AFL 2022: Mick McGuane says Mark McVeigh should not be the Giants’ next coach as Leon Cameron’s replacement

Mark McVeigh hopes to be Greater Western Sydney’s next senior coach but Mick McGuane is cautioning the Giants against that.

Mick McGuane believes Mark McVeigh could be an AFL senior coach one day but he’s not the right man for GWS. Picture: Getty Images

Everything is trending towards Mark McVeigh not being the Giants’ next senior coach.

All the talk is that Melbourne’s senior assistant Adem Yze blew Greater Western Sydney’s top brass away with his presentation to be Leon Cameron’s successor.

Regardless, I didn’t expect McVeigh to be the Giants’ man – and that’s not necessarily a knock on the job the ex-Essendon footballer has done in the caretaker role.

The time has come for Jason McCartney, Dave Matthews and co. to freshen the place up after Cameron was in charge for almost nine years.

The man they call ‘Spike’ might have different philosophies than Cameron but has been at the club for an extended period working under the old coach, as well as overseeing the Academy previously.

Is Adem Yze (right) the Giants’ next senior coach? Picture: Getty Images

That probably counts against him here, as does the club’s 4-8 record under him, especially the disastrous performance against the Swans in the Sydney derby.

I liked elements of what I saw from McVeigh, from his strong relationship with the players, to the public and private ruthlessness he displayed in the immediate aftermath of the Swans defeat.

For what it’s worth, I thought he was a natural media performer, too, who spoke most often about the team than himself.

Seeing the positive way GWS responded on-field in the ensuing fortnight was also a tick but that 73-point loss to Sydney might have been the nail in the coffin.

His willingness to release the shackles and encourage the Giants to be more daring with their ball movement was a pleasing development after they became too dour and stagnant at the end of Cameron’s tenure.

Mark McVeigh (middle) brought fellow ex-Bombers James Hird (left) and Dean Solomon into the coaches’ box with him at the Giants. Picture: Phil Hillyard

In fact, they are the No.1 team for using the corridor out of their defensive 50 since McVeigh took over and they surged in uncontested marks (14th to second) and mark play on percentage (18th to ninth).

McVeigh admits some of the team’s style under him owes to the lengthy injury list and that he hasn’t had the time to fully implement his game plan, but there are strong undertones of what we could expect.

There are some positives here, but it hasn’t all been smooth sailing.

I’ve already mentioned how the defeats kept stacking up, and there was a period where they lost six of seven games, including underwhelming performances against the Swans, Blues, Lions and Power.

There were glimpses of defensive improvement on the scoreboard and in their system in the past fortnight, and sporadically before that, but there were still some glaring deficiencies in that regard.

Mark McVeigh has a strong rapport with the Giants’ players, including Callan Ward. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Another area of concern is GWS ranking dead-last for points from stoppage in McVeigh’s stint and 16th in both contested possessions and clearance with ugly differentials.

This was once the Giants’ great strength, so those numbers are eyebrow-raising. Tweaks were necessary but diluting a strength isn’t the right approach.

No team has scored fewer points in the past two months and they also have the worst percentage for scores per inside 50 in that period.

It’s been a rough season for GWS and there could be tougher times ahead in the trade period, but there is still enough quality on the list to be better next year.

As for McVeigh, he has shown enough to one day be in the senior coach mix somewhere.

I just don’t think his time is now, or that he’s the right fit for the Giants.

Originally published as AFL 2022: Mick McGuane says Mark McVeigh should not be the Giants’ next coach as Leon Cameron’s replacement