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Bluey
Pre-season
The boys have been back on deck for a few weeks and they're working hard. Our QLD boys returned to training in pretty good form and we have our new players who have joined us from all over the country. The dynamics of the group is really good, as everyone is really pushing each other as they should be at this time of year.
The QLD weather has definitely been a test, some of the boys are learning to acclimatise after looking like lobsters in their first week of GC sunshine! It is definitely nice and warm at the moment both on the track and in the gym!
To mix up our training program and to make sure the boys get involved in the community our pre-season has included training for our Surf Life Saving Bronze Medallion. At our first session we had Hayley Bateup and Ky Hurst giving us a few tips.
Not long to go now until Christmas, I will be heading overseas with my family for a short break. A lot of our boys will return home to their families for Christmas before we are all back on deck ready for our lead in to the VFL season in 2010.
Have a safe and happy Christmas and New Years and we'll see you next year!
Cheers,
Bluey
2010 On The Horizon
Hey Guys,
Well, the inaugural season of the Gold Coast Football Club has been completed and given the history of Queensland footy and where we have been for the past couple of years, I am pleasantly surprised with a few things that have transpired this year. The ability of the boys to come together, work for themselves, work for each other and the football club I think exceeded their own expectations. All of them put their best foot forward and gave their best opportunity to be part of this club next year and they should be proud of their efforts. We are finishing off the review process with the boys, and organising the playing roster for the 2010 VFL season. 15 uncontracted boys will stay for pre-season training as part of the train-on squad which is another 12 months development for them. We have a group of 17 year olds and more 5 rookies arriving for pre-season beginning November 9th. Scotty Clayton and Dom Ambrogio are going to be very busy in the next couple of months. Looking back on the season, two games stick out as pivotal moments. Our game against Vic Metro was always going to be our biggest game and we basically drew with them until about a minute to go and that was a confidence builder for the boys with the realisation of how good they could be. Our first half against Geelong up here at Carrara was the other game. If you told me at the start of the season that it would be first versus second heading to the final round I would have thought you just landed from Mars! But, the first half proved how good we could be when we play as a team, play with that want, desire and play within those structures we have set for them. That game probably summed our team and season, up there with the best we were a good side but we weren’t a great side. Hopefully that can be a spur for the guys for next season.
Just wanted to say thanks to all our fans who got out to the games and supported us and I hope you have enjoyed reading the Blogs.
Bluey
Power Shortage
Hey Guys,
Another good win for us last weekend makes it 4 wins out of the last 5 so we are looking to carry that momentum into the finals. Bendigo outplayed us in the first half, but we were doing enough to stay in the contest even though our finishing skills weren’t that flash and we combined that with some poor decisions upfront. Ultimately we got the result we should have got and we continue our progression of seeing these boys grow as players and people. The next two weeks provide a litmus test for the boys as we take on two (Gippsland, Geelong) teams who are currently above us on the ladder and we could play them in September as well. The remaining home and away games provide us with a great challenges and opportunities and from what the boys are telling me, they are jumping out of their skin in anticipation. This weekend is pivotal, not just for a possible top 4 spot, we want go into the finals playing good football and giving a sign to the other teams that we are not just making up the numbers we are here meaning serious business. After a limited pre-season, Dicko’s form has been red hot and with his fitness improving he is dominating in the central key-forward position and watch out for him to grow an extra foot in September. I would also like to congratulate my ex work-colleague Brad Scott on his appointment as North Melbourne senior coach. Having been a part of the Collingwood coaching assembly line, Brad certainly has the attributes to be a successful senior coach and I look forward to hopefully having some great battles at AFL level against him.
