The POD-CAST
Frankston Football Club - Podcast
The POD-CAST
Inside our Football Program | Tim McGibney
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Senior Assistant Coach Tim McGibney takes us under the hood on our football program and the development of our players.
Tim speaks about the start to the year and how the next block of games are vitally important. He touches on the development of our players and what is available within our program. We speak about Tom Blamires and Harrison Coe's journey to the big time within our program.
Tim also let's us in on what makes our club unique and the culture that underpins that, the leadership of our senior players and who is the next wave coming through.
A fascinating chat and must listen!
Welcome back, Frankston fans. We're here on the podcast, and it's a very wet and cold Melbourne day, and winter has definitely hit. But what that means is we're right in the thick of the footy season, and we thought it'd be a great time to touch base with one of our coaches, our senior assistant, uh, and also looks after the midfield group, Tim McGibney. Thanks for jumping on, mate.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thanks, Mark. I appreciate it, mate.
SPEAKER_00Uh yeah, keep them warm, mate. It's uh obviously we got training tonight, mate, and hopefully she clears up a bit.
SPEAKER_01I don't think it's gonna, but um I'm a bit of a warm blooder anyway, so I'm normally in shorts and and a training top, so I don't I don't mind it too much.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, probably not a not a bad time to get this sort of weather and uh obviously get Southport down on our uh on our home deck. And uh, you know, obviously we're we've spent a couple of weeks away the last uh last couple of weeks, and uh, you know, up in sunny Brisbane and and Gold Coast, and yeah, back to back to Frankston and a bit of Melbourne weather probably doesn't hurt.
SPEAKER_01No, I think the last four times I've you know come up against Southport, it's been 40, 30 plus 40 degrees, and um certainly not our type of conditions, but yeah, we bring them down to the home of footy at Kinetic Stadium this weekend, and and we also bring them into the um into the rain and the wet. So we're looking forward to it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, beauty, mate. And uh I guess just going back and and sort of it's a great time to take stock. We're sort of halfway through the season now, um, come off a little block. We're in the middle of a really important block of sort of six games in between our two buys, and um, you know, it's worth going back over the season. We've had um, you know, uh a pretty decent start to the season from a from a win-loss perspective at the end of the day, but we've we've certainly left a couple out there um, you know, along the journey as well. And I guess just your assessment of uh the start of the season.
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, pretty similar to what you said then, mate. I think um you summed it up when you said we we've left a few points out there. Um, you know, we look back on, you know, Williams down round one and two are always tricky. Everyone's getting a feel for where they're at, and um everyone's sort of trying to, you know, embed what they've been working on all preseason. It's like an extension of a practice match. But um, yeah, we certainly you know felt we've dropped a couple of games along the way that we would have liked to win. Um Sandring in one a few weeks ago, and full credit to them. They um they played a style of footy that really suited Kinetic Stadium um and sort of beat us at our own game. But they're the sort of games you look back at and look and hopefully we don't look back on in you know two months' time and and really rude them. Um so we've got to get to work over this next six weeks, as you said.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for sure. And it's um it's been been really interesting. I mean, you know, probably uh, you know, previous seasons, uh I guess, you know, kinetic stadium, the way that the dimensions of that ground are and you know how we've sort of played, it's it's really suited uh, you know, those dimensions. And, you know, we'd probably go away to a couple of those bigger grounds um, you know, in in recent times and have have really played probably our best patches of footy of the season. So has there been a concerted effort around around that or is it just more of an evolution of the the side?
SPEAKER_01Um it's an evolution, but there's certainly been a concerted effort around um our offense and and our football, particularly on other grounds other than Kinetic Stadium. I think we identify that uh like the AFL teams, like if you're gonna win a grand final, you need to be able to play on a ground the size of the MCG. Um and we're in a similar boat. So, you know, we get you know, you look at Casey last year and we get them in a final at Kinetic, and it changes the game for us as opposed to then a few weeks later rolling out um to some of these bigger grounds as well. So we needed to evolve in that. Um and there's balance to that as well. Like we've given up a little bit on the contested side that suits kinetic stadium um to get the results that we now get um on the road at like Metricon or People's First, sorry, um, on the bigger grounds where some of our footballs looked fantastic. But so it's a give and take. We've given up a little bit to get that.
