In just three seasons in the AFL, Guy McKenna has turned a young playing list with potential, into a competitive AFL team capable of taking it up to men twice their size.
The inaugural coach of the Gold Coast SUNS has endured arguably the toughest introduction to the senior coaching ranks in recent seasons, first charged with the responsibility of leading teenagers through their maiden Under 18 and VFL campaign before bracing the harsh reality of AFL football.
McKenna will be the first person to concede it wasn’t the easiest of transitions for a young AFL coach.
“I think I have grown into the role, there was a lot to coach and educate for a bunch of boys that came out of junior football who always had the ball in their hands,” McKenna said.
“So to teach them the art of defending and the value of that has been testing.
“I’m sure the boys would have felt I was repeating myself over and over again but the game is pretty simple – it’s not about inventing new words, or new styles of football, however it has been a lot of information to absorb.”
“(But) Now I find myself talking less because you can see that these boys have an understanding of it all now.”
McKenna hasn’t been the only coach who has had to orchestrate such a task in recent seasons.
Four-time premiership coach and AFL great Kevin Sheedy was thrown in the deep end in Blacktown for a similar roller-coaster ride, and despite his vast AFL knowledge and experience in the coaching game, yielded no greater growth or improvement than his Gold Coast counterpart.
“The results mirrored where the group was at, and you only have to look at the evolution of GWS also.
“They were no better off and they had Kevin Sheedy coaching, 27 years of experience, so we understood there were going to be some rough waters and as we get older and wiser, we knew things were going to turn.”
But with the tide beginning to turn, McKenna said there were exciting times ahead for AFL football on the Gold Coast.
“That’s the exciting thing, to become more resilient and become more resistant with injuries, produce better decision makers and keep their feet in the contest…
“But I think towards the end of this season and into next season, with another pre-season campaign under our belts, we’re going to get a lot of consistency in those areas and then you’re going to see consistent, good football that is going to allows us to win more games.”
