Phil Walsh travelled to new pastures on the back of years of sustained success at Port Adelaide at the end of the 2008 season.
After working as Mark Williams's right hand man as the club's most senior assistant for a decade, he was offered an opportunity as West Coast's new strategy and innovations coach for the 2009 season and crossed the Nullarbor to work there for the next five years.
He saw it all at the Eagles - competitive highs and top four finishes, a wooden spoon in 2010 and a dogged climb back into the finals in 2011.
It was a journey not dissimilar to that of Port Adelaide, which finished fifth last year after several seasons on the bottom rungs of the ladder.
Walsh joins Darren Burgess as the second member of the successful team that got Port Adelaide into the 2007 grand final to return to Alberton in as many years.
But he rejoins the Power at a time of significant change.
He saw it all at the Eagles - competitive highs and top four finishes, a wooden spoon in 2010 and a dogged climb back into the finals in 2011.
It was a journey not dissimilar to that of Port Adelaide, which finished fifth last year after several seasons on the bottom rungs of the ladder.
Walsh joins Darren Burgess as the second member of the successful team that got Port Adelaide into the 2007 grand final to return to Alberton in as many years.
But he rejoins the Power at a time of significant change.
In the five intervening years between his two employment stints at the club, Port Adelaide has a new guernsey, reunited itself with its SANFL football arm and fully integrated its football program, changed coaches twice and seen a significant turnover in players.
Evolution and constant improvement has been a theme at Port Adelaide in the Hinkley era and Walsh fits the mould of a Port Adelaide assistant coach perfectly.
Evolution and constant improvement has been a theme at Port Adelaide in the Hinkley era and Walsh fits the mould of a Port Adelaide assistant coach perfectly.
His experience will be invaluable for Hinkley and his panel of young and old heads who must again evolve to meet the demands of AFL 2014.
Walsh's longevity in the system will be a critical asset to the Power's midfield this year, but as I've discovered, Walsh isn't content to sit on his hands and rely on his acquired knowledge.
Walsh's longevity in the system will be a critical asset to the Power's midfield this year, but as I've discovered, Walsh isn't content to sit on his hands and rely on his acquired knowledge.
Rather, he's about getting down to the job of creating a smarter football club that will keep challenging its opposition because of its unrelenting evolution in the modern game...
Matthew Agius: Well Phil, you're back at Port Adelaide after a stint away at the Eagles. What has it been like settling back into life in Adelaide and at this club?
Phil Walsh: There's still a few people I know at the club - both players and staff - so it's been good being able to renew some old friendships and make some new ones. Adelaide is a pretty easy place to move back into, nothing much has changed, so it's been good.
MA: When you left Port Adelaide it was at the top of the ladder with a list of senior players who'd been with the club since its early days and talented youngsters beginning their careers. You return and the club has a new-look coaching panel with close to wholesale changes, a new guernsey and new players, what is your view on the way things are now?
PW: The playing group's got a great culture and leadership about it, Ken's a strong leader as well. I like the way they all go about things, they work hard, don't moan or whinge about things. It's been really impressive to see how they go about their work.
MA: You were the strategy and innovations coach at the Eagles and I'm curious to hear what that role gave to you in terms of footy experience, and what it perhaps allows you to bring into your new role as midfield manager with the Power.
PW: It was a little bit of a different role at West Coast, but one I really enjoyed and I learned a lot under John Worsfold as an experienced coach with a good coaching panel around him. The West Coast Eagles footy club is a big and very professional organisation in the way they go about everything. For me it was good to see another way of football being done and when you get new experience you invariably bring that experience to the next organisation you work for. Coming back here, being in charge of the midfield as a midfield manager with two young coaches in Josh Carr and Aaron Greaves who I hope to help along in the journey and assist them in anyway I can should be really exciting.
MA: What is it that having two young coaches in Carr and Greaves can offer our midfield this year?
