forget the two Jacks – Grimes and Trengove – who were made joint Melbourne skippers long before their time.
It was unfair to both of them.
Personally, I prefer four or five-man leadership groups. That means shorter meetings, which is important in this day and age, particularly in regard to mental health and well being.
Having said that, I understand what the Lions are doing because it is circumstancial following the retirement of Luke Hodge.
Jarryd Lyons’ inclusion is outstanding. He is a traffic cop and an on-field coach.
He’s selfless, sets up at stoppages and does it for the betterment of the team.
WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
You ask anyone and they will give you a different answer.
Here’s what I wrote when trying to define leadership in the late 1990s as I was about to embark on my coaching career.
It seems as pertinent now as it was back then.
“Leadership credibility is about connecting voice and action. It is about doing what you say you will do.”
“Leadership is the ability to get the work done with and through others, while at the same time winning their confidence, respect, loyalty and willing co-operation.
“Without exception, leaders of great groups provide direction and meaning. They remind people of what’s important and why their work makes a difference.
“They generate and sustain trust. The group’s trust in itself – and its leadership – allows them to accept dissent and helps them ride through the turbulence of the group process.
“Leaders display a bias towards action, risk-taking and curiosity, and a willingness to risk failure to achieve results, which is at the heart of every great team.
“Effective leaders find tangible and symbolic ways to demonstrate that the group can overcome the odds.”
Just as Shawry did at Victoria Park all those years ago.
Originally published as Mick McGuane has his say on pre-season leadership moves and voting