The remarkable emergence of Adam Saad this season has been enjoyed in lounge rooms, in pubs and at grounds all around the country. Rarely in the game’s history has someone burst onto the scene and done things not many others can do.
It is difficult not to be swept up by his sheer on-field brilliance, his dazzling runs from defence and his ability to find space where seconds earlier it didn’t exist. But to look at his year from purely a physical viewpoint wouldn’t do his mental fortitude justice.
After years of disappointment on draft night, years of being overlooked and told he wasn’t good enough to make the step up to the highest level, Saad’s ascension this year has been nothing short of enthralling.
The mental strength he has acquired over the journey has set him on a path to dealing with the challenges AFL football presents, according to Saad’s former Coburg Lions coach, Peter German – the man who was the architect behind the improvement in his football, which saw him finally earn an opportunity courtesy of last December’s rookie draft.
“I think those types of players that get overlooked it just really builds their resilience and if they’ve got a real ambition it just steels them even more,” German told goldcoastfc.com.au.
“I look at it as it’s almost like a dog in a cage, where they have been told they’re not going to make it, so they’ve really probably conquered a lot of battles in their mind in terms of being able to build that resilience.
“That puts them in a strong mindset to be able to deal with and cope with AFL when they make it because they’ve wanted it so bad and they’ve had those knockbacks.
“It just makes them hungrier and once they get the spot they want to hold it and keep working because that’s how they’ve got there in the first place.
“A lot of young boys make it purely on the back that they’ve got talent and it’s an armchair ride for them. Players like Adam, who come through like that the hard way, they’ve got a real steely resolve about them.
“If you have a look at the players who have come off the rookie list and the mature-aged recruits, that have been really good players and there’s heaps of them now, they’ve got a real determination to succeed. I see Adam certainly in that mould.”
Saad may have departed Coburg City Oval close to a year ago, but he is still held in extremely high regard in that part of the world. Every glorious moment – and there was hardly a shortage of them - of his debut season was celebrated by the VFL club who proudly call Saad one of their favourite sons.
Despite the Moneyball concept coming into vogue in the last decade, the likelihood of being drafted after the age of 18 diminishes significantly. Whilst the fire isn’t completely out, the window of opportunity closes, and closes quickly.
Through perseverance and unwavering self-belief, Saad overcame the odds. It is this case study that provides German with a parable to instil in the unlucky ones. Those who missed the opportunity the first time around for whatever reason, but who still have a dream of making it at the highest level.
“To make AFL football its really got to come from within and the desire you’ve got to have to put into your football,” German said.
“When you get knocked back a couple of times, it’s easy for players to drop off and take the easy path… so to be able to tell the next group of players you might not make it this year, or the year after, but if you hang around you might be the next Adam Saad. If you stick at it, that could be you.”
After more than a decade playing for North Melbourne through the 80s and early 90s, German has carved out a decorated career as a senior coach at state level. He coached premierships at Subiaco in the WAFL before steering the ship at the Casey Scorpions, Williamstown and now Coburg in the VFL.
His exposure with Saad was for less than a year, but the impact was profound, with the experienced mentor transforming him from a small forward to the role down back that has seen him captivate the football landscape.
German revealed he concocted the renovation of Saad during his first pre season at the helm of Coburg, ahead of their first season as a stand-alone side after cutting ties with Richmond.
The talented left-footer had spent the bulk of his early time at Coburg as a small forward, away from vulnerability. German thought Saad could be better utilised in the midfield, an area where he could use his pace and polished left foot. But, Saad had another idea, planting the seed in German’s mind that he could be used behind the ball. A move that paved his way to the big time.
“Last year was my first year with him and he’d had little exposure at senior level and when he did it was sort of just playing in the forward line because it was a little bit of a safety mechanism to play young players that you don’t want put in positions of responsibility,” German said.
“I guess my thoughts were that he looked exciting, so I could play him forward, but I wanted to expand his football and play him as a midfielder.
“I thought he might be able to play bits and pieces through the midfield. But then he missed a big chunk of pre-season, so I never really got to interact with him until the January of that pre-season.”
“When he got on the track I said to him I wouldn’t mind moving you into the midfield this year, and he said: ‘Well I was thinking I could be used as a rebounding defender.’
“So we moved him there and he really went to a whole new level. It was quite remarkable, his confidence on the ground just grew, along with his football.”
