From the Shepp News |
Benalla coach Luke Morgan is an old head on young shoulders, with a modern football brain.
He plays like a wily veteran, digging out clearances and winning contested ball and it’s almost surprising to see him break clear of a pack and goal on the run.
Then he does it again and you remember he’s 24 and a well-credentialed player in his own right.
Playing coaches have been somewhat of a rarity in Goulburn Valley Football League in recent seasons.
There were none last year and Morgan is one of only two — along with Shepparton’s Tim Little — this season.
He admitted it had taken him longer than expected to adapt to the role at the next level and he has, at times, found himself ‘‘being a spectator’’.
‘‘It’s a different aspect, playing and coaching, I’ve really got to try and get a kick on game days and that’s what I’m trying to do now,’’ Morgan said.
‘‘I’m working on trying to influence the game more, whether it be getting more contested footy or winning clearances, because that’s where the game is won, especially in GV footy. If you get the ball going your way, even more so than the AFL, if you win clearances it’s more important.’’
Morgan is a product of his environment.
Co-captain of TAC Cup side Murray Bushrangers at 18, he was overlooked by AFL recruiters and joined Northern Bullants in the VFL in 2008.
There he played under Katandra-raised Carlton and North Melbourne defender David Teague for three years, before joining Judd Porter at Wangaratta Magpies in Ovens and Murray Football League.
Teague and Porter were themselves young playing coaches and Morgan a student of their craft.
‘‘It’s always been in the back of my mind,’’ Morgan said.
‘‘It was probably highlighted to me in my first year at the Bullants that I probably wanted to do it.
‘‘David Teague at that time was a playing coach in the VFL and I used to ask him and quiz his mind a lot about what’s going on and try to learn a lot off him.
‘‘I just feel like that’s where Benalla and me sort of clicked at the time, because of young guys coming through and I thought I could really help them.’’
One phrase that often appears when talking footy with Morgan is the idea of ‘‘buying into’’ something.
Not only does he ask his players to ‘‘buy into’’ his systems and ideas he has himself bought into the town.
Raised in Myrrhee, a small town just outside King Valley, Morgan has been based in Melbourne since he was 18, but he and his partner have bought a house not far from Benalla Showgrounds.
Despite watching his fellow Bushrangers co-captain Ben McEvoy develop into a regular player at St Kilda, Morgan has no regrets about his journey.
‘‘You never know how close you are, I didn’t go to any draft camp or that sort of thing, so I’ll never know how close I was,’’ Morgan said.
‘‘I played as well as I could have. You get to be a smarter player as you go on and I think I tried my hardest.
‘‘I did have hopes (of being drafted), but it didn’t eventuate, like a lot of other guys, and that’s where I thought I could help out some of the other guys around Benalla at the moment.’’
His approach to coaching is equally down to earth.
When Morgan took the reins at Benalla he had a mix of players at his disposal.
From current Bushrangers David Mennen, Nick Mellington and James Martyn, to former AFL rookie-listed Lachie Smith, through to long-term country footballers Shayne McKean and Andy Polwarth the football experience is diverse.
Managing a varied list of players requires flexibility and patience and being a young coach brings its own challenges.
At 19, Smith, who was on Collingwood’s rookie list last year, has been involved in a higher system than his current coach, but Morgan sees that as an asset, not a burden.
‘‘You have to coach everyone differently,’’ he said.
‘‘You can see the guys that have spent time even in the Bushrangers’ system or they go through the AFL system like Lachie has for a year.
‘‘They’re a lot more tuned in a way, they know how to train, they know how to prepare themselves, whereas guys that haven’t been involved in that system they find it a bit harder.
‘‘I’m a coach who can bounce ideas off the players and I want players to take ownership in the way the club’s going forward.
‘‘If Lachie Smith disagrees or if Shayne McKean says they don’t think it’s the way, well we’ll open our ideas up and sometimes I’ll be wrong.
‘‘At the moment I think we’ve got a good balance.’’
Morgan is a talker.
He loves nothing more than to talk footy and at the end of every interview has a few questions of his own about the rest of the competition.
Pretty soon, though, it could be the rest of the competition asking about Morgan and his Saints and once again considering the benefits of a playing coach.