SPEAKER_00And has that probably contributed a little bit to the the inconsistencies of uh, you know, probably probably more so not inconsistent week to week. We've probably been relatively consistent in the way that we've gone about it week to week, but there's been inconsistencies within each game that um, you know, has probably created some of those little runs that that teams get on, and you know, Cedric Ham's probably one of that. I mean, Werobi, you know, uh at various times we played some really good footy there, and uh, you know, they just got a couple of little patches where they they dominated. Do you think that's created a few of those inconsistencies while we're sort of still getting a feel for how we want to play?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, a little bit. I think we know um how we want to play. I think it's always just about executing it, isn't it? So, you know, I say this regularly to people that there's another 18 people on the ground that don't want you to play the way you want to play. So, um, and they've got strengths and weaknesses as well. And so, yeah, I think we we know how we want to play, but in terms of where the inconsistency lies, it's been in our ability to execute it, and that's come from a variety of reasons. Um, you know, pretty heavy list turnover, particularly through the midfield part of the ground. Um, and a pre-season that was dictated to by injury and rehab. So even coming into round one, if you looked at on paper, we had a pretty much full strength team. But if you dug under that full strength team, you'd see that those boys were really coming in for their first run. Um, hadn't played a practice match really. So connecting as a group um and as a new group has has included some of those inconsistencies in executing as well. So we we definitely know how we want to play. We definitely know what our best looks like. Putting it together over four quarters has been our challenge.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, for sure. I think um let's let's touch on a little bit of that uh, you know, uh a little bit of list turnover. Some of it um, you know, happened through the preseason, some of it uh, you know, it was unavoidable in terms of you know guys going, it's sort of like the midfield split, like some have gone back to local and some have gone up to the AFL. Um, you know, and and that's kind of kind of happened through um, you know, probably a large, large degree of the development of of the team and um and being able to bring guys in and and do that. I mean, how have you you seen that? I mean, obviously with with any sort of turnover, you know, it creates opportunities. Um, you know, I think there's there's some elements, and and this might be just just my opinion, but there's some elements of it which I look at that are so positive in terms of there's there's a lot of guys that wouldn't be getting that exposure to create that longevity, you know, around what we've actually got as a team. Like it's not not necessarily just for the now. Like we're we're we want to be competing year in, year out. Um, you know, the the only way to really get those guys going, apart from preseason practice matches, um, is getting them some minutes and and potentially those guys wouldn't have been getting the minutes that they were getting if you have Murph, a fully fit Taj, uh Tommy Blameyers, Harrison Co. I mean, there's nearly a starting midfield there in some respects, you know. So uh talk us through sort of how that's worked um and how you've had to sort of adjust on the fly a little bit with some of these guys getting picked up as well late in the late in the piece.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, well, like to be honest, firstly, it's incredible for them, as you know. Um, even the blokes going back down to local. Um, you know, Murph taking on the head coaching job at Pines. We, you know, that's a Mornington, that's a Frankston feeder club. Um, so we we love that and we promote that massively. And Murph had been, you know, a strong servant for us for a long time. But um, in terms of how it evolves, it doesn't change a lot of what we do. Um, particularly not when we're face to face as a as a group of midfielders. We everyone in that room, when I sit with the midfield, know that they've got a job to do and um a style of play we want to execute, and that's regardless. And I know it sounds really cliche, I'm not gonna say next man up, um, but it's probably more um regardless of who's in that room, we set expectations for ourselves. Um, whether that's someone goes back to local, someone goes up to the AFL, um, the people in that room know what we want to do and what we want to achieve as a midfield group. And we've had that strong focus for three years now, and um, it does provide opportunity. Some of those blokes that we've developed on the outside, like Blake O'Leary, um, get time. Lockie Reedy's been um injury crueled, but you know, we're waiting and and really keen to get that those minutes into him and that development into him. But then you look at our mainstays, like, you know, George Gray brings great balance to to that midfield group coming off half back and half forward, where he's played a lot in the past, and and Seb, you know, Seb Quirk is just one of our favourites, and and then the the skippers taking his game to a whole new level. Now that that didn't just happen. Um, you know, there was strong conversations with Trenner in in the offseason um around what he wanted from from this next year, and he he looked us in the eye and said, I want to have the best year I've ever had. And we're like, well, let's get to work. Um and he has, um to his credit, and he's playing some some of the best midfield football I've seen anyone play.