AFL 2021: Hawthorn appoints Rob McCartney as new footy boss
Hawthorn has appointed a successor for departed general manager of football Graham Wright, settling on a candidate familiar to the club.
Richmond
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A former principal of Shepparton’s Guthrie Street Primary School is Hawthorn’s new head of football.
Rob McCartney, who has been acting in the role since Graham Wright quit to join Collingwood, has a wealth of experience having previously been the Hawks head of football operations and also their head of development.
Hawks chief Justin Reeves said McCartney was a “wise and intelligent leader with a fantastic ability to inspire teams and people”
“We are proud to be able to promote from within for such an integral position at our club,” Reeves said.
“Having been GM – Football Operations and most recently acting Head of Football, Rob has done an amazing apprenticeship that has given him the foundations to hit the ground running in this role.
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“He presented an incredibly strong vision for the future of our football program and we feel that his expertise and character place him perfectly to lead our football department in achieving that vision.
“The process that led to Rob’s appointment was extensive and attracted a broad range of experienced candidates from various backgrounds.
“It is testament to Rob and his capabilities, that amongst an incredibly strong field of candidates it was a unanimous decision that he was the right person for the job.”
His appointment comes after the Herald Sun on Tuesday reported one of the AFL’s most influential player agents would be part of Hawthorn’s search for Wright’s replacement.
TLA Australia’s Tom Petroro was a somewhat surprise inclusion on the Hawks’ selection committee, given he would be discussing player issues and potentially negotiating contracts with whomever the winning candidate is.
It’s understood Hawthorn was keen to tap into Petroro’s vast network and get feedback on who he thought would be the best candidates.
Petroro looks after several Hawks footballers, including vice-captain Jaeger O’Meara, reigning club champion Jack Gunston and Chad Wingard.
Hawthorn and Petroro chose not to comment when the Herald Sun contacted them.
Wright was a linchpin in the Hawks’ most-recent glory era, helping build the list that won four premierships and played in five Grand Finals under Alastair Clarkson in an extraordinary eight-season period.
He became the Hawthorn’s head of football at the start of 2018 – replacing the short-lived Jason Burt, after Chris Fagan accepted the Brisbane coaching job – but will now fill the same position at Collingwood.
The Hawks announced in mid-January that Wright had resigned “to explore other opportunities” and he was soon unveiled as Geoff Walsh’s replacement at the Magpies.
Wright was a star playing member in Collingwood’s 1990 flag-winning side.
What made Wright’s influence even greater at Hawthorn was he was the football and list boss, giving him a huge say in everything that went on. It’s unlikely his successor will have the dual roles.
Rob McCartney is filling Wright’s vacancy in an interim capacity, while national recruiting manager Mark McKenzie is considered the favourite to inherit the list manager role.
HARDWICK LOOKS TO LOCK DOWN FUTURE
– Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Richmond is in discussions to renew triple premiership coach Damien Hardwick’s contract.
Hardwick’s contract expires at the end of this season and the Tigers have started early talks with his management about a new multi-year deal to remain at Punt Road beyond 2021.
Hardwick’s position as senior coach of the Tigers had been questioned in the wake of his relationship with a staffer at the club, but in January Richmond said the staffer was not in the football department and did not violate club policy.
The club also said that Hardwick would remain coach of the reigning premiers this year, and were confident his new relationship would not impact the team.
The former Essendon and Port Adelaide premiership player and Hawthorn assistant coach took over at the Tigers in 2010 and after some tough years in a rebuild Hardwick has transformed Richmond into a side that has won three out of the last four premierships.
After they defeated Geelong in Brisbane to claim their latest flag, Hardwick said it would have been an easy decision to sack him before 2017.
“The easiest thing for (CEO) Brendan (Gale) to do at the end of 2016 was to sack me. He stood behind me, pushed me up the hill and got me where we needed to go, so I’m incredibly appreciative of it,” Hardwick said.
Much of the credit at Hardwick’s impact in turning the Tigers into a competition powerhouse has been levelled at the relationships he has been able to build with his players.
Older, wiser Dusty showing no signs of slowing down
- Jay Clark
Richmond superstar Dustin Martin will start the season in excellent condition after showing on the training track this summer he was hungry for more success.
Tigers’ high performance chief Peter Burge confirmed the squad was in good shape heading into the new season with only three players currently in the rehabilitation group.
Ruckman Ivan Soldo and youngster Noah Cumberland are both out with serious knee injuries, while Bachar Houli is in doubt for Round 1 with the calf problem he suffered in the Grand Final.
Gun midfielder Dion Prestia also tweaked his ankle in match simulation last week, but is expected to be back in full training next week.
It means Richmond is pleased with its fitness bill four months after taking out back-to-back premierships, in another big tick for its strength and conditioning department.
And even as Martin prepares to turn 30 this year, Burge said the champion ballwinner had enjoyed another outstanding pre-season campaign and was showing no signs of slowing down.
“He’s been pretty impressive, ‘Dusty’,” Burge said.
“He would hate for me to be talking him up, but for someone who has achieved so much in the past few years you could excuse someone maybe for just taking their foot off the pedal.
“But he has done the opposite.
“He doesn’t miss training, he is always looking to do more, and he’s just really impressive.”
Martin, 29, cemented his reputation as one of the greatest big game players in AFL history in the Tigers’ third premiership win in four years, taking out his third Norm Smith Medal.
Burge said even after a decent session on Monday at Punt Rd Oval, Martin was keen to do more.
“He asked me afterwards if he could do a (extra) fartlek (interval running) session,” Burge said.
“I said ‘Mate you don’t need to do it today, you’ve got a pretty heavy session coming up’, but quite often he will do something anyway because he likes to maintain that high standard.
“He’s older and he’s more mature and he really enjoys being around his teammates given COVID and all of the restrictions.
“He gets a real lift coming in to the club and training. It’s his outlet and he loves it.”
Houli, 32, pinged his calf in the opening five minutes of the Grand Final victory but bravely played out the game despite significant soreness.
That courage has come at a price over summer with the premiership veteran suffering a couple of hiccups which has put him under a cloud for the blockbuster season opener against Carlton on March 18.
Burge said it had been a frustrating pre-season for Houli, while the rest of the squad was quite healthy.
“He did a fair job of it (calf injury) to be honest. In the warm up he reported a bit of an issue with it, and the first five minutes it wasn’t any good,” Burge said.
“He could barely walk on it the next day.
“But it has just been really difficult to get to each (new) stage (in the recovery) with it.
“He’s had a few hiccups along the way and we are battling a little bit to be honest, with it.
“It is very hard for us to put a time frame on it and I don’t want to rule him out for Round 1, but he has got some work to do before then.”
The Tigers want to give their senior stars decent match time in the unofficial scratch match against Melbourne later this month at Casey Fields and then in the formal AAMI Community Series game against Collingwood on Friday, March 5 at Marvel Stadium.
Prestia did some running away from the main group at training on Monday after tweaking an ankle, but it is only a minor issue, Burge said.
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