Bluey
Carrara
Hey Guys
Bendigo is going to be at full strength this week because they will have their schoolkids available and we know that they are going to come out firing. The boys are looking forward to a really good challenge and I think it will be just as much a physical challenge as a mental challenge. The bye last weekend provided us a with a good opportunity to do some testing with the boys. We gave them the weekend off and set about checking their progression in some key areas. Its been a big year for the boys considering their age, the games they have played and all the travelling but by judging them on the training track the boys are certainly pumped and ready for Bendigo. This weekend signifies the penultimate game at the ‘old’ Carrara as its going to be known and I can still remember chasing Mark ‘Choco’ Williams across the half-back flank. When I played for West Coast, we always enjoyed coming here because of the weather and one thing that certainly hasn’t changed is the demountables out the back. This Saturday’s game will be a great opportunity for the community, sponsors, supporters and Gold Coast public to come down and watch us. After the Geelong Falcons game in two weeks, it will be a sad time in some respects, but definitely an exciting time with a state of the art boutique stadium being built and ready for 2011.
Hope to see you there!
Bluey
Home Ground Advantage
Hey Guys,
We had a good victory on the weekend against Sandringham and the win was more of a reward for effort because we probably played a better brand of football than we have n the past couple of weeks. Better efficiency with the football and overall better decision making has been the most pleasing outcome from the game. Playing here at Carrara is definitely an advantage, because the longer the game goes the more the Melbourne teams struggle with the much warmer conditions. Those are the breaks when playing football in pure sunshine and 20 degree weather! Obviously when Karmichael Hunt joins the club next May, I will be looking to work closely with him. We have someone who has been in the elite system for 6 years and knows how hard he has to work to be successful at the elite level. We as a football club are still in the mode and process of development and teaching these work ethics to our players. Karmichael has been through this process and understands what it takes to be successful both mentally and physically. To have Karmichael just rubbing shoulders with our boys both on the training track and past the white line is going to be a massive positive for us moving forward.
Cheers Bluey
Blight... Malcolm Blight
Hey Guys
Last Sunday we didn’t play our best football, we were rough in patches and full credit to North Ballarat because they played better football for longer periods and deserved the win. This Sunday will be a good opportunity back home for the boys to rectify that against Sandringham. They might be on the bottom with three wins, but if we don’t get our hands on the football then they will certainly sort us out regardless of ladder positions. Being a North Melbourne supporter as youngster, the appointment of Malcolm Blight to the Gold Coast Football Club board was a very popular decision amongst the coaching and playing groups. I really enjoyed watching the North Melbourne grand final wins in the late 70's and he was a favourite player of mine. The fact that he has spent 10 years coaching and winning two premierships with Adelaide, being a premiership player, Brownlow medallist and Coleman medallist speaks volumes about his success at AFL level. The experience and knowledge that he can bring to this football club is going to be massive and I have already said to him that my door is open and would love him to pass on any ideas and learning’s he has from football.
Bluey
Top Four Calling
Hey Guys,
Last week against the Northern Knights we started off fairly well and the boys were competitive for the first quarter pinching a couple of goals against the wind. We addressed a few midfield issues in that first quarter and I was really proud of the way the boys composed themselves. By kicking 11 goals to 3 after that first quarter, we showed the Gold Coast performance we know we can deliver. Looking to this week against the Western Jets, both teams have changed at least one third of their players since our last meeting in round 2. Even though we had a good win against them, they beat Gippsland and Gippsland beat us. So we understand that we need to go about our business, we need to play our style of football and to do that we need to get first hands on the football. The boys are doing everything we are asking of them at the moment and combining that with the beautiful weather we have up here, it’s certainly makes life much more comfortable.
Cheers Bluey
Defend Our Turf
Hey Guys,
We have had a busy month and the boys held their own playing for Qld in the National Championships and combining Gold Coast duties. Our boys suffered a bit of a hangover as far as the National U18 Championships are concerned and everything seemed to come crashing down on Saturday. Making 7 or 8 changes and trying to balance the players as best we can, we knew the heavy workload would come back and bite us at some stage. The second half wreck of the weekend created a positive for us that everyone had a flat one on the same day so we can spin that into a positive from a conditioning point of view. Most boys played 2 out of 3 games in a week and the final travel home probably affected their output on Saturday. To their credit, 10 minutes into the second quarter we were four goals each and thereabouts, but certainly after half time the boys went to sleep, literally. Their fadeout is good for us (coaching staff) this week as it allows us to prod the boys and stick it to them on the training track and test their resilience. We are looking to bounce back this week against the Denis Pagan coached Northern Knights and get back on to Carrara this Saturday to defend our turf.