PW: Fresh ideas. Josh was a great player and Aaron has had a distinguished career in the Victorian Institute of Sport and clubs at both junior and senior level, so it's great to work with guys who are enthusiastic and eager to get better.
MA: You would have had knowledge and experience working with an integrated football program at West Coast with their alignment to the East Perth Football Club. Can you explain how that system worked for the Eagles given there is now a full integration between the AFL and SANFL programs at Port Adelaide.
PW: Only in my last year did East Perth come on board, and I played a small role in transitioning the Eagles way of playing and doing things into East Perth with West Coast's development coach Adrian Hickmott. It was only a small transition last year and now they're fully aligned like we are with the Magpies. I've got some ideas on how that best works as well.
MA: Do you have any specific involvement with the way the Magpies' operations and with the development of the AFL-listed players in the SANFL?
PW: Not really. Obviously I'll assist Garry Hocking in any way I can, but Aaron has probably got a greater role with the Magpies in ensuring what we want of our AFL players is implemented at SANFL level.
MA: You mentioned learning a lot at the Eagles, is there anything you think you can bring into the mix here at Port Adelaide?
PW: I was there for five years and the professionalism of their club allows them to trial and test things before they bring it into games. John Worsfold was also a very process-driven person which I think is important in professional sport. I also learned a lot about how organisations work and how to work in a team, because it's probably a bigger team at West Coast with lots more people involved. So there were a few different dynamics there for me to learn from there.
MA: West Coast is a big club as you mention, and it's often talked about at Port Adelaide that you've got to make more out of less. What does the Power need to do, perhaps again with reference to the midfield, to achieve more?
PW: We've just got to work a little bit smarter. At the end of the day it's still a game of footy, it's still all about effort. While large clubs might have a few more people and resources, successful football clubs are all about getting a cohesive group pushing in the same direction. Although we may not have all the resources and people that West Coast have, I think if we can work smarter and just as hard, we can defintely get the same results.
MA: The Power has a young list with some up-and-coming mid-tier midfielders. How do you see the blend of experience working together here with a few youngesters like Ollie Wines working with, say a middle-experienced Andrew Moore, and a veteran like Kane Cornes?
PW: I'm very impressed with the way they go about their work and it's very competetive for a spot in that midfield group this year. That's what you want and hopefully it drives everyone in the midfield group to reach their potential. We've got guys like Kane and Dom in that midfield group who are at the end of their careers, then young guys like Ollie who are just starting out, and players like Travis Boak, Brad Ebert and Hamish Hartlett who are in between. It's a really good spread of talent and will be exciting to see what they produce over the next couple of years.
MA: You mentioned three leaders there and I understand you have a fair bit to do with the leadership group. Can you explain a little bit about your role with them?
PW: I just facilitate the leadership group. I help set the agenda there and work with Ken to ensure issues are dealt with in a framework. I've been very impressed with the way the leadership group goes about it's work here at Port Adelaide.
MA: We might turn to your perspectives of the club and I'm sure many would be interested to know what your view of the club was last year, before you came back.
PW: I was amazed at the turnaround. It was fantastic. The quality of people who were brought to the club in Darren Burgess, Ken obviously and Alan Richardson who has now left, you could see those three people had a huge influence on turning the place around and getting the best out of the players here. I was proud of the way the club was able to do that.
MA: I keep going back to the last time you were here because it makes a good point of comparison, and the game has changed in the last five years, but is it fair to say a strong midfield is as important as ever to crafting a successful side?
PW: Yeah it is, you've got to have a really strong midfield. All the premiership teams have had one, all the top four teams have one and it's just gives you the best chance to get the ball down the other end and makes it easier for everyone on the field. All those premiership and top four teams have got elite midfields and that's what we're striving to become.
MA: A good running team, simply going on who Port Adelaide recruited via the draft, seems to form the basis of the club's longer term strategy as well as it's short term one. Ken Hinkley is also on record as saying he wants his team to run just as hard at the end of a game as at the start. With that in mind, is it the case that a running team will be the norm at Port Adelaide for a while?
