The Mick Malthouse move is intriguing.
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He is an impressive big gun to pull out in North Ballarat Roosters’ hunt for a new coach. He definitely demands attention and, with Mick back, it reinforces the club is serious about its Victorian Football League intent.
Bringing in Mick to lead the Roosters’ search party can, on the flip side, smack of a keen bid to garner back public support for ousting beloved premiership coach Gerard FitzGerald who knows the VFL and exactly it takes to succeed at this level – a perfect candidate to move this club into a formidable standalone era.
But FitzGerald’s time at Eureka Stadium is almost up. This club must move forward and that is what makes Malthouse’s return to help so intriguing.
He has an invested interest in the Roosters and this club’s legacy.
Malthouse is a North Ballarat hall of famer. He grew up in Wendouree West, joined North as an under-14 player and went on to build a stellar career as a player and coach. Malthouse has remained a proud advocate of his hometown and his football heritage – he reiterated this at a press call on Wednesday night and spruiked this city’s genuine potential to host AFL games when he coached Cartlon in a pre-season hit-out against North Melbourne at Eureka Stadium last year.
In his return Malthouse said this club owed him him nothing but he wanted to help to give back to the club that helped him.
He far exceeds the credentials to understand what makes a good coach
Malthouse’s playing and coaching career is lengthy and impressive. You should note his all-time league coaching record at the top (718 game over 31 seasons) – the only way to stay in the game that long is to reinvent your style and continuously learn, and Mick is extremely well-read. You should note he has coached a standalone club in Footscray, West Coast while dealing with multiple state-league partners, managed Collingwood’s list in an alignment with parochial VFL club Williamstown and led Carlton in an era with great control over its VFL arm Northern Blues.
He understands the tyranny of distance from a league’s core – Malthouse’s 1992 AFL grand final win coaching West Coast was the first premiership for a club outside Victoria.
He can only help so much.
Once the Roosters appoint a coach (expressions of interest opened on Thursday), Malthouse’s official responsibility is complete.
Malthouse should not be a Band-Aid solution. The Roosters must get the right structures for a new coach and the club to flourish in the start of a new era.
You can have a dedicated, passionate coach. You can have a coach willing to learn and fine-tune his craft. But a coach needs strong culture and community support to survive – especially in the VFL and especially as the only regional club.
There is still restructure work playing out behind the scenes at Eureka Stadium. Securing Malthouse’s advice is a good start. Hopefully, the club can harness his Ballarat pride and immeasurable coaching experience to keep building on.