Coaching in Clubland

Join host Mitch Johnstone (Yarraville Club captain-coach) for season two, episode six of the Victorian Turf Cricket Association's 'Off the Long Run'. He was joined by Deer Park skipper Ricky Suvada, Yarraville Club young gun Jackson Martin, VTCA Umpires Director Darren Trewin, Sydenham Hillside coach Geoff Pretty, Grand United gun Nilan Fernando, Maribyrnong Park-St Mary's star Daniel Stavris and East Coburg's all-rounder Joey Conlin to discuss the latest happenings in the VTCA.

Join hosts Mitch Johnstone (Yarraville Club captain-coach) for season two, episode five of the Victorian Turf Cricket Association's 'Off the Long Run'. He was joined by Doutta Stars gun Paddy Willach, VTCA President Zoran Havranek, Caroline Springs female team skipper Alicia Fowler, Maribyrnong Park-St Mary's star Daniel Stavris and Footscray United coach Shafraz Mohamed to discuss the latest happenings in the VTCA.

Join hosts Mitch Johnstone (Yarraville Club captain-coach) and Mick Andreadis (Deer Park coach) for season two, episode two of the Victorian Turf Cricket Association's 'Off the Long Run'. They were joined by Maribyrnong Park-St Mary's star Daniel Stavris and Footscray United coach Shafraz Mohamed to discuss the latest happenings in the VTCA.

Greg Chappell is one of the most accomplished Cricketers Australia has ever produced. While he was a run machine, he batted with a touch of elegance and grace that few have seen before or since. The second of three brothers to play for Australia, Greg made 7 110 runs in 87 test matches at the superb average of 53.86 to go with his 24 test centuries, and also averaged over 40 in one day Cricket for good measure as well. He was the first player to manage the feat of scoring a century in both his first and last test matches, and as captain, he won 21 of his 48 Tests and lost only 13.

He was equally productive in the breakaway World Series Cricket years, averaging 54 in 14 Supertests that saw some of the fiercest Cricket that Greg had encountered. In 1973, Greg was named the Wisden Cricketer of the Year and in 2000 he was named in the Australian Test Team of the Century. Greg was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2002.

After retiring in 1984, Greg has since fulfilled a number of roles, including as a national selector over two stints, the national talent manager for Cricket Australia, and a television and radio commentator.

In terms of coaching, he coached the South Australian Redbacks from 1998 for five seasons, before taking on the role of Indian coach from 2005 to 2007 in what was a tumultuous period in working alongside combative former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly.

He is a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to cricket, and just this year was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to cricket as a leading player, captain, coach and administrator at the elite level, and for his contribution to a range of charitable organisations.

He has also recently released a book, titled ‘Greg Chappell: Not Out’, where he dissects Australian Cricket and his career from all angles, including mental skills and the future of the game in this country. It’s well worth a read.

John Buchanan is the most successful international cricket coach in history, with a staggering winning percentage of over 75% across all three formats of the game. While good enough to play seven first class games and one List A game for Queensland in 1978/79, John shifted his focus to education, work and family time over the ensuing 16 years before landing the role of Queensland coach before the 1994/95 season. John made an immediate impact, with Queensland claiming their first Sheffield Shield title after 69 years in the competition. Buck would lead the Bulls to another Shield title and two domestic one day titles in the 90’s before becoming the Australian Men’s Cricket team coach in November of 1999. 

Along with Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, he would lead the team to unparalleled success, including 16 consecutive test wins, claiming the 2003 and 2007 One Day World Cups, conquering the final frontier of India in 2004, and the memorable Ashes cleansweep of 2006/07. After finishing with the Aussie team in 2007, John would have roles as Kolkata Knight Riders coach in 2008 and 2009, as well as consultancy and director of cricket roles with England and New Zealand Cricket. 