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean he's he's uh he's certainly been incredible, and probably, you know, as you say, it's not not by accident, but there is there is also that opportunity for him to go in and play more minutes because those guys have gone out, and you know that he's the leader of the club. Um, we know what he can do forward the ball. Um he's done it at big moments, you know, several times. And I mean, if you go look back at probably our most important highlights over the last couple of years, I mean, it's probably started or finished with Trent in a lot of those uh those areas, which is fantastic. And you know, you talk about Seb Quirk, flies under the radar a little bit, um, you know, from an external perspective weekend, just you know, racked up 20, 28 very hard possessions um in terms of how he operates. You've got a Derby Hipwell who who's sort of similar in in that uh in that bracket. And I suppose, you know, talking about Darbs as well, like he seems to be getting a lot more consistency to his game, particularly over the last month as well. Um, you know, really seems to have a bit of confidence back in, you know, what he's doing in and around the footy, you know, taking those first options and and really uh you know starting those those chains. Um, you know, so it it's been what while we've had turnover, I mean you you look at some of those names, they're quality, quality BFL footballers in there.
SPEAKER_01Oh undoubted, and and like Darb's a great one to use because he he's so driven. Um, you know, we probably don't have a midfielder in our group that's just as driven as him to get better every week, open to feedback, um, and put the work in. And he's another one. Like he's had uh you know a couple of niggles um in the preseason and stuff like that, which you know these boys when they get a niggle, not only does it affect them physically, but it affects them mentally as well, around how much trust they can put through their body. And um, you know, Darb, probably over the last three weeks, I think, starting to get the trust in his body back as well. And and that's just showing in what he's doing in in game. I think early in the year he had a few funny moments of cramp and full body cramp and stuff because he just didn't get the preseason that he he wanted. So um we're only just starting to see the best of Derby and and there's more to come. So yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00I mean, that's um I mean that's fantastic to hear, and I think uh it is always good to give that context around. And I know we've spoken about it with Jacko a little bit as well about the um you know the pre-season, the lack of minutes. Um, you know, Trent, Trent was probably one of the guys that that actually just watching the preseason and the trial games, like he he was there, you know, he was he was doing that. So he's really been able to hit the ground running, um, whereas a lot of the other guys are are sort of now starting to get that run, you know, the run in the leg, the miles in the legs to be able to sustain it and probably stay consistent. Um, I want to just touch on you know the boys uh that have been drafted, obviously Harry Coe last week, which was fantastic, and we all saw the scenes in the rooms, which um, you know, definitely gives everyone at Frankston a very warm and fuzzy feeling about how how connected the boys are. You know, Tommy, you know, I mean, like I don't think enough is made of uh of Tommy in terms of being able to literally, it's not like he spent the whole preseason at North, right? He he was at Frankston literally two weeks before he got drafted, played his first game, and then walked into a round one thing. Like there's a lot of credit, and I know Jacko um has spoken about it, you know, internally, externally, but you know, you your effort and the the coaches' efforts underneath Jacko to develop these guys to have them essentially ready to walk into an AFL system. And in Tom's um uh aspect, he he walked into a team round one um in and was contributing, you know, getting 20 plus possessions and almost like replicating what he was doing at Frankston in that. So I'd love to hear you know your feedback on on that and actually having those guys ready to go and not just go and be on a list, but go and contribute straight away.