Bluey
Back In Gold Coast Colours
Hey Guys,
This past week has been very hectic, leading into VIC Metro, then staying down with most of the squad and staff in Melbourne. Harty came back up to the Gold Coast to train some of the boys. We sent some boys home after the VIC metro game and some squad members who didn't play on Saturday came down to Melbourne for the NT game. We only had two days to prepare those players and we played our game against the NT on Wednesday, so 8 of the boys are going to have to back up this weekend again. 3 games in the space of a week has been a fairly unique situation and challenging at the same time. Andrew Weller, our conditioning coach has become our chairman of selectors this week and has advised the coaching staff who is available through workrate or injury. I'm sure that any AFL club would be utilising the same rotations of players as much as we are, considering we are playing three games in a week. Hopefully we can have another thriller, up here on the Gold Coast, the boys are looking forward to that, The National championships are out of the way and out of 5 games we had two poor quarters which shows how well we can match it with the rest of the country. Hopefully we can have another thriller up here on the Gold Coast. Look forward to seeing you there!
Bluey
Melbourne Bound
Gold Coast FC again travels to Melbourne this weekend as Queensland for the first of two Under 18s Championships games. The Queensland side plays in what is probably its toughest match against Vic Metro on Saturday at Casey Fields and then backs up again for Northern Territory at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
Coach Guy McKenna provides the following thoughts:
Tough conditions last week with the weather and travel, do you think that was a contributing factor for the lacklustre first quarter?
I don’t think it would have helped, that’s for sure. Assembling at Coolangatta at 7am and not arriving in Tassie until 5:30pm certainly didn’t help our preparation but again it was a good test. From a physical point the boys struggled to get going, but mentally they were fantastic, there was no moaning or groaning about how it took so long and then training was compromised and then our recovery was compromised. Their level of professionalism was first rate that was certainly a tick in the box, it just took us a while to get going and after half time with the breeze, if we removed the scores in the first quarter, it was 10 goals to seven. So, we still went down but we certainly held our own for those three quarters.
Tasmania kicked 6 goals in the first term to Qld’s nil, after that the boys stayed in touch with Tasmania. What did you say to the boys at quarter time?
Apart from the wind in the first quarter, I think it was more the fact that we didn’t get our hands on the ball. We have done that probably two or three times in the year with Gold Coast/Queensland, so it’s just a matter of us getting in there and winning the ball and when you’re winning the ball you can control the game and execute your game plans. Well, we rarely had a chance to do that in the first quarter and it still took us until half way through that second quarter before we got that ball back on our terms and used it. We scored some goals and so did they, 10 goals to 7, but I thought that was more of a reflection of where our work rate was after quarter time.
Fourteen changes were made last week, this week against Vic Metro, are we likely to see that many changes?
The situation I am in, coach of the Gold Coast Football Club and for five games during the year I am coach of Queensland with the same boys. So in the scheme of the year, the biggest game we were going to play was against Vic Metro, with all due respect to NSW and Tasmania. For the players that have done their work, some boys are coming back after rehab, so we had to make sure the squad was in the best condition to take on Vic Metro hence the changes last week. They were changes forced upon us by the fact we were looking to rest some of the boys before the VIC metro game and travelling to Tasmania took Saturday to Wednesday. They could have certainly played, but we have a heavy workload in the next couple of weeks and this gave us an opportunity to see some of the other boys at the top end, which was a positive. So there will be some changes this week that’s for sure.
Full Squad to choose from this week, will we see the best Queensland team on the park?
Again it’s the boys that have shown the desire to work, shown the desire to overcome hurdles if faced with them and the boys who are in form and want to be a part of it. I would think that this would be the best side we can field in the circumstances we have got.
With the development of the squad, can you see any players you are standing up above the rest?
