In contravention of the AFL media’s obsession with star players, the art of coaching demands so much more than a roster of stars. Indeed, the mysteries of coaching AFL are on display for all to see throughout the season. Why is one team so good and another side so bad? The talking heads would like to make it all about the talent of the players in each squad but that is decidedly not the exclusive reason for success. In truth, the athletes playing AFL at this level are all very good, which is why they ended up on a playing list at an AFL club. Most of these young men have been playing footy for much of their short lives. They are remarkably talented with ball skills and have honed their physical endurance in readiness for the big leap to AFL standard.

Why Do AFL Coaches Fail To Find Success?

Why then is there such gulfs between the fortunes of many of the 18 clubs contesting each AFL premiership season? Why do so many fans and members have to suffer prolonged pain watching their clubs get belted from pillar to post? Essendon supporters are going through the worst of it, as I write this piece. I am no expert but a longtime observer of the game I love. I listen to the discussions and debates in the media by those involved. I understand that much of it is hot air with a commercial bent. We have just witnessed the demise of Carlton coach Michael Voss after sustained failure in a win/loss business. The mysteries of coaching AFL have claimed yet another victim.

The Mysterious Magic Formula For AFL Coaching

I return to my point that the majority of athletes playing AFL are seriously talented footballers. The way the pundits in the media carry on you would think most of the team at Essendon, Richmond and Carlton were missing an arm or a leg. They make much of miniscule things to inflate their own opinions about why AFL teams fail to fire. Yes, inexperience counts and the number of games played together in a team matters. Who is cutting playing lists so deep in the first place? The clubs themselves in a bid to strike the magic formula of drafting talent destined to deliver a premiership if nurtured in the right manner. You can see the caveat in that sentence above – if nurtured in the right manner. The mysteries of coaching AFL never go away, no matter the talent on the playing list. Teams rarely coach themselves, not until they have been put on the road to success by a coach in the first place.

A Good Tradie Doesn’t Blame His Tools

I hear a lot of excuses bandied about for AFL coaches who failed to find that formula for success. The list was poor being the most common. A good tradesman doesn’t blame his tools. In reality, and I repeat, these young kids being drafted are very good footballers and athletes. The blame does not lie with the players on the list. In my opinion, that is a cop-out. A coach and his band of assistant coaches must take this talent and mould it into a winning team. This takes man-management on the back of good communication skills. Young people require inspiring in many instances to get on-board with the mission. Clubs have to have a solid culture, which is positive and empowering. This means that every single individual who works and volunteers at that AFL club must be in-step together in what they say and do to take them to that promised land. Great cultures are not built overnight.

Ego Is A Dirty Word In AFL Cultures

AFL football clubs can be places where egotistical behaviour permeates the hierarchy and club structures. This kind of culture may have been considered part and parcel of elite footy in yesteryears but is of no help in the 21C. Bigheads from the past will not get the job done these days. The culture of a footy club must honour its traditions but not be pandering to outdated attitudes of bygone eras. Indeed, the success of previous eras can be a barrier rather than a boon, in some instances, to achieving new success in the here and now. Head coaches and their assistants have to operate within club cultures; and the fabric of a place plays a big role in whether success can be fashioned or not by that coaching team in that environment.

Clubs Lingering Longer At The Bottom

Why do AFL clubs spend years at the bottom of the ladder? Why do their members and supporters have to suffer for years rather than months? Think about the fortunes of North Melbourne over the last 6 years. West Coast over the last 5 years. Essendon and Carlton have got worse and worse in recent seasons. Richmond had multiple premiership success relatively recently and gets a pass on this basis. Still, supporters do not like to see their clubs field uncompetitive teams in matches repeatedly. AFL fans, more generally, turn off at the idea of watching matches involving these easy beats unless their own team is playing them. Uncompetitive teams are bad for the competition full stop.

Inheriting A Losing Team From Family

I think about younger fans who are born into families that support clubs like Essendon, North Melbourne, West Coast and Carlton. They must endure, perhaps, a decade of underwhelming results from their tribal support of these footy teams. In many cases, they did not choose to barrack for these clubs but were born into it. Born into suffering each weekend via the disappointment of abject beatings at the hands of better sides. Melbourne was a basket case for a decade or more, until Paul Roos and Simon Goodwin helped turn its fortunes around, finally. The mysteries of coaching AFL are there for all to see in the history and current season of the game.

Is Winning & Losing Infectious?

Why are Geelong and Sydney, almost, always at the upper reaches of the AFL ladder? Why do clubs get stuck at the bottom of the ladder for years? Are winning and losing both infectious states? Senior coaches at AFL level cop most of the blame for underperforming teams and that is how it should be. Of course, there are many moving parts in an AFL club and they all contribute to the success or failure of that club on field and off. Ultimately, however, it is the head coach who must make the whole thing work. The club’s reason for being is to play football at the highest level and to reward all of its players, staff and supporters with success. Leadership is an integral aspect of this mission.

