It’s a funny thing Tough Love. Done right, and it can yield great results,
forcing the one you love to do things they’re not comfortable with in order to
make them a better person (for an example, think of Alex Fevola convincing the
Fev that the only chance of saving their marriage was if he learnt to Samba on
Dancing with the Stars). Done wrong,
and, well, it’s basically one person saying hurtful things to another (for an
example, think of Grant Hackett coming home from the races to tell his wife
she’s not such a hot piano player). Tough
Love requires tact, sensitivity and resolve – not ordinarily the life-skills
attributed to footy clubs (for an example, think of any incident involving a
pissed footballer who has been forced to apologised “to anyone who may have
been offended by my actions” before lining up again that Saturday).
Back in 2006 Geelong was at a cross-roads. The club had a great list but continued to
miss out on premiership success (just like every other decade since Darryl Somers
was a young boy). Desperate for ideas,
the club’s board and administrators decided that Tough Love was what was needed. With a firm but loving touch, a blowtorch was
applied to not only the Geelong playing group but the coaching staff as well. Gary Ablett Junior was told that his mates
thought he was selfish and only playing for himself. The coach, Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson, was told he
had a stupid nickname and only one more year to turn things around before he’d
be run out of town. The result? Over the next three years the Cats won two
flags and the respect of the entire competition.
So, I hear you ask, why don’t the rest of the competition
use tough love? Why don’t the Blues tell
Ratten the giant headphones he wears on the bench look ridiculous? Why don’t the Bombers tell Kyle Reimers that
it’s probably enough to just let footy do the talking when you’re on the field? And couldn’t someone, just once, tell Steve
Milne not to be such a bad bloke? The answer
is pretty simple – Tough Love comes at a big cost. Fast-forward a few years from their year of
emotional honesty, and both Ablett and Thompson left the Cats in fairly
unsentimental fashion, Thompson in particular still hurting from the barb about
his nickname. Sure the Cats went on to win a flag without Thompson or Ablett, but
you get the feeling their era of dominance is over. Which is just as well, because if we’re being
honest current coach Chris Scott seems a little too smug for someone who just lucked into a well-disciplined
side, Paul Chapman seems a bit over it and Joel Selwood may have a lot of
talents, but standing up in a tackle isn’t one of them. I say all of this with nothing but love.
Senior Coach:
Chris Scott
Assistant Coaches:
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