POWER ON BRINK SOMETHING SPECIA
RORY Nicol knew that every call he made was fruitless. He’d dial the number of a prospective footballer and the response was predictable: “Nah, mate, I’m not interested.”
It was a tough sell for the first-year coach of Newcomb, a club that had failed to win a game in three seasons.
But as the on-field competitiveness grew — slashing its average losing margin by more than half — so too has the desire to play at Grinter Reserve.
“A phone call I make now is different to the one I made 18 months ago,” Nicol said, just moments after a gallant performance against premiership contender Ocean Grove.
“There’s a bit of a buzz around the place. There’s a lot of positive talk about Newcomb in the community, whether it be at work, opposition football clubs or clubs around the area. People are often saying, ‘Geez, they’re going all right now.’
“When I’m calling players there’s no talk like, ‘Nah mate, not interested.’ They’ll sit down and have a conversation with me. It’s an exciting place to be.”
When Nicol arrived ahead of the 2016 season, the Power hadn’t won a game since 2013. And they still haven’t. But the defeats are much more bearable.
“The average losing margin was 214 points,” Nicol said of last season. “At the moment it sits around 70. So if you look at it in figures, it’s much better.
“But you’ve got to be careful not to gauge progress on the scoreboard, too. Our functions are good. I don’t know how many meals they were doing before I got here . . . not many, but it’s between 150 and 200 meals now. “So it’s progress.” The numbers are also more manageable at senior level.
“We’ve regularly had eight players miss out on a twos game this year,” Nicol said.
“We’re not short and scratching for numbers and there’s guys out there in the reserves who are in condition, there’s not 50 to 60-year-old men . . . the type of thing that gives you a bad look.
“We’ve got 45-50 fit, healthy people running around at the Newcomb Football Club.
“And most of them want to get better.”
Having busted his gut alongside president Damian Mahoney to lift the image of the club, Nicol is beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. “From the moment I walked in here it’s been about culture, culture, culture,” Nicol said.
“And the wins and scoreboard are in the back of my mind. We do background checks on footballers, we don’t just recruit someone just because he can play footy.
“The first question I ask is, ‘What sort of person are you?’ and then the second question is, ‘Can you play footy?’
“It’s about bringing in good people and good people bring good results. It’s the slow way to do it, but what we’ve done this year is build a platform for next year and beyond.
“It’s all about laying bricks and we’re going to be in a position next year where we are going to be able to attract between three and seven quality players — we hope. “We had a massive turnover at the start, but we haven’t had one bloke leave here.” Nicol believes “gradual improvement” has come from a stronger buy-in. A revived junior program has also spawned more talent, adding to the depth of the senior group. “We’re very young, that’s why there’s inconsistency,” Nicol said. “The average games played last week was 32 and often the opposition scores heavily from our mistakes. “Direct goals from our turnovers are through the roof, so we just need to improve on that. Sometimes we work really hard to win the footy — probably harder than the opposition — and nothing comes easy. Everything comes off the back of hard work and the boys get run ragged but the improvement is pleasing.” After 72 straight defeats, Newcomb’s first victory is in sight this weekend against Portarlington, the club it broke the drought against way back in Round 10, 2013. Nicol knows the wins will be hard to come by for the remainder of the year, but he’s bullish about next year. “We’re probably three quality players off winning games of footy,” Nicol said. “We need some bigger bodies. The average weight of our team last week was 79kg, so we need some big bodies out there to help us, but that will come.
“Whether a win comes or not we know next year we’re going to attract a few players that will be quality, and when the win comes, they will come in a flurry.
“It won’t be just a once-off and we sit around on our hands waiting for the next one. We think it will come consistently.”
As he nears the end of his twoyear stint, Nicol revealed he has not put pen to paper for next year and beyond.
But given the giant strides he and the Power have taken, the former Werribee assistant would virtually be a lock.
“We had a review last week about where we’re at and where we want to go because I’m halfway through my coaching tenure, and conversations were positive,” Nicol said.
“I called the meeting, to be honest, and it’s time to look at list retention. I needed to sit down with the club and know where we’re at financially and this is what I need to do well.
“The committee has recognised that and agrees with it, so now I can sit down with the players and say, ‘I can help you from getting beaten up,’ and, ‘This is how we’re going about it.’
“I want to genuinely believe that it’s the right thing for the players to stay at the football club next year, I need to believe that or I can’t sell it. Now I do believe it, and I look forward to sitting down with the boys and planning the future.”