Seems so long ago since Wiley first rocked up to the Richmond rooms in the Carlton Premiership season of 1979, only to be told that the team in old dark Navy Blue doubled as the arch-enemy.
“But you do change,” Wiley, the newly appointed Director Coaching & Development, said from Perth today. “These are very exciting times, I can’t wait to start work at a great club with my old mate and ‘Juddy’. I’ll be giving it might best shot for the mighty Blues, and let’s see if we can get some success.”
The phone call that precipitated the chain of events which will soon see Wiley again traverse the Nullarbor in the name of the great Australian game came from Malthouse on the night after he was first interviewed for the job.
“Mick rang me to say ‘There’s a possibility I’ll be coaching Carlton . . . would you be interested in helping me?’, “Wiley said. “It came out of the blue so to speak, but once I thought about it I realised ‘What a great opportunity’.”
In the wake of Malthouse’s signing, discussions with Wiley intensified. The upshot of it all is that he’ll be here for the impending draft camp, assuming duties at Carlton in early October.
Wiley’s brief is two-fold. Firstly, to assist members of the Carlton coaching fraternity in implementing Malthouse’s edict on the training track “so that we train the way Mick wants us to play” and secondly, to assist with the development of all listed Carlton senior players - with emphasis on “all”.
What can the players expect from him? “I’m a positive person, I understand you have to work hard because nothing comes easy in life,” came the reply.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned from my experience, particularly in coaching, is that you’ve got to understand the player, and I’ll be working hard to understand all the players on the list, because once you understand someone then you can work with them so that they can get the best out of themselves.
“It doesn’t matter what age you are, you can still develop. Whether you’re an 18 year-old or a 30 year-old there’s room for development and that’s the most important thing.”
And what can they expect of Mick? Wiley, at 57, is better equipped than most to comment.
“He’s a hard task master, no question,” Wiley said. “His understanding of both his own players and opposition players is second to none. His players will know exactly what their role is within the team, which is extremely important; because once a player knows that he can make really good decisions on the field.
“His game style has obviously evolved and proved to be very successful at Collingwood. It will take the players a little education to understand the way he wants Carlton to play, but he’s a good educator and a good teacher who understands that it’s all about working with the players.
“He will challenge the players. He will challenge them to the nth degree to make sure they maximise their potential both individually and within the team. That is his forte.”
It was often said of the long-serving Chairman of Selectors Jack Wrout that he was the perfect buffer between the players and the bull in the china shop who was the then Carlton Senior Coach Ron Barassi.
To that end, Wiley can see his role as Wroutesque.
“I think that’s why Mick was keen for me to join forces with him again,” Wiley said. “Perhaps he thinks I can be a good conduit between the playing group and the coach and that’s an advantage, because once you create a positive environment where everyone comes to work happy then the sky’s the limit.”
In Wiley, you’d be hard pressed to find a more credentialed man for the position, for his spectacular football successes are both individual and collective, east and west.
His 179 matches in eight seasons for WAFL club Perth yielded a record eight club best and fairest awards and the back-to-back Premierships of 1976/’77; his 95 games at Richmond took in the 1980 Grand Final triumphs; and his 18 appearances with West Coast came in the club’s maiden season of 1987 and heralded in a long and enduring association with the club.
On the end of West Coast’s Premiership season of 2006 (after the then captain Chris Judd secured his second club best and fairest) Wiley accepted a role in coaching education with the West Australian Football Commission - overseeing the Under 16 and under 18 state programs, and calling AFL matches for the local West Australian media.
More recently he followed Philip Matera into a private business venture, then renewed his football involvement, coaching the Western Australia Under 16 outfit to the National championships in Western Sydney.
“That really whetted my appetite and with Mick getting the Carlton job it’s amazing how it’s all panned out. Timing is everything, no doubt about it,” he said.
Such is the man’s standing in the game, particularly in Western Australia, that in 2004 the Perth Football Club saw fit to establish the Robert Wiley Foundation to ensure the ongoing development of the Perth’s district young players, both metropolitan and country, and to excel in the development of its coaches and support staff.
Carlton General Manager Football Operations Andrew McKay confirmed Wiley’s dual roles in training management and development.
McKay said that the club had acted on the recommendation of Malthouse in approaching Wiley, and had conducted its own due diligence “Everyone I have spoken to has been full of praise about Rob’s ability and enthusiasm to develop footballers”.
“That certainly helped with the decision, but really it was Mick’s call,” McKay said.
“Robert’s experiences, particularly recently at Under 16 level, show that he is a good developer of young talent, so the fit is perfect in our development area,” McKay said.
“He’s also helped mentor coaches in Perth, and he will assist Carlton in that area also.”
The Carlton Football Club has officially advised both Alan Richardson and Paul Williams to pursue their coaching careers elsewhere.
Both were advised following the Club’s initial discussions with Mick Malthouse on September 3 that the structure of the coaching panel would change if Malthouse was appointed.
Further discussions on the coaching structure were held following the appointment of the new senior coach last week and Alan and Paul were officially advised of the decision last Friday.
Richardson completed two years as Carlton’s Senior Assistant Coach; with Williams having completed a one-year term as Midfield Stoppage Coach.