PW: Ken's game plan requires that and he demands of the players that they run hard both offensively and defensively. Darren Burgess's experitise is one of the areas we can hopefully use to get an advantage over the rest of the competition. We've got an excellent running midfield and we're looking forward to seeing what they can do.
MA: What are some of the priorities of the midfield group specifically and perhaps the broader playing group heading into Round 1?
PW: Ken's made it known that we want to get our skills better. As we saw last year the team played brave, took the game on and had an exciting brand of footy. Ken's pushing that again, but he's also on record as saying defence drives attack. With that in mind we're working on all those things as well as what we do at stoppages. The game continues to evolve and if you're not looking to change and tinker with a few things, you'll get left behind.
MA: Looking forward, what would you say the football world can expect to see from the club and specifically that midfield group.
PW: Ken continues to say we'll never, ever give up and we'll get what we deserve, but I've been most impressed by the extraordinary effort given by the guys. I think you'll see that when they go out and play. Port Adelaide 2014 will show great effort and great committment. That's something exciting to look forward to.
Matthew Agius: Well Phil, you're back at Port Adelaide after a stint away at the Eagles. What has it been like settling back into life in Adelaide and at this club?
Phil Walsh: There's still a few people I know at the club - both players and staff - so it's been good being able to renew some old friendships and make some new ones. Adelaide is a pretty easy place to move back into, nothing much has changed, so it's been good.
MA: When you left Port Adelaide it was at the top of the ladder with a list of senior players who'd been with the club since its early days and talented youngsters beginning their careers. You return and the club has a new-look coaching panel with close to wholesale changes, a new guernsey and new players, what is your view on the way things are now?
PW: The playing group's got a great culture and leadership about it, Ken's a strong leader as well. I like the way they all go about things, they work hard, don't moan or whinge about things. It's been really impressive to see how they go about their work.
MA: You were the strategy and innovations coach at the Eagles and I'm curious to hear what that role gave to you in terms of footy experience, and what it perhaps allows you to bring into your new role as midfield manager with the Power.
PW: It was a little bit of a different role at West Coast, but one I really enjoyed and I learned a lot under John Worsfold as an experienced coach with a good coaching panel around him. The West Coast Eagles footy club is a big and very professional organisation in the way they go about everything. For me it was good to see another way of football being done and when you get new experience you invariably bring that experience to the next organisation you work for. Coming back here, being in charge of the midfield as a midfield manager with two young coaches in Josh Carr and Aaron Greaves who I hope to help along in the journey and assist them in anyway I can should be really exciting.
MA: What is it that having two young coaches in Carr and Greaves can offer our midfield this year?
PW: Fresh ideas. Josh was a great player and Aaron has had a distinguished career in the Victorian Institute of Sport and clubs at both junior and senior level, so it's great to work with guys who are enthusiastic and eager to get better.
MA: You would have had knowledge and experience working with an integrated football program at West Coast with their alignment to the East Perth Football Club. Can you explain how that system worked for the Eagles given there is now a full integration between the AFL and SANFL programs at Port Adelaide.
PW: Only in my last year did East Perth come on board, and I played a small role in transitioning the Eagles way of playing and doing things into East Perth with West Coast's development coach Adrian Hickmott. It was only a small transition last year and now they're fully aligned like we are with the Magpies. I've got some ideas on how that best works as well.
MA: Do you have any specific involvement with the way the Magpies' operations and with the development of the AFL-listed players in the SANFL?
PW: Not really. Obviously I'll assist Garry Hocking in any way I can, but Aaron has probably got a greater role with the Magpies in ensuring what we want of our AFL players is implemented at SANFL level.
MA: You mentioned learning a lot at the Eagles, is there anything you think you can bring into the mix here at Port Adelaide?