Well, I would hate to put lines through people or a tick against others, but what I can say at this point at this early age of the boys early development is that some will develop in the next month or two months faster than others, but personally I am rapt with all the boys. They have shown development in the gym, in their professionalism, I think it certainly needs to go up a few notches, I can’t really fault anyone in those areas with all that professionalism off the field we have seen some massive rises in some of the boys development and some that are just ticking along and that is a more to do with maturation than football or development thing. In saying that, I am rapt with all of them, they have all stepped forward, some at different rates than others but they are all moving forward.
Bluey Here
Hi Bluey here,
I’ve been asked to supply a regular blog for the website so tune in here each week for an update on all the team news and match review and previews.
At present it’s obviously a bit of rolling up the sleeves and getting busy with the boys at all sorts of levels on and off the field. It’s a nice busy – if you call it work you have your wires crossed. So it’s certainly enjoyable that’s for sure.
The kids are coming along really nicely. It’s a fair process and again it’s a bit hard to juggle as we’ve got eight boys on contract and they’re potentially on our list until 2011, so we’ve got to juggle all those sort of boys and juggle the rest who are trying to get a contract. So it’s about balancing them up and seeing how they’re going. At this young age of their development they all mature at different rates so it’s getting that balance. So the good thing for the AFL and certainly for the Gold Coast Football Club is we get a couple of years to get it right. Unlike Fremantle, they were sort of thrown in after six or seven months of a license and they had to get it right over a preseason where we’ve got two years to get it right. So we’ve got to make sure that every decision we make from recruiting, from sponsorship, from membership, from staff levels and all those kind of things that we make sure we get it right. So when we get to 2011 — I’m not going to say we’ll be bulletproof — but we’ll have made some very good decisions so we can certainly get in there and cut it with some of the better sides going around.
Cheers Bluey
Q&A with Guy McKenna, Coach GCFC
Q Thanks for your time Guy; I’m assuming life on the Gold Coast is keeping you fairly busy at the moment?GM: Yes it is. It’s obviously a bit of rolling up the sleeves and getting busy with the boys at all sorts of levels on and off the field. It’s a nice busy – if you call it work you have your wires crossed. So it’s certainly enjoyable that’s for sure.
Q So you’ve spent a bit of time down in Melbourne, and you’re obviously a Perth boy – are you enjoying the weather?GM: Oh! Well I tell the story that we went down (to Melbourne) for Anzac Day and I screamed at the boys to get in the water when we trained at Port Phillip Bay there – and I pushed and shoved and begged to get them in — about fifteen to twenty minutes. And that very next Monday we obviously flew home and we had a recovery session at North Burleigh and I had to scream and beg and do everything to get them out of the surf.
Q So the different latitude and longitude where we live certainly makes a difference in recovery and the lifestyle that’s available at the Gold Coast. It’s fantastic.
Absolutely. From what I can tell there’s been some impressive performances of some of the kids coming through. Most notably I think last week your Captain Mark Lock and young Zac Smith the ruckman.
Q Can you tell us a bit about the kids and how they’re progressing?GM: The kids are coming along really nicely. It’s a fair process and again it’s a bit hard to juggle as we’ve got eight boys on contract and they’re potentially on our list until 2011 so we’ve got to juggle all those sort of boys and juggle the rest who are trying to get a contract. So it’s about balancing them up and seeing how they’re going. At this young age of their development they all mature at different rates so it’s getting that balance.
Mark Lock’s our captain and he’s bobbed up and kicked multiple goals in most of the games and he’s probably our captain because he can play in all areas of the ground – so he’s fairly handy.
And Zac Smith, he’s our 204cm ruckman that’s only played AFL in the last three years of his life so he’s a good story coming from soccer and he’s developing really well. I think he leads the competition as far as hitouts go and he’s performing and training and playing very well.
Q And I suppose one of your many roles as being the coach is getting the young players to embrace the team and the club. How are you finding that and what are some of the challenges in getting that mentality happening?GM: Well I think it’s fairly easy around a team environment. Yes we are a football team and yes we officially start in the AFL in 2011 so right now the competition we are in is a vehicle for these boys for one to be contracted to us and eventually, hopefully take part in Gold Coast 2011 or potentially end up on someone else’s list.
