The most memorable coaching sprays and meltdowns in the VFL/AFL
Coaching an AFL team is stressful and it’s only a matter of time before emotions boil over, sometimes spectacularly. From Ron Barassi to Kevin Sheedy to Mick Malthouse, here are some of the best outbursts from the game.
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No player enjoys being on the receiving end of a withering coaching spray, although they can be mesmerising viewing.
And there’s been some unbelievable outbursts that are stamped in footy folklore.
Ron Barassi was one of the most feared coaches and that reputation likely grew because there is so much footage and audio of him unleashing an emotionally-charged tirade.
Of the current era coaches, Alastair Clarkson has lost his cool on numerous occasions and Rodney Eade was known as “Rocket” for a reason.
Some coaches are calmer than others but the pressure of the job will eventually bring out a demonstration of rage.
Here are some of the great coaching outbursts the game has seen.
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KEVIN SHEEDY
Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy added another chapter to his rivalry with West Coast when he made a throat-slitting gesture to Mitchell White in 2000.
White had been involved in an off-the-ball incident with Mark Johnson shortly before halftime, which left the Bomber sprawled on the ground at the then-named Colonial Stadium.
As soon as the siren rang, Sheedy stormed on to field and headed for White and launched an expletive-laden tirade while running his finger across his throat and pounding his fist into the palm of his other hand.
Sheedy claimed he did not see the White-Johnson clash but said a seagull had flown into Johnson’s eye.
He was fined $7500 and later apologised to White.
MICK MALTHOUSE
Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse was fined $7500 for an ugly slur towards St Kilda forward Stephen Milne at quarter-time in a clash at Etihad Stadium in 2010.
Milne had reportedly mouthed off at Malthouse about his age which led to the Magpies coach’s savage response.
Malthouse initially denied anything untoward was said in his post-match press conference but later issued an apology via a club-released statement.
Milne was also fined $3000.
ALASTAIR CLARKSON
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson had to be restrained as he gave Essendon forward Matthew Lloyd a mouthful after a fiery match in the final round of 2009.
Clarkson was livid after Lloyd knocked out Brad Sewell in what would be Lloyd’s last game after he was suspended for four weeks.
It was later revealed that Clarkson told Lloyd he should retire as he hurled obscenities at the end of the game after Essendon had taken the last finals spot at Hawthorn’s expense.
After his anger had subsided, Clarkson rang sport radio station SEN to express his regret over his antics and for refusing a handshake from Jobe Watson.
“That’s just the passion of the game. My blood was boiling and unfortunately I allowed that to spill over,” Clarkson said.
“I think he (Watson) was shaping up to shake my hand and with my blood boiling it was the last thing I wanted to do. It wasn’t the way we wanted to end our season.
“I can’t remember (what I said to him) but it was not too kind I wouldn’t have thought.”
MALCOLM BLIGHT
Malcolm Blight was only two games into his Adelaide Crows reign when he put his entire squad on notice after a 28-point loss to Richmond in 1997 and the scapegoat was ruckman David Pittman.
Blight labelled Pittman “the most pathetic ruckman I’ve seen in my entire life in footy” in an extraordinary post-match outburst.
Pittman had earlier copped an earful from Blight at the quarter-time huddle before he was dragged from the field for the rest of the game.
The public humiliation was a deliberate ploy by Blight as he set about changing the culture at the Crows, but finishing the season as premiers was even beyond his expectations.
RON BARASSI
North Melbourne premiership coach Ron Barassi ripped into defender Darryl Sutton during the top of the ladder clash against Carlton at Arden St in 1979.
Both teams kicked six goals in the opening quarter but Barassi was filthy with his leaky defence and Sutton was his first target at quarter-time.
“Darryl, you’re a bloody disgrace. I’ll tell you why. You’ve got the bloody football game beaten. You’ve come down here, not concentrating … I don’t mind a bloke going bad, Darryl, but to me it’s probably because you’re bloody not switched on properly,” barked Barassi in a scene from the 1980 documentary War Without Weapons.
Sutton appears in the vision maintaining eye contact with Barassi while he gets berated.
Barassi soon turned the blowtorch on Keith Greig.
“Keith … You could have run and intercepted that first goal … and you probably don’t know what I’m talking about, do you? That’s bloody right.”
Barassi then shouted to the entire group: “Now if you blokes think I’m fed up you’re bloody right.”
TERRY WALLACE
While many long-suffering Footscray fans were prepared to accept gallant defeats, new coach Terry Wallace wasn’t going to cop honourable losses, and he made that point very clear in his famous post-match address after a loss to Collingwood in 1996.
The Bulldogs were down 8.3 to 1.1 at quarter-time and ended up losing by a goal.
Wallace was furious with the first-quarter effort and his paint-stripping spray after the game included the memorable line: “If I see one bloke walk out of this room and get a pat on the back for a good effort, I’ll spew up.”
JOHN NORTHEY
A fuming John Northey shouted “Don’t you ever do that again” as a downcast Jim Stynes entered the Melbourne rooms after the 1987 preliminary final against Hawthorn.
In just his 13th game, Stynes conceded a 15m penalty in the dying seconds after running across the mark which handed Gary Buckenara an easier shot at goal.
The after-the-siren goal denied Melbourne its first Grand Final berth in 23 years and Northey scolded the young Irishman in the immediate aftermath. It was a moment captured in a famous photo that showed Stynes with his head bowed.