Nowadays, John runs Buchanan Success Coaching, who offer leadership and management skills workshops and mentoring predominantly in the corporate sector.

https://buchanancoaching.com/

Heath Scotland was recruited by Collingwood from the Western Jets with pick 44 of the 1998 draft, and played in 53 games with the Pies. He featured in the 2002 and 2003 Grand Final losses to the Brisbane Lions.

Crossing to Princes Park for the 2004 season, Heath would best be known for his time at Carlton. His versatility in being able to play through the midfield as well as off half-back, as well as his sublime skills, courage and consistency, meant that he was a vital cog in the Navy Blue side for over a decade, particularly in 2012, where he won the John Nicholls medal.

Following retirement, Heath then returned to local footy, including as coach of Darley in the Ballarat Football League. In his first season with Darley in 2017, he coached the club to a flag, and a few years later found himself as the Development Coach at North Melbourne before falling victim to the soft cap cuts brought on by Covid 19. Heath is currently the coach of Sunshine in the WRFL and is heading into his second season in 2022.

Dan Smith was a swashbuckling and combative former New South Wales wicket-keeper batsman who played 25 first class and 30 List A games for his beloved Blues, as well as featuring for both the Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers in the BBL from 2011/12 to 2013/14. At one time, Dan held the New South Wales record for the highest one day score of all time, with 179 not out in the 2011/12 season.

Dan is currently the playing coach of the Sydney Cricket Club in the New South Wales Premier Cricket competition, one of the competition’s benchmark clubs who won the 1st XI premiership last season. Dan himself is a legend on the Sydney grade, having racked up well over 300 1st XI games, which is a truly remarkable effort.

A Cricket Australia accredited High Performance Level 3 coach, Dan has also held batting and keeping coach roles in the New South Wales underage and women’s setups, as well having had an involvement in the school Cricket system.

Nick Hegarty had a decorated youth career where he played with Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday among other clubs, before eventually making over 100 appearances for Grimsby Town as a feisty midfielder in the lower rungs of the English Football league. Nick also featured for St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership before a nasty injury cut his time there short. 

Nick emigrated to Australia in 2012 and made an immediate impact with Hume City, making 172 appearances and scoring 52 goals. He won two Football Federation Victoria Gold Medal awards in 2012 and 2016, with the Gold Medal being given to the best player of the NPL Victoria, so it’s a fair accomplishment! 

Nick took on the role of interim coach of Hume City in 2017 whilst still playing, before hanging up the boots to focus on his coaching role, and has recently led the club in the FFA Cup, which is a fair effort!

Evan Gulbis represented Victoria, Tasmania, the Hobart Hurricanes and the Melbourne Stars in over 100 games of professional Cricket in First Class, List A and Domestic T20 competition. An aggressive right-handed top order batsman and fast medium bowler who bowls the proverbial heavy ball, Evan boasts a highest score of 229, the second highest score from a number 8 in first class Cricket history, and was good enough to win the Ricky Ponting medal as Tasmania’s best player in season 2013/14. Evan is now the coach and 1st XI captain of the Carlton Cricket Club, one of the traditional powerhouses of Victorian Premier Cricket, and he still remains as destructive as ever with both bat and ball. 

Xavier Clarke was recruited by St Kilda with pick 5 of the 2001 National Draft from St Mary’s in the Northern Territory Football League. The man affectionately known as ‘X’ played 105 games for the Saints from 2002 to 2009 as a dashing and highly skilled midfielder, as well as a solitary game for the Brisbane Lions in 2010, in what was a playing career unfortunately plagued by injury. 

After hanging up the boots, Xavier soon turned his attention to coaching, where he was the head coach of the Northern Territory Thunder in the NEAFL from 2014 to 2016, including winning the premiership in 2015. Xavier then got an opportunity to progress his coaching to the next level, having been appointed as a development coach under Damien Hardwick at the Richmond Football Club in 2017, a role he fulfilled for three seasons. Xavier would then go on to coach the Tigers VFL side in the Covid-19 interrupted seasons that have been 2020 and 2021.