Collingwood’s defenders believe Justin Longmuir is a potential future AFL senior coach
COLLINGWOOD defender Tom Langdon has lauded defensive coach Justin Longmuir as a certain senior-coach-in-waiting after masterminding the Pies’ miserly defence.
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COLLINGWOOD defender Tom Langdon has lauded defensive coach Justin Longmuir as a certain senior-coach-in-waiting after masterminding the Pies’ miserly defence.
Longmuir crossed from West Coast this year after spending time as a development coach and forwards coach during the 2015 Grand Final and Adam Simpson’s senior assistant last year.
Collingwood players rave about Longmuir’s ability to distil complex tactics and set a game plan the players can carry out.
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Pies defender Brayden Maynard labelled the Pies defence a “shambles” last year, and while he could have chosen his words better, the ability of players to buy into an 18-man defence has been a key to the club’s resurgence.
“Justin has been incredible. I can’t speak more highly of Justin,” Langdon told the Herald Sun.
“He has come in and influenced the whole group. He has spoken to Bucks and together they have come up with a game plan that works for us.
“I think it will just be a matter of time before (being a senior coach) happens to him.
“He sees the game incredibly well and he’s definitely been a huge supporter of all the guys.
“That is inevitable over time but at the moment he’s just helping us win a flag this year.”
“Our game plan has been relatively simple where in the past there might have been aspects that might have confused guys a lot. But it’s a simple game plan which guys can execute every single week, and that goes a long way to success.”
Langdon put Maynard’s remark in context, saying the Pies chopped and changed at times last year in search of a better defensive system.
“That is a strong word. I think when you start losing, people can lose track a bit.
“You just start questioning if the game plan is going to get you success.
“When you lose games guys decide to tinker with things and I think that is what he was referring to, constant changes in terminology and adding different information.
“Guys would rock up on a Monday and say, “I haven’t heard that before, now I have to implement that. This year it is exactly the same every week.
“There is a slide that comes up four times a week and everyone is absolutely sick of it but it’s about consistency of message and it allows guys to have real clarity when they go out there.”
Longmuir said this week he was loving his time at Collingwood, thrilled the playing group had taken up
“I suppose there is the exhilaration of getting to the Grand Final and to lose it in the way we did was heartbreaking. You are more heartbroken for the players because you know how much effort and time and hard work they put in. I am sure that still burns in their gut. It still burns in mine.”
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