So it’s just a great opportunity for these local boys from Queensland and obviously the Gold Coast to have that opportunity. So from that side of things it’s easy. Then there’s the mechanics of how we get them to play for each other, other than themselves.
And that’s just the internal workings of what we put our values system on and the boys have helped drive that. They’ve formed their leadership group; they probably meet on a fortnightly basis and set out the course and direction for the football club. And again they need to own that – whether that’s TAC, VFL, QFL next year or the AFL – the values and lessons we learn and experiences are all the same.
Ultimately driving all that is their opportunity, the opportunity to be on a football club’s list come 2011.
Q So you’ve spent a bit of time at Collingwood (as assistant coach) — a very strong, successful, traditional club – and you were a champion at West Coast Eagles – another strong and successful club. And when you were at West Coast you saw another club come up through the ranks on your own turf in Fremantle, what’s it like being on the other side of the fence now?GM: It’s certainly a different mind set that’s for sure. But again like most things in life you’ve got put your head down and your backside up and do the best job you can. I say to the players from week to week: just do what you can control and don’t worry about the end result. And if you’re doing the best job you can well you’re going to give yourselves every chance, one, to play week to week and, two, to be on our list. Don’t worry about what’s at the end of the tunnel – just manage and perform and do the things that you can control – and the boys are doing that.
Ultimately yes, we’re going to join in 2011 and Brisbane, our big brothers if you like to call them that, they’re going to have been in the competition a lot longer than us.
So the good thing for the AFL and certainly for the Gold Coast Football Club is we’ve had a couple of years to get it right. Unlike Fremantle, they were sort of thrown in after six or seven months of a license and they had to get it right over a preseason where we’ve got two years to get it right.So we’ve got to make sure that every decision we make from recruiting, from sponsorship, from membership, from staff levels and all those kind of things that we make sure we get it right. So when we get to 2011 — I’m not going to say we’ll be bulletproof — but we’ll have made some very good decisions so we can certainly get in there and cut it with some of the better sides going around.
Q The AFL and the Gold Coast are pretty determined to get the best people available to administer the football club. It would be an exiting prospect to administer a club that would be so well looked after by the AFL.GM: For sure, as you say, whoever ends up getting the CEO appointment (Ed: Travis Auld has since been appointed as CEO), a GM Football needs to be appointed, a few key football people who will deal with the day to day running of the club need to be appointed. So like these experiences I had at West Coast, and watching Fremantle grow and develop as well, it’s making sure we’re in the market to get the best people available. Because again it’s a pretty unique club, we’ll have two years to build it and get it right. We’ve just got to make sure we get the best people available so when we hit 2011 we’re up and running and not lagging behind. And not being treated like the little brother that’s for sure.
Q The Gold Coast Football Club – it obviously comes without a name. I’ve heard Gold Coast supporters may like to think of themselves as the goldies, or the sharks. Have you got any thoughts on that?GM: Not really. The thinking behind just the Gold Coast is the fact that every time we get spoken about we’re known as the Gold Coast because that’s where we come from and that’s where we play. Some of the sides when you look at the ladder it can be, “look at the Western Bulldogs, where do they come from?”
Q Which I guess raises an interesting point. As a former Eagles champion you’d know that West Coast fans sometimes reference themselves as “the Coasters” and there’s every chance Gold Coast fans may reference themselves as the same. It could be an interesting conundrum.
GM: It is, but most southerners, as we call them, just call West Coast, West Coast. The supporters themselves well they’ll just end up coming up with a nickname for the football club anyway. We’re just going to be known as the Gold Coast Football Club just like Manchester United is.
Q Not a bad club to emulate…
GM: Yeah, and we’ve got GC (Gary Clifford Irons) as our mascot now; a lifesaver which simulates the Gold Coast life style. So certainly everyone will know where the Gold Coast is and I think that’s important.
Q So Round One 2011 when you have your first game, is there someone etched in you really want to beat? Is it West Coast, is it Collingwood, is it Brisbane?GM: All I cay say mate is that all I want to do is knock off our first opponent and then take it one week at a time.
Q Well said Guy and thanks for your time.
