Which club has the best “pit crew” of assistant coaches in the AFL?
David King and Kane Cornes discussed which clubs they believe have the best group of assistant coaches in the league.
King likes the team of assistants Collingwood has assembled around rookie coach Craig McRae, while Cornes is a fan of Sydney and Hawthorn’s coaching groups.
See their discussion on SEN Breakfast below:
Cornes: “We pose the question about coaching, and it is the support structure or pit crews as ‘Kingy’ calls it around the coach that matters most.
“Who has got the best pit crew in the league?”
King: “I’m going to go with Collingwood.
“Whilst there’s no runs on the board yet, they’re just starting out, I think Craig McRae’s done the wise thing and surrounded himself with former senior AFL coaches.
“Brendon Bolton and Justin Leppitsch have seen it all, seen the tough times and they’ve been teachers along the way, ‘Leppa’ certainly brings a level of humour.
“Hayden Skipworth comes with big wraps, and I also think that godfather figure of Graham Wright over the top of them all is the cherry on top.
“Who have you got?”
Cornes: “I do like Sydney just because I’m a John Longmire fan.
“Then you’ve got Don Pyke who’s done some good things with their ball movement. I like Dean Cox’s no-nonsense attitude … and Jarrad McVeigh is of the newer, younger generation.
“Ben Matthews, I don’t know a lot about to be completely honest, but he was a really disciplined player, so I’m assuming that’s the way he coaches. And Jeremy Laidler as well.
“And then what Sam Mitchell has done.
“He’s been quite strategic around supporting his weaknesses to get something different – Chris Newman, Andy Otten, Robert Harvey, Andy Collins, David Hale, Adrian Hickmott with Damian Monkhorst.
“Unless you’re inside (the club), you don’t know, you’re making these observations from outside.”