Ratings: Which AFL coach is the best media performer?
YOU know about the real ladder, but which coaches shine in the media spotlight? Who performs best when the cameras and microphones are on? Jay Clark ranks the senior coaches on their media game from 1-18.
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YOU know about the real ladder, but which coaches shine in the media spotlight? Footy fans love getting interesting and engaging insights into their clubs and on-field heroes.
So who performs best when the cameras and microphones are on?
Jay Clark ranks the senior coaches on their media game.
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18. Brendon Bolton
Once upon a time Brendon Bolton appeared to be the happiest man in football when he briefly took over from Alastair Clarkson when he was unwell for a month in 2014. But the smile is gone from his face at Ikon Park, and that’s understandable because he is working his backside off to get the Blues up the ladder. But the same-old cliches and corporate speak don’t grab any attention and often the Blues’ press conferences have an awkward feel. Maybe Blues fans would prefer real insight into the blood sweat and tears of it all. Perhaps no one will care if they just won some games.
17. John Worsfold
“Not sure, I’ll have to give that more thought.” It’s one of Woosha’s favourite lines which stifles any difficult or problematic topic. It’s quite smart, but doesn’t lend itself to back page copy or leading news bulletins. Essendon has probably enjoyed being out of the public spotlight for a while and while things have been hot and cold on the field this season there is no doubt Woosha’s appointment, and recent extension, has been a great move by the club. But his press conferences won’t blow anyone’s socks off, and that’s the way he likes it most of the time. The only recent exception was when he boxed on with a Channel 9 reporter earlier in the year about the team’s ordinary form. Angry Woosha was a bit of a nice change from straight-bat Woosha.
16. Don Pyke
Generally, Don Pyke is a straight-shooter and normally he is pretty open, expansive and generous with his game day explanations. He was also strong in his belief on the Jake Lever situation last year, telling media he would have trouble playing any of his senior players who had already made the decision to leave the club at season’s end. It was a thought-provoking discussion. But this season has been more difficult and Pyke has been pretty prickly at times trying to control the messaging around the disastrous preseason camp. Initially, the Crows wished the issue away, but it festered for too long. The Saturday press conference was quite awkward, but at least it put a bit of an end to the discussion around it.
15. John Longmire
Horse gets worked up in the coach’s box from time to time (screaming into his hand), but in press conferences and interviews he is as low-key and as restrained as it gets. He cruises through interviews on autopilot, maybe because he knows what the questions are before they’re even asked. Mostly, he likes to avoid the controversy and headlines, and that’s fair enough. Horse has an enormous amount of respect across the league.
14. Leon Cameron
Was upfront about the Giants’ struggles this year and has stood up for his players and the club in the face of searing scrutiny at times. Off-Broadway up there at Spotless Stadium so doesn’t get a huge amount of cut-through in Melbourne, but is always engaging and available, which is a big tick in a new market. Loved that he was able to take the mickey out of himself dressing up as a F1 driver for Neale Daniher’s Freeze MND slide.
13. Alan Richardson
Been a tough year for the Saints and we commend Richo for fronting up each week and not dodging any of the hard questions about the club’s disappointing on-field performance. It seems there are going to be big changes off the field at St Kilda that will hopefully give the senior coach more support. Tries to keep most things positive about his team and others issues in the media space, but it was interesting that he raised an eyebrow at Bernie Vince’s interaction with Paddy Dangerfield after the siren last weekend.
12. Stuart Dew
He’s been good in the media in his first year, Dewy, offering up very honest commentary on the state of the Suns throughout the year. Look no further than last week when he conceded Tom Lynch was most likely out the door. From the top brass down, the club should have probably taken a stand on the issue much earlier. He was also matter of fact about Lynch’s Collingwood visit this week, saying it’s unsurprising these things happen. “We certainly knew that time would come. Clubs need to be informed.” For all of the Suns’ issues, the coach isn’t one of them. They have been slaughtered by injury and played away throughout the first half of the season. By the looks of it, he’s a good man for the toughest job in footy.
11. Adam Simpson
He’s a low-key media figure but the tears and genuine emotion for Nic Naitanui last week was raw and compelling. We all felt the club’s pain on that one. He often plays a straight bat in the media but still comes across as laid-back and approachable which is exactly the kind of person he is. Simmo is a cool customer in the coaches box and we like it when he opens the shoulders a bit in the media, taking on the match review and Ross Glendinning Medal controversy this year.
10. Luke Beveridge
The stress levels look to have gone up a cog at the kennel and, from afar, it does seem to be showing on the coach, but he’s not on his own in that respect at Whitten Oval. It’s a mystery how the Dogs have gone from flag to flailing in two seasons and Bevo would be feeling as frustrated as anyone. The public stoush with Damian Barrett, rightly or wrongly, took an unsavoury turn last week and you can understand why the coach is so fiercely protective of his players, especially Tom Boyd (who has been rightfully applauded for his interview about his mental health struggles this week). To be fair to Luke, he is one of the most decent people in the caper and has enormous respect across the industry, and especially those he has worked alongside. He is a master relationship builder and his brilliant coaching led the Dogs to an-against-all-odds premiership in 2016. We saw the best of him that year and he opened everyone’s eyes to the value of synergy, emotional connectedness, support and love within a football club. And Richmond took a leaf out of Bevo’s book last year. Click here for an insight into Beveridge as a person. He has been less visible in the media over the past 18 months and we get why.
