(Copyright © 2011, Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Tarkyn Lockyer’s playing days are over. After twelve years in the AFL for Collingwood, a new chapter has begun. He has been thrown into the deep end this year in his new role as coach of their VFL side, and is relishing the opportunity to able to live and breath his dream, football.
Honest, astute and committed are some of the words that ex-team mate and now Collingwood VFL General Manager Paul Licuria has used to describe this once prolific midfielder – and for good reason.
Having played in two grand finals for Collingwood, and missing another two from injury, in addition to a Jason McCartney Medal awarded to him for courageousness in 2009, Lockyer has quite the resume. His experience, knowledge and exceptional rapport he has with his players will only continue to provide great benefits to a club on the rise.
“I just jumped straight in, I coached when I was a kid, but I wouldn’t really classify that as coaching. I have spent a fair bit of time with Mick [Malthouse] and the other coaches here at Collingwood, so they have had a fair understanding of my game knowledge, and clearly showed a lot of faith in me, so it was really good to get a big pat on the back from them,” Lockyer said.
“I certainly feel it is advantageous at the moment because I have got a really good rapport with my players. I have spent a lot of time with them as a peer as a player myself, so therefore I know them fairly well, and from that regard I think it helps me really well to relate and communicate to them.”
After beginning his coaching this season, Lockyer has had big shoes to fill. He has been following closely in the footsteps of Collingwood hall of famer Gavin Brown, and has drawn on inspiration and styles from those who have led the way before him, including Collingwood AFL coach Mick Malthouse.
“I think you take a little bit of any coach you play under, you try and work out what works and what doesn’t work, but you also have to understand your own personality, and you put your own slant on the way you want to coach, I definitely think I have done that.”
“Certainly there are elements of the way I coach that has Mick about it, Browny, numerous different people I have been around that have helped me out along my journey. At the end of the day though, I am my own person, and I try and coach the way that suits me.”
“My favourite player though when I was a kid was Chris Mainwaring, I loved him. But you can certainly draw inspiration from a lot of greats, you don’t have to look to far to find some really good success stories.”
Whilst drawing on inspiration from many different fields, Lockyers’ mentors reside in those who have followed his development from his playing days, Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse, and former captain and teammate, Nathan Buckley.
“They have been sensational, particularly early on Mick was a really good mentor to give me pointers on how to go about it, getting feedback from the other coaches was terrific from day one.”
“The other good thing was the fact that they just threw me into the deep end, I was straight into taking training drills, obviously coaching my own VFL side, I had my own group of VFL players, and as far as the AFL side of things goes, they threw me into the deep end there so that was really good.”
Stepping into a new role is never easy, and can be full of trepidation and marred by scrutiny. There are many difficulties that a new coach always faces, but with every season there is a journey.
“It’s been challenging from time to time, the thing about our VFL side is that we are a tool used to primarily get our players to eventually play AFL football. So from that regard, we are coaching these guys to get them ready, they are the challenges first and foremost.”
Lockyer’s desire to breed the youth within the side shows his dedication to coaching, but also his understanding of the importance of a strong VFL and AFL alignment; Geelong and Collingwood, the two teams who are leading the way.
Collingwood’s decision to move away from an alignment from Williamstown and form one club at the end of the 2007 season has only provided dividends.
“When you look at the successful teams over the last couple of years, I don’t think there is much coincidence, we have had so many rookie listed players who played in our premiership side last year, and I think there is no secret as to why Geelong has been so successful in past seasons.”
“St. Kilda and Hawthorn are another two who have very strong alignments with their VFL sides, but certainly we feel it is very advantageous in fielding a stand-alone side.”
“We don’t necessarily have the added pressure which may come from VFL clubs, the pressure is not there to win games necessarily.”
The 2011 VFL season is now drawing to a close, and Lockyer’s performance on paper may not look exceptional, but is commendable in his first season, considering the youth and inexperience he is fielding. However there is much promise, as through his coaching and strong determination he plans to generate consistency in building the list over the next few years.
“We have been a little bit patchy I suppose, we have had some big losses those couple of weeks against Werribee and Bendigo which were really disappointing, but I think those two games in particular aside, I think that we are a really young group and we are learning.”
“Some of the things they have done is really pleasing, we have seen some really big improvement from our younger VFL guys, but it is just about trying to get them consistent every week.”
With team contributions from talented developing younger players like Fasolo, Farmer, Ugle and Perham, Lockyer stresses that teamwork must be utilised and is critical in order order to win games, stressing that individual moments of brilliance are not the key.
“We want to demonstrate a style of football, and I suppose when you look at the Collingwood Football Club we pride ourselves on our defensive pressure, and I think first and foremost that is where our guys need to realise what they have to do for the side.”
“Mick [Malthouse] and the other coaches are really trying to push the fact that we don’t necessarily look at the best player, people get the opportunity to play senior football if they can demonstrate they can play the role for us.”
With dominant sides like Port Melbourne and Williamstown continuing to set the benchmark in the competition, Lockyer is assured that the VFL still remains strong, and that despite the lack of AFL alignments, it creates room for improvement and diversity in the competition for future years.
“When you have got clubs such as Williamstown, Port Melbourne and Coburg that have been around for so long and have a rich line of heritage and tradition, it would be really disappointing to lose that system.”
“When you see a side like Port Melbourne playing such good strong football, who are not aligned to an AFL club, I think seeing something like that is really healthy for the competition. I think the competition [VFL] in general is travelling pretty well.”
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- B
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