Building a dynasty: AFL coaching veteran Brendan McCartney on developing teens to stars
The Tigers have drafted a significant foundation for their future, and a former AFL coach says Adem Yze has the keys to possibly the next great dynasty, if he can mould the young guns.
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In the early 2000s, the projector would come on in Mark Thompson’s office and the class would be in session.
As the coach universally known as “Bomber” led Geelong in its full commitment to developing a talented young crop, Thompson’s office was the place to be if you wanted to learn.
Brendan McCartney was at Kardinia Park in those years as an assistant coach as the Cats dug into developing a draft crop from 1999 and 2001 that included future club legends like Joel Corey, Cameron Ling, Paul Chapman, Corey Enright, Jimmy Bartel, James Kelly, Steve Johnson and Gary Ablett.
“I think back through the years to the role ‘Bomber’ played in their lives as footballers early on,” McCartney said.
“Back then he was just light years ahead of what coaches were teaching their players. He had a big projector screen put in his office and he had vision that he would show them and he would point to players and tell them where they needed to go.”
From the very top, Geelong was all the way in on development as CEO Brian Cook, recruiter Stephen Wells and coach Thompson agreed to stay patient.
McCartney came to the Cattery at the same time as the foundation crop from the 1999 draft.
He went on to a long coaching journey that has included the gig as Western Bulldogs head coach, a recent part-time job at Collingwood around the Pies’ 2023 flag and now the head coach of VFL club Port Melbourne.
He also runs Player Coach, a business bringing the coaching basics to local and junior footballers.
Those early years in the 2000s built what became a dynasty for Geelong and that first step down the road is where Richmond finds itself right now.
The Tigers draft haul of seven players selected in the top 28 picks has already become famous, the question is whether it goes into footy folklore as a masterstroke or infamy as a flop.
Thinking back to Thompson’s role, McCartney believes Tigers coach Adem Yze has it in his hands to lead the way.
And Yze will need to be backed from the top, like Cook did at Geelong.
“(Thompson) accepted the responsibility as senior coach to say ‘I have to teach these boys how to train and play because what they grow up to be is what our club is going to be’,” McCartney said.
“There was a batch of 15 or 16 of them over a few years and that was the guts of those premierships and his stamp was all over them.
“The senior coach as Richmond, it is going to be a big job for him because he is trying to win games every week, but Adem has to put a stamp on these guys. And I am sure he will.”
THE BASICS
Even with seven first-round choices walking into Punt Road, the young Tigers will need to start from the ground up.
Teens these days are better equipped when they pull up to club car parks in their P-plated cars than in past generations but McCartney has rarely seen any player walk into the AFL as a genuine ready-made product.
“There is less than you could count on one hand who I have seen come in and adapt and deal with the game straight off,” he said.
“Every first year is tough for a player. They are managing their own expectations, they are managing external expectations and their family who want them to do well.”
So, it is best to start with the basics.
“It’s watching them move, watching them play,” McCartney said.
“They will always have things in their game that come quite naturally to them, so I always left that alone.
“The little things in their game, I have always viewed it as what can embarrass them. What is going to trip them up. And generally, if there are holes in their game, the game will find it pretty quickly at that level.”
Most importantly, these Tigers will need to stick together.
Geelong’s rebuild was seemingly over relatively quickly when the young Cats made a preliminary final in 2004.
But a horror 2006 threatened to blow the club up, with Thompson just surviving a review and Johnson almost traded to Collingwood.
Hawthorn’s mighty 2004 draft – selecting Jarryd Roughead, Jordan Lewis and Lance Franklin, followed by role players like Simon Taylor and rookie Clinton Young – paid off with the 2008 flag.
But the Hawks almost splintered when they missed finals in 2009 and it took until 2013 to again climb the mountain.
“It is sort of educating them on the value of having a career together,” McCartney said.
“It is a tricky thing.
“They all have incredible abilities compared to the average player, that is why they get taken early and in Richmond’s case, in the first round. Slap that to a team and that is not a natural thing for a young player, it takes time.
“The reality is, when playing against older players and older bodies it is survival of the fittest at times.”
MIGHTY MENTORS
Those there during Geelong’s great era often point back to a VFL flag won in 2002.
That seconds side featured the fresh faces who became multiple AFL premiership players in\f Chapman, Johnson, Kelly, Ablett, Bartel and Josh Hunt.
It also featured veterans like Tim McGrath, Mitchell White and David Mencsh.
Hawks players in the build to Alastair Clarkson’s dominant run often think back on the importance of veterans like Richie Vandenberg, Shane Crawford, John Barker and Ben Dixon on their development.
Tigers like Toby Nankervis, Jayden Short, Tom Lynch, Dion Prestia, Nathan Broad, Nick Vlastuin and Kamdyn McIntosh have all enjoyed flag success.
Now they have to give back.
“I know Richmond are really well set up culturally and they are going to have to be because they will have a big reliance on Nick Vlastuin and Dion Prestia and older boys like Tom Lynch,” McCartney said.
“They are going to be really, really important. Early days for us at Geelong, Tim McGrath, Sholly (Brad Sholl), they were fantastic for our young group. When they won that VFL flag, they were great. They were hard on the young blokes but they played with them and showed them and got them sorted.”
Richmond has so far picked the juiciest fruit off the tree but the Tigers will need to hit on players drafted in later rounds to build a strong team.
The Hawks had Sam Mitchell (pick 36, 2001), Luke Breust (47, 2008 rookie draft) and Ben Stratton (46, 2009).
The Cats nailed picks on Ling (38, 1999), Enright (47, 1999), Mathew Stokes (61, 2005) and Max Rooke (41, 2000).
McCartney has no hesitation when he names Enright as his favourite development success, the skinny kid from South Australian town Kimba who played 332 games and became one of the best half-backers of all time.
“‘Boris’ (Enright) was the one. He was just created out of his own discipline and desire to be a good player,” McCartney said.
“He was motivated by being a good teammate. He wanted to play in a team and contribute, that was his nature. That motivated him.
“He was born out of just incredible hard work and underneath it was this incredible ability to see the game, which wasn’t obvious but grew out of the work he put into his game.”
HITS AND MISSES
The Richmond recruiters poured hours and hours into likely the most consequential draft in club history, even as beloved recruiting boss Chris Toce lost a hard-fought battle with cancer.
The new Tigers players rightfully celebrated their success on draft night but the real hard work was yet to begin.
“Getting drafted, I always say, is the easy bit,” McCartney said.
“Having a substantial career that is fulfilling and being part of a strong culture and a strong club, that is the hard bit. That is where the work really starts.”
In December, every club thinks their recent draft haul was a success.
Exactly 20 years ago on the night the Hawks set up a dynasty, the Tigers drafted five players in the top 20 – Brett Deledio, Richard Tambling, Danny Meyer, Adam Pattison, Dean Polo.
“Certainly from Richmond’s perspective we’re absolutely ecstatic. We did a lot of homework in our first round draft selection as every club does,” Tigers coach Terry Wallace said then.
Deledio became a star for the Tigers but all five players finished their careers elsewhere and none played in a winning final in the yellow and black.
Essendon tried to make gold out of a player exodus in 2020 when they ended up with three first-rounders in a row.
The jury is out on No.8 Nik Cox, No.9 Archie Perkins has shown some signs but needs to improve and No.10 Zach Reid has been perpetually injured.
Not every club can pull it off like Geelong and Hawthorn did.
But good drafting needs to be backed by good development.
“I’m really looking forward to watching them grow,” McCartney said.
“I think it is going to be a fascinating study and it is so brave, I applaud them. I think it is good for footy.”
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