It Is Not The Playing List But What You Do With It

To return to my theme, which is that AFL players on playing lists are seriously talented. It is up to the coach to unlock team success via a game plan/system, which makes 18/23 talented individuals play together to win. Success imbues belief within a squad. Victories provide the proof positive to each individual that the coaching gameday strategies are effective. Close wins can bond teams together in the experience of overcoming adversity. Playing for each other is an essential prerequisite to success. Individual talents may shine but it is the selfless stuff that glues teams together to achieve ultimate success. The tackles, smothers, run-downs, and overt signs of group behaviour like celebrating goals, which win consistent games of football. AFL footy is a team game – never forget that! The media bangs on about individual stars but that is not the heart and soul of the game. If you have ever played footy you will know what I mean.

Hawke Coach Sam Mitchell Success Story

Sam Mitchell, the senior coach at Hawthorn, is proof positive of what an effective coach can achieve. Remember that Sam took over from Alastair Clarkson and found himself in charge of a losing Hawthorn side. Previously, Clarkson had achieved the 3 peat premiership, a rare feat indeed. The playing list was being rejuvenated and Hawthorn was losing big time. Sam Mitchell and the young Hawthorn team turned things around and collectively became very hard to beat. Yes, they now have a few stars in Nick Watson and the captain. However, when they are really firing it is a collective effort that wins tough games. Sam Mitchell was able to craft an effective game plan and sell that to the playing group. Sam understands some of the mysteries of coaching AFL and works them in his favour for the benefit of the Hawthorn footy club. The industry judges coaching success in premiership terms and that awaits Sam if he can continue to lead his players to final’s and that ultimate victory.

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/coaches/Alastair_Clarkson.html

The New Demon Coach Has Them Firing

Steven King, the new Melbourne Demon’s coach is working wonders in red and blue. His squad are playing great football and winning more games than most expected. This list, which had been underperforming, since the 2021 premiership, has shed stars like Petracca and Oliver. Now, under King they are playing with a freedom and attacking propensity that is beating most of the mid-table and sub teams. This is effective coaching and King has unlocked the mysteries too, it seems. Melbourne are in the top 4 near the halfway stage of the AFL season. In hindsight, the media pundits are banging on about great list management and whilst this may be true, it is not the special sauce. It is the coaching leadership galvanising the team behind him and empowering the players to be their best. This is effective coaching at its surprising best. Steven King has been an assistant coach at Geelong, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs and caretaker coach at the Gold Coast Suns. Talk about doing an apprenticeship in spades!

Why Did Voss Fall Woefully Short At Carlton?

Why did Michael Voss fail at Carlton? Voss did take the Blues to a preliminary final in 2023. Carlton are a big club in terms of supporter base and AFL/VFL history. This meant that Michael Voss’s losing streaks as coach of the Blues was attended by much passionate scrutiny. The mysteries of coaching AFL eluded Voss in that he was unable to translate his considerable playing talent and knowledge of the game into coaching success at both Brisbane and Carlton. Michael Voss is highly respected within the industry. His honesty has been lauded throughout the dreadful losing years at Carlton. Ultimately, however, he was not able to develop a winning game plan and sell it to his playing group over the seasons he was in charge of the club. I suspect that effective coaches have to have a crafty quality, like Kevin Sheedy the longtime Bombers coach of the late 20C. Perhaps, Voss was too straight forward for the role of coach? Did he lack the mercurial, if not tricky, nature that great strategists require? An AFL coach must be able to inspire young men, come up with a winning game plan and sell that to his charges. These feats have to be achieved consistently over years and not just weeks or months. It is no easy task. I remember Paul Roos, the Sydney Swans premiership coach saying that an AFL coach has about 7 years before the playing group tire of listening and responding to his coaching. Familiarity breeds contempt, as the old saying goes. The intense environment of AFL coaching eats up that relationship via the demands it puts upon players and coach. You can only go to the well so often!

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/coaches/Michael_Voss.html

There Are 18 AFL Senior Coaches

Currently, there are 18 AFL senior coaches in charge of teams. Chris Fagan would have to be considered at the top of the tree due to his back to back flags with the Lions. Chris Scott at Geelong is widely respected as one of the best AFL head coaches in the business, despite the bad loss in last year’s GF. These 2 coaches appear to be very different proponents of the art of coaching. We can only judge from the outside and their results. Both seem very genuine human beings and both respect their players, if their public utterances can be believed. Trust is an important component of that mysterious coaching recipe. These are the father figures in the lives of their young charges, who inspire a willing devotion to give everything to the cause of winning premierships. We should include Damien Hardwick in this review of AFL coaches, as he has achieved multiple premiership successes with his former club Richmond. Now, with the Gold Coast Suns Hardwick has taken on the challenge of climbing that mountain again with a new group of players. These coaches are leaders who can get the best out of their players. Where others have failed these sellers of success have prevailed in the past.

https://www.afltables.com/afl/stats/coaches/Chris_Fagan.html

The Role Of The AFL Coach

AFL head coaches are very well paid relative to the rest of us poor mortals. Their jobs do appear to be demanding, in the 7 days a week mold, and most, I reckon, would say they earn their high salaries. Days filled with meetings with the various layers of management, which exists in AFL clubland. Quite apart from the playing group there are media/PR duties to perform, his team of assistant coaches and sport’s science departments to liaise with, CEO, football manager, and numerous functionaries important to the running of a football club all wanting a piece of the coaches time. Above that are the chairperson and the board, who oversee the club in its entirety. Senior coaches must engage and interact with all these people and their roles regularly and well, if the club is to be successful. I imagine it would leave little time to scratch yourself, when things are really under the pump.