SPEAKER_01Well, as you know, um it's I'll always deflect it back to the program. And and these journeys go way back. Um, you know, you look at Jacko and Tommy's journey, and that started from um many, many years ago of belief. So, you know, that's it, as you know, and and as our listeners will know as well, it doesn't just sort of happen when he rolls into Frankston. There's a lot of hands that play a part in Tommy's journey, and and decidedly so Tommy is a big part of it, too. Um the professionalism he shows and and his talent and character as a human plays a big part. But I think if I just talk about our program, like obviously Tommy spent a bit of time in the back line with Damo, um into the midfield with myself, and then you look at the people around him as well from a club perspective. Our football club right now is in a position to support anyone's aspirations with what we've got around them. Um, you know, Geordie Love um running the high performance team, even Jacko's head coach, and um just this year we've brought in wellness with with Matt Runnels as well, and there's probably not many footy clubs that are able to wrap around their players what we've been able to put around them over the last couple of years. So, yeah, certainly like Damo and I, as line coaches um played a um a part in Tom's journey, but it just goes back so far, and there's so many, so much stuff involved in getting it done and getting him ready. And um, I think the club's just you know, particularly in Tommy's case, um, yeah, just a big pat on the back to everyone involved in it because it's it's an incredible story, really.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. And I think um, I know we've touched on this in a in a previous pod, but like I I love I love exposing what state league footy is to people who don't quite understand that, you know, like they they might turn up to a game and and they go watch a game of footy and then they go watch a game of local and they go, you know, oh well this is kind of like the like in some aspects, and it always makes me laugh when um, you know, uh a local league, for example, may get compared to like a VFL competition. There is a huge difference in terms of not just the standard, and I think that people are seeing that now, but the amount of work that the players have to put in. But then to have all of these people around that you can lean into to make your football better, and really in a lot of respect, and and this is the double-edged sword of it, right? Where you've got guys that are like, oh, we always hear about, you know, you've got to go to work and then you've got to do the training, you've got to do all this sort of stuff, and that you know, it's a long day and everything like that. Now that's very different to, you know, I guess uh an AFL program where, you know, you are almost forced to do some of these things. If you are self-driven and you are self-motivated, you have a lot of things, and particularly at Frankston over the last couple of years, with the investment in the football program and Jacko coming in, we've been able to put some of these pillars in place where it's on you to be better, but you have access to all of these things, whether that is a wellness session at 6 a.m. in the morning followed by weights, go to work, go to training. Like you can you actually can do that. And I think that's part of that excuse-free environment that is being driven around that. They're like, if you want to be a better footballer, these things are here to do. And here's example 1A of a guy who literally took every opportunity to lean into that stuff to do it, and that is very, very different to like what you have at local local football um in terms of what you're doing.
SPEAKER_01100%. And even if you look at Kowie um at Harrison's journey as well, like he, I don't think he'd mind me saying, but he had to make a decision as to what he wanted now because we had all that stuff around him, and him and Tommy are different. Tommy's always been someone who has been, I think, um, wrapping himself with that sort of standard for a long time, trying to get to where he wanted to be. Whereas I think Coey would admit that he kind of sort of stumbled into, hey, I think I want to give this a crack. And when someone makes that decision, you want to make sure that you've got everything around them for them to be able to achieve that. So, you know, Cowie coming out of you know, local footy, Beaconsfield, into a program, probably just getting by for the first year, his body's still developing, um probably not um living the standards that require him to play AFL. Now, was he living the standards that um are good enough with his talent to play VFL? Yeah, he was. But he made a conscious decision at some point, you know, 12 months ago, that I'm gonna give this a red hot crack. Now, as a football club, we want to make sure that whether you're in our program because you love being in it and love being around us, um, and that's it, that's okay. Um and if you're in our program like Tommy B because you know what you want, that's okay too. But we all just want to make sure that you know we're a club that's got a bit of something for everyone, and that's important because when that day comes, like Coe, where he says, I was just in this before, but now I'm now I think I'm ready. I'm ready to go. We want to make sure that we're in a position to be able to provide him that experience. And with Cowie, that's really how this came about was um, you know, extremely talented kid, obviously um, you know, tall, physical attributes are strong, characters high. Um, but it really came down to him finally making that decision. Like, I want to do this. And and when he decided that, we were ready to go.