9. Chris Scott
His AFL 360 appearances are must-watch television and Gerard and Robbo get the best out of him in a good-cop bad-cop kind of a way. Chris doesn’t hold back, taking on Alastair Clarkson (about Joel Selwood’s concussion history), or league bosses (match day reports are absurd) or critics of his team. Even the slightest crinkles in stories get called out if they are not water tight, which is his right. He nailed the runner debate last week, saying Jeremy Laidler’s last-minute hanging-around was a “blatant” attempt to impact the flow of play.
8. Simon Goodwin
Here’s the thing with ‘Goody’. Most of the time he is in cruise control in press conferences because he does this kind of thing so easily. Everything is water-off-a-duck’s-back in Melbourne press conferences and given the club’s lack of recent success, you understand why that sort of stability is the club’s preferred media mode. He would want to earn his stripes before he starts making big calls on things, we get it. But this is where the Melbourne coach has surged up our charts more recently. Goodwin has dropped the two best press conference lines of the year. Firstly, he took a line from ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ when he likened the hype around the club to ‘Fugazzi’, saying “It’s a whazy, it’s a whoozy’. And then he took all sting out of the “Gentlemen’s Club’ Herald Sun headline when he wheeled out the James Bond line, saying the spy hero was “A gentleman and a killer”. Well played, Simon, well played.
7. Ken Hinkley
Would like to see and hear more of ‘Camperdown Ken’ in Melbourne because he is another who calls it as he sees it. He is a coach who has an answer for everything and talks at rapid-speed, so there’s very rarely anything left on the table in his press conferences. He’ll talk to whatever issue is presented with ease and intelligence. Yes, he left some questions unanswered about his future late last year when Gold Coast came at him, but it worked in his favour as Port rushed to put together a lucrative contract extension. He’s a smart man, ‘Camperdown’.
6. Brad Scott
Can get punchy at times, yes, but Brad Scott could be the most underrated media performer of all the coaches. Simply, if the North coach doesn’t like something, he will say so, and equally he can also give praise like few others. So, even though North may not always covet the spotlight, the senior coach is always engaging and forthright. There are usually excellent insights to be had on all parts of the game and that seems to tease his interest more than the dreary and standard questions about injury or selection. We understand that that can get boring over time. But it’s pretty clear, from a journo’s perspective if Brad respects you or not because his body language very clearly tells the story.
5. Ross Lyon
Controversial one here, as there would be plenty of media types who would think Ross the Boss is the worst performer, and certainly most feared, in the comp. Yes he can be incredibly demeaning and fire off pointless pot shots at journos (you ARE quite brilliant Shane), but if you can dig deep enough with Ross there is an obviously brilliant football mind. We see the best of him when he teams up with good mates David King, Ben Dixon, Paul Roos and Gerard Healy on Fox Footy and opens up. That’s when we get the gold. But you do have to don the flak jacket before you step into any press conference with Ross because he will poke through any holes in questions and, often, fire one straight back. Don’t be intimidated, just be thorough.
4. Damien Hardwick
More relaxed in the media now, and for good reason. Yes he gets a bit funny when journos physically enter his personal space (don’t get too close to ‘Dimma’ otherwise you will cop a spray), but his passionate defence of his players and his team over the journey give an insight into his incredibly strong bond with the playing group, which is what saved his job two years ago. He’s got more control of the short fuse these days and often goes more willingly into broadbrush topics.
3. Chris Fagan
‘Fages’ has endeared himself to the whole footy public through his media performances this year, helping bring non-Brisbane fans along for the ride up north. Always comes across as friendly and genuine in front of the cameras and he’s been an open book about Brisbane’s challenges. The Lions are an exciting young team now and Fages is the down-to-earth father figure who seems like he could give you a clip, and a cuddle, all in the same interaction. Would you play for him? Definitely.
2. Alastair Clarkson
There was a time when Clarko was probably looking to punch-on in most of his press conferences, but it appears he has changed tack this year. Clarko has been warmer and more giving in his weekly press engagements, taking on more of an elder statesman role on key issues such as the state of the game. He ripped the lid off the issue in May saying the reliance on big-bodied midfielders was making other types of players, such as nippy wingmen and key forwards extinct. That’s what makes the Hawthorn coach so compelling, that frankness, and you get the feeling in some press conferences that he would love to really tee-off on some things. He’s been matter of fact, too, about his team’s own form, dropping that line last year about “catastrophic change” at the club if their early-season form didn’t improve.
1. Nathan Buckley
He has always been a polished media performer, but we have seen the best of Bucks in the media this year. He’s been unafraid to express strong opinions and can articulately unpack all sorts of tricky issues (rules debate and mental health) with aplomb, especially on his Whateley SEN spot. Probably helps that we are not banging on about his contract every week, allowing Buckley to lower his guard somewhat and show more of himself this year. Bucks was as humble as it gets in his interview on Footy Classified this week, giving colleagues credit for Collingwood’s surge up the ladder when he could have easily made it about his own improvements, or tried to use the opportunity to level scores with people who may have potted him in the past. But there was none of that, only good grace and class. If anything, Buckley said yesterday he was being too honest over his Tom Lynch comments but we can cop that because that is what we want in the media — honesty. His home handyman tips in press conferences are also a good-natured bonus.
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