From the early days of Jack Worrall through to David Parkin and “The Recordbreakers”, each brought with them their own intrinsic philosophies in shaping the Carlton teams they coached.
And so it goes with the Senior Coach-elect Michael Malthouse, who when asked what he could bring to the Carlton teams of 2013 and beyond, duly issued the following manifesto, which has served him so capably through three clubs over 28 seasons, 664 matches and of course three premierships.
“I will back myself in any team to get the best out of every individual, or at least try to get the best out of every individual,” Malthouse told the horde of journalists who crammed into the Don Chipp Theatrette for this morning’s announcement.
“I want them to enjoy their footy, I want them to have a common goal and above all I want them to dream big and understand that the higher the target, the higher the price [and] the higher the price, the better the reward.
“I don’t want people standing behind me. I want people standing beside me, and going forward together. And that’s inclusive of the player group, so they always feel they have some ownership in the success of the organisation.”
Turn back the hands to 1902 when the Carlton Football Club named the celebrated former Fitzroy rover Jack Worrall as its honorary Secretary (read Senior Coach). Worrall, who had occupied a similar position with the cricket club, would represent Australia in 11 Tests and is acknowledged as one of the select few to have represented his state in both sporting pursuits.
In his post-season report of that year, Worrall, who would fashion the blueprint for the premierships of 1906, 07 and ’08, somewhat prophetically wrote;
“There is a grand spirit of camaraderie amongst the team, which augurs well for our future prospects, and we trust, by assiduous attention to training, that no stone will be left unturned to achieve the goal of our ambition.
“ . . . we think the time opportune to impress upon all playing members the absolute necessity of assisting each other in every possible way, to work harmoniously together, and to obliterate self for the sake of the common goal.”
Throughout the course of the 20th century, Carlton coaching “outsiders” would follow Worrall’s lead. Brighton Diggins, a member of South’s famed “Foreign Legion” of 1933, would lead his men to 1938 Grand Final glory; Perc Bentley, the 263-game Richmond premiership ruckman of ’34, would commandeer the Carlton players to the Peace and Victory Premiership of 1945 and again in ’47; Ron Barassi, the six-time Melbourne Premiership ruck-rover, would instill an unbridled professionalism in his players in the hard-won Grand finals of 1968 and ’70; and the Hawthorn Premiership player and coach David Parkin would ensure nothing was left to chance in his preparations for the Grand Final triumphs of 1981, ’82, and ’95.