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and that I mean, it it's kind of funny because like looking from the outside with Cowie in particular, it was almost like he was coming into the VFL and it was like into our program, and it was like, I'm just having a go at this. Like, I'm just you know, I'm I just want to set like I it's almost like I want to see if I can take a good contested mark at VFL football. And then it was almost like he started doing that, and it was probably what he was doing at Beaconsfield in terms of you know taking those contested grabs and stuff, and then suddenly everyone starts going, geez, this guy's got a bit in terms of that. And then he started to recognise a bit of that himself. And if you look, I mean, if you look at his body shape compared to like year one, compared to where he is now. I mean, he is lean, hard, like looks physically ready to take that next step. And you could see it in how he was moving around the ground, and and you could you could probably see it from that that outsider. But that that was great to be able to go to a guy who's who's super talented that goes, I just want to have a crack at this, like see if see if I can translate this across. And then suddenly he starts getting a bit of confidence and then starts getting a bit of belief. And as you say, you can wrap the arms around him and actually take him to that next level. But yeah, it's uh I mean that's a two completely different stories, really, um, in that, but but both equally uh, you know, incredible in the way that they sort of transpired. And and I think you're really important the way that you touched on that, where you go, we've got this, but the the individual needs to make their decision about where they where they sit, you know, and we can help them.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah, and I think that's the environment that Jacko's helped create as well, is an environment that you know, we've got people on our list who are in in it for different reasons. And um I think, you know, when you're talking about the difference between local footy as well and and our program, it's you know, that's the big difference, is uh, you know, yeah, you can get plucked out of out of local footy, but it's pretty hard. Like most people at local footy are are playing it um for their mates and the enjoyment. I think that's what's really unique about us at the moment is you can still have that with us. Um it's not uh you know, it's we're not running a a wildly uh um serious, you know, operation here. It's like we've got people in our program that are just there because they are talented, they work, they work hard and and they just want to be around their mates and and the people that we've got in the club and that's great as well.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and achieve success as a as a group, you know, I mean that's um yeah, it's it's a it's a really interesting one because I mean, like I've said this to since the start of when I got sort of got involved with it is like the these years that those guys and I you know you I know the cluster of group guys you're talking about there and you know they'll remember that journey for the rest of their life. It'll be the best time in their at least their footballing life but potentially even you know the the most enjoyable time of what they spend with their mates because they've gone and achieved something over a four or five year period and and I think that's the carrot that is is still sitting there for a lot of those guys. And you know we touched on Trent like driven by Trent really in terms of like the on field side of things around you know I want to have success with a group with a group of mates um you know and and remember this for forever you know in terms of what we do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah spot on mate spot on it's um it's a huge catalyst and I think that's one thing we've been able to do really well is combine the local feel for mateship and success and bring it into a VFL program. And there normally is a gap there. Normally you know the VFL programs you know splintered with individual pursuits and um some ego and some you know some gaps between ages and stuff and we've really managed to break down that barrier and you know we've combined yeah that mateship and success that you'd see at local and we've brought been able to bring it into a you know semi-professional environment and and give people opportunity with it too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah awesome great to talk on that culture piece because it it's obviously been spoken about but we sort of went under the hood there a little bit with it and I think just moving forward like we're five and four currently in the middle of a really you know strong block of of games here I think we've got uh three games before we we head into the bye. You know there's a couple of really really really big ones there like Coberg after Southport have hit their strap since we played them last. You know we're going to need to absolutely bring our A game against them and then we've got Collingwood which is always a massive fixture and Southport this weekend where we we know what they're like and we know what they bring every every time. So super super important to sort of get going over this next uh three weeks uh leading into the bye and um I want to talk about that but then also going into the future and like where you see the future development of the of the players like you know we've got a really good group that are sort of that you know 24 25 age bracket now what's coming through underneath that um we saw a little snapshot with Benny Ferguson you know on the on the weekend you know having a bit of an impact in his first game that was fantastic we've seen a number of young kids rolling through different positions whether it's half forward midfield that sort of thing um you know we're gonna need those those guys um you know to have success this year but also into the future so what's sort of coming in the um you know in terms of that playing personnel in the in the next sort of back half of this season what can we see and moving forward?
