For just about the first time in a coaching career spanning four decades John Northey was speechless. Literally. He had a mega dose of the flu, was rugged up and had no choice but to leave the talking to others.

It was a big day, too, at Alfredton, with a reunion of Ballarat’s three premiership teams from ’88 and the presence of star old-boys Drew Petrie and Nathan Brown, enjoying a rare weekend off as part of the AFL’s community football weekend.

After a slow start, the Ballarat Swans cantered to a win, one of four from their first five starts.

Sitting in a small box just above the boundary, Northey may have been uncharacteristically silent, but he soon identified one or two of the opposition’s strengths, adjusted his team here and there and after half-time it was a race-in-one.

Now approaching 65, Northey says he wouldn’t still be coaching if he didn’t still love it. He may be very-much an elder statesman amongst coaches but he retains his passion and fire for the contest and loves to see the young ones mature.

“The nerves still are there,” he says of matchday. “But they’re for the boys really. The expectations are very high at Ballarat. We have been in finals in each of the last two years, being beaten only in the preliminary final last year. We’d like to think we can get better. Certainly the preparation and professionalism is good. The boys are keen. Before they’d turn up and just hope they got a kick. Now they are preparing to have success.”

Asked if he had to go on patrol on Friday nights and drag his star players away from their favourite city hotels, Northey said: “They wouldn’t be game to do that!”

After a round two loss to traditional rivals East Ballarat, Northey says his players have regrouped nicely and a top two placing coming into winter is promising.

As usual, he has his teams fitter than most and the Swans are finishing games strongly. “If you’re fitter than your opposition you’re always a chance (to win),” he says. The same ingredients he brought to his coaching regimes at VFL/AFL level are inherent in the Ballarat boys. He has always been a “player’s man”, combining his mentoring with a fierce will to win and a keen eye for the most ambitious kids. Even the young ones call him “Swoop”, his long-time League football nickname won in his days as a goalsneak on a premiership forward flanker for Richmond. Northey says Ballarat may not have had any of its players in the first Victorian Country representative squads, but close mates Tristan May and Adam Sewell from Newlyn have been as consistent as anyone in the first six weeks of Ballarat footy. “They came in and said to me how they weren’t sure if they’d be able to make it (with us), but they have been very, very good. Tristan is an on-baller while Adam (Brad Sewell’s brother), plays down back.” Some others, too, like ruckman Aaron Brennan have gone from being full-timers in the reserves just two years ago to being a tower of strength at the centre bounces.

“Until people put the work in, they often don’t realise the ability they have,” he says.

Northey has been a football nomad since his extended career coaching in Melbourne. He had stints in Perth and up in Brisbane, too, and had thought his coaching days were fast finishing until he returned to Ballarat in 2005 for the funeral of a family friend.

“A fella knocked on the door and said they wanted me to coach again (with Ballarat),” said Northey.

“I said I was past all that, but he invited me to see the new clubrooms and so passionate was he about the direction of the club that I couldn’t help but say yes.

“The volunteers are alive and well in this neck of the woods. The new social club for example, is worth over $1 mill. and almost all of it was built by volunteer labor.

“It’s a tremendous achievement and every time we win it’s a win for everyone at the club who has worked just so hard for it. You see the spark in their eyes after a win. It means so much to them.”

Northey says these days country football is very much about survival, rather than winning or losing and the best-administered clubs and leagues with the best support bases are invariably those which keep progressing.

“We’re very big at our club on encouraging our juniors,” he says.

“You love seeing the little tackers come in and be a part of it. They’re looking at their heroes in the senior side and the senior side are looking at their heroes in the VFL and AFL.

“You can’t have enough kids around. They’re tremendous for your team and the club as a whole.”

Like many country clubs throughout the drought, Ballarat has had issues with its ground but the newly installed water tanks and attached sprinkler systems help to make Alfredton comparatively green and soft, reducing the risk of injury and helping the players to be less shin-sore at this time of the year.

Northey says the network of Ballarat’s volunteers, orchestrated in particular by Don Ross, have helped the club not only survive but make advances to the benefit of everyone now and into the future.

He says no-one at the club is talking about September, just yet, but he admits a premiership at Ballarat would provide him with one of his proudest moments.

“It would be up there with the best of them going right back to days at Richmond and Redan and also at Derrinallum when I played in a flag in my first year,” he said.

The Derrinallum success, when he was just 16, remains his major grassroots highlight, along with a drought breaking premiership at Redan and Ballarat’s Victorian Championship victory one year against the powerful Western Border League.

Redan’s flag, the first of three in a row, came on the last kick of the day against East Ballarat. “We’d been a better side all year, only to be headed with just a minute to go. Plenty still remind me now if he hadn’t have kicked that goal, I’d never have had a (senior coaching) career. It [+++*italics]was very special.”

Coach at four League clubs, Sydney (from 1971), Melbourne, Richmond and the Brisbane Lions, he saw the Demons into the ’88 VFL Grand Final but they were thumped by power club Hawthorn.

The year before Demon ruckman Jim Stynes ran across Gary Buckenera’s mark in the last seconds on preliminary final day, costing a 15 metre penalty, Buckenera’s goal after the siren costing Melbourne a place in the Grand Final.

Northey was ropable, his abuse of Stynes immediately afterwards in the rooms at Waverley being one of the most infamous and well-documented “pays” from any League coach.

Northey says he has been fortunate that football has been such a major part of his life.

He still remembers with affection the visit of Richmond’s famous duo Jack Dyer and Graeme Richmond and first signing to play League football.

“They were Gods of the game and had such a wonderful way about them,” he said.

“I couldn’t believe that they had come to visit me. Graeme was a great talker and showed as much attention to my parents as he did me. He was very persuasive.”

A 300-game coach and another 100 as a two-time Richmond premiership player, Northey’s contribution to the game saw him awarded an Australian Sports Medal.

Into his third year with Ballarat he says he will continue as long as he enjoys it and the club wants him.

“Country football clubs need support like never before. I’m just one of many assisting. It’s nice to be a part of it.”

By Ken Piesse

Article first appeared The Sunday Herald Sun May25th, 2008

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