Big League footballers must not only possess skill and athleticism, they need to have an inner drive to keep going, no matter the obstacles. So says 1985 premiership Bomber Steve Carey, now in his second stint as coach of Warragul.
Carey says there are no short cuts to consistent success in sport, no matter the level.
There is a team pic of the 1984-85 Essendon premiership boys up in our rooms and many of the boys stop and have a look and say how so-and-so was a good player and so was he, Carey said.
Sure we had more good players than most, some were out-and-out champions, but they all shared a common trait: they were close and they worked hard, very hard.
A 100-game player at Essendon, including the 1985 Grand Final, Carey says just being able to play League football was a highlight for him.
It wasnt an easy task. It was pretty hard to break in, he said. Youre dealt the cards you are dealt with ability wise. I had some sort of ability that caught peoples eye.
For me playing with some of the games greatest ever players is something Ill always look back on with pride. People like Simon Madden, Tim Watson, Roger Merrett, Terry Daniher, Paul Van Der Haar were not only great players, they are all enormous blokes. I was on the phone to Terry just the other day. Nothing changes for blokes like him. Or the others. They all great.
Carey says being able to make Essendons best 20, as it was back then, was a feat in itself and an example for kids he coaches now. Once you step out onto the field, youre all worth the same amount. Youre all important to the team structure. This is what helps to make footy great.
Hes rapt to have three boys of his own (Scott 18, Thomas 16 and Christopher 14) sharing his passion for the game. Scott plays for Warraguls firsts and has a VCFL traineeship.
Saturdays are a real family affair for the Careys as Karen Carey, Steves wife, is club secretary.
Saturday is a chance for the families to come together, he says. Its important in any environment, especially a community like ours, he says. Footy allows our whole family together at least one day of the week
After two stints working with some of the elite kids in the era at Gippsland Power, Carey is glad to be back in a home club environment and is genuinely relishing working with a senior team of diverse age, occupations and skill levels.
Its nice, too, to be able to give something back to a club which is so young, he said. The kids are looking for direction and leadership. They work hard and take on board what you have to say.
Carey says every player in the seniors is either employed or at school and the respect for each other is uniform, from the older ones like 27-year-old Nick Edney through to the many teenagers in the firsts and the seconds.
A complication for Warragul is that they share their home base, Western Park, with the Warragul Industrials. Whoever is playing away the following weekend has to train at the nearby trotting track which is routine breaking and a frustration for all.
Warragul went into this weekends bye with a 10/2 winning record and have every chance of playing off, after finishing fifth under Carey in 2007.
The clubs only two losses were to Moe and Sale and they avenged the Moe loss by winning by 12 goals the second time around.
The team is growing together, he says. They have gone from being young and inexperienced and immature footy-wise to being nicely-balanced and very flexible. So many of the guys can play at different ends of ground. We also have a couple more of taller players this year which we didnt in 07.
We did lack height last year. It stopped us from really being involved at the business end.
This year we have more depth and the kids are blending nicely. They get on well as a group. All our guys show respect for one another. Thats the key to us.
Asked if he ever had to admonish some of the younger ones for a night on the town, too close to game day, he said every club has a couple who like to go out and play with fire but he had never yet had to do the rounds of the local hotels and get his squad members to go home!
Its country footy. Its not the AFL, he says. Come matchdays you can be overly critical but you get just as emotionally involved in the game as they do. You do want them to try a few things. If it comes off great, if not theyll soon be on the bench and know exactly why!
Among Warraguls best so far this season have been ruckman Matt Gray, on-baller and co-captain Ryan Davey, who both made the Victorian Country squad, Nick Edney, co-captain Des Barr captain, defender Clinton Rowe, Joel Morgan and winger John Reid.
Carey says his players tend to mimic whats on tv and they will look to concede ground, switch directions and handball in defence, everything he was taught not to do as a kid.
The bottom line with country football is that you want everyone to enjoy it, he said.
I tend to keep my coaching simple and never lose track that it is country football. Most of the guys arent going to be candidates for the draft, but that shouldnt step them from having fun, trying to better themselves and winning finals matches.
Sometimes as a coach you can be criticised for not doing enough and sometimes for doing too much. Its hard to win sometimes.
Asked about his own experiences in six years at Essendon under Kevin Sheedy, Carey said the master coach was often hard to work out but he was ahead of his time with the thoroughness in which he prepared his teams.
He says Sheedy backed his youthful players, just as he likes to do now.
All clubs in the country are tending to go fairly young, he says. You have got to play the local kids in the community. We had six Under 18s in theseniors at different times last year and all acquitted themselves well.
By Ken Piesse
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