THE MAKING OF A CLUB

Q AYou were there in the journey from “easybeats” to premiership force. What changed?

I remember at the end of 2001 when News Limited came on board and everyone says success starts at the top and you’ve got to get that right before you can be successful on the field … and when they came on board there was an immediate change in the off-field structure. Peter Parr came on board, Billy Johnstone came on board as strength and conditioning coach, Graham Murray (right) was appointed head coach the following year and Frank Stanton became CEO. Frank is one of the most highly-respected football administrators ever so he was a straight shooter, had been around the block and could look at a playing roster and know if that player was going to contribute to the club moving forward and becoming successful, so he had a good eye for talent and what the club needed.

Q AHow did that transfer to results on the field in the following seasons?

We didn’t see the results immediately in 2002. It was definitely a work in progress but by the end of 2002 we started to show more consistency with our football, some young guys were starting to come through and show their potential and 2003 we became a little more consistent again. We started to show results and Peter Parr was beginning to recruit some really key personnel to the club and by 2004 we were probably ready to take that step and push for a finals place, which we did.