When Allan Jeans was appointed coach of St Kilda in 1961 the no-nonsense character with the legendary linguistic skillset became the youngest ever non-playing coach in the game’s history at just 27.
From his appointment, one of the best coaches the game has ever produced had an immediate impact on the Saints.
Firstly, following a 22-year hiatus from finals football, he returned the Saints to September action. Then he took the Saints to their first minor premiership in 1965 and a Grand Final appearance.
In 1966, at just 33, Jeans led St Kilda to its first and only premiership, ending a 69-year wait for success when a late behind by champion forward Barry Breen proved to be the difference.
Jeans’ 16 seasons at the helm of St Kilda included another visit to the big dance in 1971 before he stepped away from coaching temporarily in 1976 with a winning record of 59 per cent next to his name.
Three premierships from six Grand Finals in nine seasons at Hawthorn cemented his status as one of the best coaches the game has ever seen. A bona fide AFL legend.
In 2008, Jeans was interviewed by Ben Collins in his book “Champions: Conversations with the Great Players & Coaches of Australian Football”. Ahead of Saturday’s 1966 Premiership Anniversary Celebration, saints.com.au has delved into some of Jeans’ pearls of wisdom and identified five of Jeans key coaching principles:
I’m yet to see a coach win a premiership with a poor side. You need all the breaks to win a premiership. You need good players with leadership skills, a good run with injuries and things have to fall into place. Don’t tell me luck doesn’t play a part when James Hird is the 79th pick in the (1990) draft, and he becomes the best player in the game.
Fundamentals are the basic requirements and guidelines that must be adhered to. A team will find itself in trouble if it gets away from the fundamentals. There are fundamentals for skills, positional play, teamwork and what to do in various situations. They must be adhered to at all times and reinforced regularly. The fundamentals are like sausages: you can grill them, fry them, boil them, curry them, you can even put apple sauce on them. You can present them however you like, but they’re still sausages.
Attack the body and the head will die. Fierce tackling can have a big impact on the opposition. Apply pressure in a controlled manner and don’t give away silly free kicks. Bump an opponent only when he is not aware of your presence. On all other occasions, tackle hard and in the correct manner.
The most important part of life is communication. Teammates must communicate with each other in a loud and clear voice to direct, assist and encourage. Players must talk because there are blindspots on a football ground, like when you have to go back with the flight of the ball and you don’t know what’s coming.
Your talent + your motivation = a performance. Every game and training session is a performance. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t have the commitment, you won’t perform well. But if you have limited ability and great commitment, you can still perform well. Players underachieve because they can’t cope with the game’s requirements and demands, and mental toughness is one of those requirements. Mental toughness is just as important as physical toughness. The mentally stronger side usually wins.
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