SPEAKER_01Yeah it's yeah mate um well firstly just on the the upcoming games um I think one thing that I think people are realising about this competition is it's ruthless um there is no easy one um and so the next block of games that next three are going to be very very tricky and ones that we're eyeballed that we need to win like not want to win we need to win um but um yeah and around the sort of next crop coming through I'm I'm always gonna pump up this kid and that's Lockheed Reedy um you know with just obviously inconsistency around his body but you know he comes in on the weekend um gets thrown to half forward which he hasn't been in the forward group all year um but you know to get minutes into him and integrate him back in he gets goes to half forward and I I don't remember the stats but I'm pretty sure it was like a 20 possession game and really linked us up between the arcs really importantly and and this is a kid that I see as a future captain of our football club. I think he'll be a mainstay uh midfielder for Frankston for a long time if if a club doesn't take a chance on him which I would love them to um and he's just you know like he's the breed of the next crew that are coming through as as one of these younger blokes he challenges you know he challenges our midfield um he's not quiet he's he's a bit of a smiling assassin he's got a character about him that's really lovable but you know he'll still look Trent or someone or dub in the eye and tell him what he thinks and tell him what we need and stuff like that. And um so like I think Locke's you know one that I I'm really looking forward to seeing him grow over the next couple of years and someone that I'd love to see get an opportunity but um and then like the other one that jumps off the page for me yeah Ferg on the weekend was great um but um Kobe Askew for me is such a driver of um energy for us and and just you know you normally get these cheeky blokes in in your clubs that um have a bit of cheek and that comes with a little bit of ego and that's fine like that they balance well but Kobe Askew is he brings such energy he's a cheeky little fella um but just such a good person as well and I think he's someone as well that I see has got a really bright future about him that we love and also highly talented.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely I'll just touch on Skewy as well because like he it seemed like it was a bit of an aspect that we'd been missing with Bertie going down in the in the preseason. Don't get me wrong like he racks the ball up like he's he's been getting sort of 15 to 20 touches across his first couple of games back and um and that's fantastic. But he's got he's got this desire to almost defend first in terms of like his his tackling and you know pressure and all this sort of thing. And I think that's it's a byproduct of the energy that he brings into into that space but we we look at different front half team when someone like that is in in the mix and I think we got a little bit of that back that we'd been missing from Berkey I suppose who who obviously tragically went down with a with a knee injury in the preseason and you know you probably don't really recognise like you look at that on paper and you go yeah maybe we can bring someone in but that is really hard to replace um in terms of that and yeah we got a little bit of that back over the last couple of weeks yeah we did and I think um you know Berkey's a great one to touch on because he's um fabric of our club that young fella and what we lose you know there's always someone in your club that doesn't get recognized externally and Berkey is that like um a 10 10 tackle game 10 possession game and a goal doesn't jump off the stats sheet but when you remove it from your your forward line and from your team he also plays third wing for us as well and um it's had such a big impact and and skewy has yeah as you said mate really jumped into that role and um I see them both you know playing together in the future um in the same team and that would give us a pretty pretty dynamic look but yeah he he's just been so important for us and tackle pressure and he's so team you know that's what I mean like normally when you get these energy balls of energy who are got it who are a bit cheeky there they also come with a little bit of a little bit of ego and stuff like that because that's what builds them as a person but Skewie's just so team first oriented and um as you said just a massive energy driver for us even before we've even walked out in the ground he's in the rooms just pumped up bouncing around the boys love him um so yeah he it just flows it flows from him mate yeah for sure I just touching finally on that on Berkey I remember last season um you know he'd been racking up like eight to ten tackle games you know and kicking a goal and things like that and I think he dropped to six tackles but he kicked four and Jacko said oh he's got ahead of himself a little bit in terms of that so that that probably just shows you know that it that importance in terms of um that role particularly in modern footy so look mate we might we might leave it there it's been a fascinating chat um you know and and just lifting the hood I suppose you know not just on the culture but also you know how we are developing these footballers and you know there's there's sort of the group underneath jack o and there's you know no one more important than yourself in that um you know to to get that going as a senior assistant as well and um you know to have two guys drafted out of out of your sort of line um you know is is a good to yourself and the whole football program mate so well done.
SPEAKER_01Yeah I appreciate it mate um yeah as always I'll push the credit back to the club itself and and the football program as a whole so yeah good stuff mate well good luck this weekend and uh yeah we'll all be there and uh in big numbers and can't wait. Awesome thanks Mark appreciate it mate