BRENTON SANDERSON
Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson was livid with several players at quarter-time against the Western Bulldogs in 2013.
Sanderson “pointed the finger at about six or seven guys” and gave full back Ben Rutten a forceful poke to the chest.
The Bulldogs booted seven goals in the first quarter at Etihad Stadium before Sanderson blasted certain players.
Sanderson would later regret his actions, saying he “probably went a bit over the top” and “is a bit disappointed I let myself get to that level”.
KEN SHELDON
St Kilda forward Craig Devonport was dragged from the field after a costly mistake and was shocked coach Ken Sheldon was waiting for him on the boundary line.
Sheldon left the coaches’ box to deliver his message to Devonport face-to-face, grabbing his player’s jumper from over the fence during the Queen’s Birthday clash in 1992.
Devonport described the public tongue-lashing in front of more than 80,000 people as “scary”.
“He was there waiting for me. I looked up and there were his big eyes looking at me. He is a scary man, so he certainly got the point through to me. He just grabbed me and got his point through,” Devonport said after the match.
Sheldon refused to reveal what he said to Devonport but said he chose to make his point in person because there was “nothing like a steely look in the eyes”.
Whatever was said worked as Devonport kicked the matchwinning goal as the Saints won by one point.
NATHAN BUCKLEY
Reviving memories of Ken Sheldon’s infamous spray, an animated Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley confronted ruckman Jarrod Witts on the bench against Hawthorn in 2014.
Buckley grabbed Witts by the jumper and demanded a better effort at the centre bounces as the Hawks started to take control of the contest.
Witts sat down before copping another serve from Buckley, who later conceded he overstepped the mark with his boundary-line exchange.
RON BARASSI II
It may be funny to watch now, but the oft-played footage of Melbourne coach Ron Barassi bellowing down the phone “Healy off, Ellingworth on. Bloody weak as piss” wasn’t a laughing matter for 21-year-old Gerard Healy at the time.
Writing for the Herald Sun in 2005, Healy explained Barassi thought he should have made a better contest when he was tripped and went to ground early in the first quarter in the opening round of the 1982 season.
Still seething at the quarter-time huddle, Barassi made a beeline for Healy to deliver another spray, demanding “you give me stats and I’ll shut up”.
Healy, playing on a half-forward flank in a struggling Melbourne team, managed just 15 disposals and Barassi unloaded again after the match.
“When Barassi had finished I was so well toasted on both sides that I headed to the shower to try to hide the tears running down my cheeks,” Healy wrote.
BRAD SCOTT
Majak Daw heard the message loud and clear after North Melbourne coach Brad Scott let loose on the ruckman during a loss to Essendon in 2017.
The tirade was shown on TV when Daw was summoned to the bench and handed the headphones before a furious Scott began yelling down the phone.
Daw had been pushed around by Bombers’ ruckman Tom Bellchambers and took on board Scott’s demand for him to play with more aggression.
“It was a fair spray but I can understand where Brad’s coming from. He wants the best out of me and I think someone like me, I’ve got a pretty thick skin,” Daw said.
“ … We’ve spoken, we’ve had a laugh about it, but I think for me it was turning that spray into ‘What can I work on during the week? What can I do with the ruck coach and the midfield coach?’ So I guess it’s about learning really from it.”
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ALASTAIR CLARKSON II
When his team conceded a sloppy goal just seconds before quarter-time, Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson released his frustration by punching a hole in the wall in the MCG coaches’ box.
Clarkson thumped his left hand through the plastering during the clash against Collingwood in 2012 after Matt Suckling turned the ball over from a kick-in and resulted in a Chris Tarrant goal.
Television cameras captured Clarkson’s moment of madness and the Hawks had to pay the $800 repair bill, although the Hawthorn coach offered to patch-up the wall.
“I thought everything in the MCG was brick or concrete. The old man was a builder and did a lot of plastering in his journeys. He has been retired for about 20 years so I’ll have to pull him out of retirement this week and get him to fix that wall up,” he said.
Hawthorn led by 16 points at the first break and went on to win by 47 points.
MICK MALTHOUSE II
In his penultimate game as West Coast coach in 1999, Mick Malthouse seemed more emotional after the Eagles’ upset qualifying final victory against Western Bulldogs than the club’s 1992 and 1994 premiership successes.
Malthouse injured his hand after repeatedly thumping the bench in the MCG coaches’ box and also banged his head against the wall as the Bulldogs threatened to steal a match the Eagles had controlled.
West Coast football Rod Lester-Smith, who was on the bench with the earphones that night, clarified Malthouse did not break a finger nor suffer concussion but said: “He was screaming so much I ended up with a migraine.”
ROBERT WALLS
Fitzroy coach Robert Walls launched a blistering verbal blast at Essendon forward Roger Merrett at halftime of the 1983 first semi-final.
Walls was incensed after Merrett felled Harris during the second quarter, and also remonstrated with Bombers players and officials over the incident.
“I was ropeable and at halftime ran hard to the players’ race to vent my anger at Merrett. Fro a sage 10 metres, I gave Merrett the best blast I could muster,” Walls wrote in The Age in 1996.
Ironically, Walls would later coach Merrett at the Brisbane Bears.
RON BARASSI III
Melbourne’s Shane Zantuck had to be restrained by teammates after a blow up with coach Ron Barassi at three-quarter time at Waverley in 1984.
Barassi had singled out the defender for not looking him in the eye as he gave the team a tirade at the huddle in the match against Essendon.