You've got to respect both teams in today's AFL grand final. Their recruiting and drafting policies, as well as corporate governance, have made them the best teams in the comp.
Geelong:
- Made a decision to draft "young men of character", rather than go for the flashiest arrogant footballer type. It's paid off, with an extremely hard-working team, known for its humility (apart from one or two blokes).
- Had a massive restructure at the end of 2006 to make sure the best people at the club were put in positions where they could make the most of their talents. That meant letting coach Mark Thompson hand over some of his admin duties so he could stick to coaching. It made Geelong the best-coached side in the league.
Hawthorn:
- Started its "Year Zero" restructure in 2005, drafting away anyone over the age of 26 who had some currency. That included Jonathan Hay, Nathan Thompson, and Trent Croad, who they got back on the cheap.
- Made a decision to recruit a large number of key position players, in the belief that they could develop them into superstars. Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead are two of them.
- Appointed a talented but untested coach in Alastair Clarkson, and stuck by him through the tough years of 2005 and 2006 because they believed in what they were doing.
- The Hawks were a year ahead of themselves last year, and they're probably a year ahead now. They would have been thinking of having a real crack at the premiership in 2009... now they've won it with a young group.
I'm pretty happy the Hawks won. I spoke to a lot of the players when I was working for the paper, and they were all really good. They deserve the win.
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