Take a moment to think about when you are continually losing games, as Essendon coach Brad Scott currently is, and how all that interaction reflects back that disappointment and misfortune. It would be tough to deal with, which is, perhaps, the understatement of the day.

Why We Support Our Team?

Supporters of AFL football clubs want their team to win, as do most supporters of footy clubs everywhere. They do not attend matches and join as members to follow the fortunes of a losing side. They do not want to hear excuses why their team is losing. I am sure that they do not want to go through the abject week to week failures of a rebuild. Losses hurt if you care about your football team. Sustained and large losses are depressingly painful for supporters. Over the years I have listened to the pundits and experts tell us that teams stuck midtable for season after season will never achieve premiership success unless they are willing to cut hard and rebuild their playing lists. I have witnessed those teams like Melbourne and North Melbourne go from midtable to bottom and get stuck down there for years. I pity their fans and supporters because the road is long and the defeats get very bad. Melbourne eventually reached that promised land in 2021 but we are still waiting for North Melbourne to get there. Is it worth it? And is it really the only way to reverse years of mediocrity?

Neale Daniher Was A Great AFL Coach

Neale Daniher has just passed away, after a mighty battle with MND. What an amazing chap and 12 years of incredible achievements in raising funds and awareness about this dreadful disease. Neale Daniher was an out and out champion well beyond the AFL arena. He was, however, also a great coach who bucked the system taking Melbourne from last on the ladder to a preliminary final in his first year and then a GF in the following years. He did this without rebuilding the entire playing list and sinking to the bottom of the ladder for years. Really good coaches get results with what they have at their disposal.

“AFL great Neale Daniher will be remembered with a state funeral after he died from a battle with motor neurone disease, aged 65. His family confirmed the news in a statement on Monday afternoon. Daniher played 82 games for Essendon during a 12-season career, before going on to carve out a successful coaching career for Melbourne. He coached the Demons in 223, including leading them to the final in 2000.”

- (https://www.nine.com.au/sport/afl/neale-daniher-death-2026-legend-motor-neurone-disease-20260525-p600hv.html) Who Are The AFL Coaching Greats?

Who are the great modern AFL coaches? Alastair Clarkson, Leigh Matthews, Mick Malthouse, Damien Hardwick, Malcolm Blight, Chris Scott, Chris Fagan, Kevin Sheedy, and there are many premiership coaches probably ranked just below that lofty marker. All of these names listed above represent coaches who by a variety of measures took their AFL teams to the promised land repeatedly. Leigh Matthews has spoken about the financial sacrifices some of his top players were asked to make to keep the playing group together for multiple successes. Malcolm Blight experienced multiple failures at Geelong in GFs as coach prior to his double premierships with Adelaide. Similarly you can think about the GF failures of John Longmire in 2014, 2016, 2022 and 2024, after an early premiership in 2012 in his Sydney coaching career. It is a very thin line between ultimate success and failure at the highest level, just ask Ross Lyon, the current coach of St Kilda. The mysteries of coaching AFL can be unbelievably painful.

Sacrificial Kings For A Bit

The media typically thrusts coaches into the hot seat of responsibility for a club’s performance and that is how it should be, I reckon. Leadership is what counts in the end and senior coaches are the leaders in AFL terms for what happens on field. Yes, players have a responsibility too, but they are carrying out the plans and strategies of their coach. Ultimately, failure must be worn by the head coach, even if success is shared with players, staff and supporters. The media wants blood at times, when it comes to big defeats and prolonged losing streaks. They represent the mob and the mob want blood in the arena. It has been the same since Roman times. AFL coaches remind me of those sacrificial kings for a year from ancient times. You get to be the big man, lauded with attention and wealth, but if after a season or 2 or 3 you have not harvested the rewards for club and your mob, then off with your head. The pressure builds daily and nightly on coaches like Voss and now Brad Scott. Being the twin brother of a dual premiership AFL coach must be hard to take too, I suspect. The supporters want blood, they want someone to pay for the lack of success they are forced to endure each week.

https://afltables.com/afl/stats/coaches/Brad_Scott.html

Why Sacked Coach AFL Teams Win?

Interestingly, a common phenomenon is that losing sides start winning once the coach gets the boot. What is that all about? A pressure valve gets released somehow and the expectation drops away amid the blood spilled.