Glenn’s 10: The 10 greatest coaches in the history of the VFL/AFL — in order
WHO is the greatest coach in the history of the VFL-AFL? Glenn McFarlane makes the hard calls and names the top 10. VOTE AND HAVE YOUR SAY
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THIS week’s passing of Tom Hafey gave football fans a none-too-subtle reminder of the impact our greatest coaches have had on their players and the game itself over more than a century.
Hafey’s contribution to four clubs — but predominantly to Richmond — was enormous. As a leader of men on and off the field, he changed the lives of those around him, but also helped to change the game that was his life.
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That’s the definition of a great coach — a man who provides not only an example and direction for those under him, but also those who impacted on the game.
Hafey did all of that, and more.
So it seems an appropriate time to look at where the Richmond, Collingwood, Geelong and Sydney coach might sit in the pantheon from the past.
It’s a nightmare choosing the 10 top coaches of all-time, and it’s true that some of those men who were coaching royalty sit JUST outside the top 10.
One of them was ridiculously stiff. John Kennedy Sr. is a coaching legend of the highest order. If we could have had a Glenn’s 11, he would be there.
He made such a compelling impact on Hawthorn that there is a statue of him at Waverley Park, as there should be.
It’s clearly a subjective issue, but this investigation of the champion coaches takes into account their overall coaching record; premiership and finals successes; how they impacted on the players around them and the club; whether they were able to do it at multiple coaches as well as what sort of impact they had on shaping the game.
Anyway, here goes on the most difficult Glenn’s 10 subject this season ...
1. Jock McHale (Collingwood)
Controversially missed out on coaching spot in the AFL Team of the Century in 1996, but has the most imposing record in the game. Coached for 38 seasons across an astonishing 714 games for eight premierships and 27 finals series. Won a remarkable 65 per cent of his game. Still the most famous name at Collingwood more than 60 years after his death. And premiership coaches receive the Jock McHale Medal. Enough said.
2. Norm Smith (Melbourne)
Was chosen as the coach of the Team of the Century. A disciplinarian who towered over the game and produced a Demons dynasty through the mid-1950s and early 1960s. Won five premierships across seven consecutive Grand Finals before adding a sixth flag in 1964. He and his immensely talented brother Len helped to change the game. Was sensationally sacked in 1965 before being reinstated and Melbourne has not won a flag since. Then took South Melbourne to its first finals series in 25 years.
3. Tom Hafey (Richmond/Collingwood/Geelong/Sydney)
Put the roar back into Tigerland through the late 1960s and early 1970s, making the club the most feared of the era. Channelled his own belief in hard work and physical fitness into his teams. Won four flags as coach of Richmond and then lifted Collingwood from the bottom to a Grand Final in 1977. Took the Magpies to Grand Finals in four of his five completed seasons — for four losses and a draw. Then had stints at Geelong and Sydney. Had a 70 per cent winning record at Richmond, and 64 per cent overall.
4. Ron Barassi (Carlton/North Melbourne/Melbourne/Sydney)
One of football’s great innovators, this Norm Smith protégé changed the game, winning two flags at Carlton (ending a 20-year drought) and winning North Melbourne’s first two premierships. The greatest Grand Final comeback in history — the Blues overcame a 44-point half-time deficit in 1970 — came from his demand that the team play on and handball at all costs. Failed in his five-year stint at Melbourne and only came out of retirement in early 1990s to help an ailing Sydney. Still has a 54 per cent winning record, despite his years with the struggling Demons and Swans.
5. Kevin Sheedy (Essendon/Greater Western Sydney)
Tom Hafey’s most famous coaching graduate. Sheedy’s football brain and his ability to think outside the football square saw him spend 27 seasons as coach of Essendon before sacrificing his winning percentage to be the inaugural coach of Greater Western Sydney. Won four premierships for the Bombers across three decades, and probably could have won more. Demanded his players be more versatile, opened the recruiting lines to indigenous Australians and continued to adapt to changing times. His overall figure of 57 per cent was cut from 61 per cent when his Giants years are included.
6. Allan Jeans (St Kilda/Hawthorn/Richmond)
Lifted perennial cellar dwellers St Kilda out of the doldrums and remains the only man to have coached the Saints to a premiership, in 1966. His players revered him and that occurred too at Hawthorn. Jeans coached the Hawks to three flags — 1983, ‘86 and ‘89 — with his absence in 1988 coming only because a brain haemorrhage meant he had a season on the sidelines. A struggling one-season stint at Richmond cut into his winning percentage, which still sits at 63 per cent.
7. Leigh Matthews (Collingwood/Brisbane Lions)
One of the game’s greatest players became one of the game’s greatest coaches. Matthews’ four flags as coach were remarkable because of the degree of degree. The first came with Collingwood in 1990, after a 32-year drought. Then he took on the Brisbane Lions and took a flag to Queensland for the first time, but more than that, he engineered a dynasty of three consecutive flags before just missing out on a fourth successive flags. Had a 58 per cent winning record.
8. Jack Worrall (Carlton/Essendon)
Might surprise a few, but the man who was the first officially appointed coach holds an imposing record. Worrall was the man who gave coaching its currency. He coached the Blues to three successive premierships (1906-08) before reinventing himself at Essendon where he won two more flags. The best coach of the first 25 years of the VFL competition.
9. David Parkin (Hawthorn/Carlton/Fitzroy)
Parkin had a magnificent mentor, John Kennedy, and yet would end up coaching more premiership than his great teacher. He coached the Hawks to the 1978 flag before gaining back-to-back premierships at Carlton in 1981-82. Then, like Sheedy, he was able to win a flag in a third decade, when in a second stint with the Blues, he helped them win the 1995 flag. Took three different clubs to finals series and had a 59 per cent winning record.
10. Mick Malthouse (Footscray/West Coast/Collingwood/Carlton)
This year Malthouse will become only the second man in history to pass the 700-game mark, and next year he will pass Jock McHale’s record of 714 games. But it is not just about longevity. Malthouse has coached three flags (1992, ‘94 and 2010) and took all four clubs he has coached to finals series. In his 29 completed seasons, he has played in 20 finals series. The Eagles never missed a finals series under him.
THE NEXT IN LINE...
John Kennedy (Hawthorn/North Melbourne)
Incredibly stiff to miss out, and would clearly have been the next in. Three flags, including Hawthorn’s inaugural premiership in 1961 and a 57 per cent winning record. An icon of the game.
Frank ‘Checker’ Hughes (Richmond/Melbourne)
Did it at two clubs. Five flags, including one at Richmond (1932) and four with Melbourne (1939-41, 48). 65 per cent strike rate.
Dick Reynolds (Essendon)
Won four flags with the Bombers, but was seen to have so much talent at his disposal that it perhaps should have been more. Great winning percentage of 67.
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