Tailor-made
NEWLY minted Geelong mentor Liam Buchanan says the Cats are well placed to build on Andre Borovec’s three-year tenure as coach, declaring his side has the talent to push deep into the season.
As Geelong embarks on a new era, Buchanan credited Borovec for a change in fortunes, believing the club is poised for success.
Borovec landed a role as assistant coach at Victoria, departing Kardinia Park just weeks ago to work alongside Andrew McDonald.
Buchanan was quickly ushered into the top job, signing a one-year contract.
And after retaining the bulk of the senior playing group, the former Victorian batsman is confident the Cats can take giant strides.
“I think we’ve got the talent to take the team to the next level,” Buchanan said.
“Borra’s an extremely good development coach, so we’re extremely lucky that we’ve had him during our transition phase.
“He got the group to the stage where he was set to step back, particularly with the first XI, and watch them play this year because we’ve got a great group of leaders.
“Under his planning for this season, I know the onus would’ve been on the first XI to take more ownership.
“Eamonn Vines is one of the best young leaders I’ve seen and we’ve got Tim Ludeman, Brenton McDonald and these types of guys in the team to help lead the way and I think the group is ready to take that next step.”
Vines will be limited in his role as skipper of the first XI, having signed a contract with Victoria on the back of a breakout 2017-18 season.
Ludeman could also miss a chunk of cricket with the Cats as he lines-up with the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League this summer.
“We will see him (Vines) at varying times during the season, but to be honest, we hope to not see him at all,” Buchanan said.
“The more cricket he plays at the next level, the more it vindicates what Andre has done with our group.
“It’s the same with (Jake) Reed, Ludey and a few others. That’s what we as Premier cricket coaches are put on this earth to do, get players to the next level.
“We’ll see Vinesy a fair bit, but once the red ball stuff comes around, we’re hoping he plays 10 Shield games.
“Ludey won’t miss a huge amount of cricket. He missed a bit last year, but this season we’re playing two-day cricket during the Big Bash, so he might only miss a couple of games.”
Taking charge of a club in his own right for the first time in his decorated career at Victoria, Melbourne and Geelong, Buchanan said he would draw on the knowledge gleaned from the likes of Greg Shipperd, David Hookes, John Scholes, Ken Davis and Bryan Harper.
“I’ll be a different coach to Borra,” Buchanan said. “He was a very hands-on type of coach, where as I will have a different style.
“I don’t think it will be a long-term role for me. It’s a great fit for this season, but we’re really going to develop some younger coaches.
“I’ll be relying on Tim Ludeman, Matt Gunther and Luke Muller to take charge in terms of development.”