PW: I was there for five years and the professionalism of their club allows them to trial and test things before they bring it into games. John Worsfold was also a very process-driven person which I think is important in professional sport. I also learned a lot about how organisations work and how to work in a team, because it's probably a bigger team at West Coast with lots more people involved. So there were a few different dynamics there for me to learn from there.
MA: West Coast is a big club as you mention, and it's often talked about at Port Adelaide that you've got to make more out of less. What does the Power need to do, perhaps again with reference to the midfield, to achieve more?
PW: We've just got to work a little bit smarter. At the end of the day it's still a game of footy, it's still all about effort. While large clubs might have a few more people and resources, successful football clubs are all about getting a cohesive group pushing in the same direction. Although we may not have all the resources and people that West Coast have, I think if we can work smarter and just as hard, we can defintely get the same results.
MA: The Power has a young list with some up-and-coming mid-tier midfielders. How do you see the blend of experience working together here with a few youngesters like Ollie Wines working with, say a middle-experienced Andrew Moore, and a veteran like Kane Cornes?
PW: I'm very impressed with the way they go about their work and it's very competetive for a spot in that midfield group this year. That's what you want and hopefully it drives everyone in the midfield group to reach their potential. We've got guys like Kane and Dom in that midfield group who are at the end of their careers, then young guys like Ollie who are just starting out, and players like Travis Boak, Brad Ebert and Hamish Hartlett who are in between. It's a really good spread of talent and will be exciting to see what they produce over the next couple of years.
MA: You mentioned three leaders there and I understand you have a fair bit to do with the leadership group. Can you explain a little bit about your role with them?
PW: I just facilitate the leadership group. I help set the agenda there and work with Ken to ensure issues are dealt with in a framework. I've been very impressed with the way the leadership group goes about it's work here at Port Adelaide.
MA: We might turn to your perspectives of the club and I'm sure many would be interested to know what your view of the club was last year, before you came back.
PW: I was amazed at the turnaround. It was fantastic. The quality of people who were brought to the club in Darren Burgess, Ken obviously and Alan Richardson who has now left, you could see those three people had a huge influence on turning the place around and getting the best out of the players here. I was proud of the way the club was able to do that.
MA: I keep going back to the last time you were here because it makes a good point of comparison, and the game has changed in the last five years, but is it fair to say a strong midfield is as important as ever to crafting a successful side?
PW: Yeah it is, you've got to have a really strong midfield. All the premiership teams have had one, all the top four teams have one and it's just gives you the best chance to get the ball down the other end and makes it easier for everyone on the field. All those premiership and top four teams have got elite midfields and that's what we're striving to become.
MA: A good running team, simply going on who Port Adelaide recruited via the draft, seems to form the basis of the club's longer term strategy as well as it's short term one. Ken Hinkley is also on record as saying he wants his team to run just as hard at the end of a game as at the start. With that in mind, is it the case that a running team will be the norm at Port Adelaide for a while?
PW: Ken's game plan requires that and he demands of the players that they run hard both offensively and defensively. Darren Burgess's experitise is one of the areas we can hopefully use to get an advantage over the rest of the competition. We've got an excellent running midfield and we're looking forward to seeing what they can do.
MA: What are some of the priorities of the midfield group specifically and perhaps the broader playing group heading into Round 1?
PW: Ken's made it known that we want to get our skills better. As we saw last year the team played brave, took the game on and had an exciting brand of footy. Ken's pushing that again, but he's also on record as saying defence drives attack. With that in mind we're working on all those things as well as what we do at stoppages. The game continues to evolve and if you're not looking to change and tinker with a few things, you'll get left behind.
MA: Looking forward, what would you say the football world can expect to see from the club and specifically that midfield group.
PW: Ken continues to say we'll never, ever give up and we'll get what we deserve, but I've been most impressed by the extraordinary effort given by the guys. I think you'll see that when they go out and play. Port Adelaide 2014 will show great effort and great committment. That's something exciting to look forward to.
