Justin Leppitsch has given some insight into how his appointment at Collingwood came about.
Leppitsch has been appointed as the club’s Head of Strategy under new senior head coach Craig McRae, who he won three premierships with as a player at the Brisbane Lions.
The former Lions coach and Richmond assistant has spent most of 2021 in the media with SEN and Channel 7, but will return to clubland as the Magpies embark on a new era.
After taking a breather for much of the year, Leppitsch explained why he decided to return to the fire of AFL footy and the process behind it.
“A couple of things, obviously my great mate (McRae) got the role and he’s really keen to show my strength area and help him along the journey,” Leppitsch said on SEN’s Whateley.
“That’s a big part of it as well, is grabbing a group together and creating something amazing. That to me is probably the thing that draws you to football from the very start.
“Decision time was always going to come in September or October. It’s funny with footy, it lives in cycles. It’s not like I decided in June, it’s sort of the fire and hire cycle right about now.
“There were bits I was missing about it throughout the year, the camaraderie and so forth, and then there were other things that just eventuated, like COVID and the lockdowns.
“I had a business that I was running and it shut completely (due to COVID). Any growth I had made in that over the seven-month period was put to bed. When you’ve got a family and you’ve got to make decisions on whether you want to go out on your own and do something bigger, if you don’t have the ability to do it, you can’t do it.
“That’s the reality of a lot of people’s lives at this point in time. Every decision we all make is a combination of a lot of factors, but that was almost the tipping point. You go, ‘Well, I think this is the best thing for everybody, as well as the thing I’m leaning towards’.
“Those two things combined just made it a lot easier decision.
“Who and what and when - that was only decided three weeks ago with ‘Fly’ (McRae), so I didn’t know what it was going to look like. Footy is ever-changing, and day to day and week to week, things were changing.
“Until he literally had the job, everything before that was just ‘pie in the sky’ thinking.”
Leppitsch also touched on what his job entails, acknowledging that he will still be playing a very hands-on role, particularly with the team’s defence.
“The role itself I guess is a matter of me playing to my strengths. No one would know me any better than Craig McRae and he’s created a role that suits me,” he added.
“I’ve had a few conversations over the years and the role was heading to something like this. Give it whatever title you like, it’s a little bit of a big picture. In footy nowadays you’ve still got to do the day to day grind, I’ll still be doing the backline for instance and helping and developing those players become better men and better footballers.
“It’s not all just sitting in an office behind a computer which is what people would perceive given the title.”
The 45-year-old also provided just a small taste of his philosophy and what he will bring to the position with the Magpies.
“The only certainty in life is that things will change, so if you don’t think that way and live that way, you’re going to be stuck in the past,” he said further.
“I’m big on evolution and change and I’m looking forward to getting the ideas off everyone and what players can do, how he can play, how he can maximise the group - that’s there to get the best out of them.”
Leppitsch is joined at Collingwood by former Carlton coach Brendon Bolton who has taken the Director of Coaching role.