DARRYL WAKELIN: Yeah very special memories. I was very relaxed going into the game and from memory a lot of the guys were the same. We were so happy to get through the preliminary final by a small margin against the Saints. The whole week was very special with the parade over there and the whole atmosphere of Melbourne at the time. We had a great victory. Obviously a few instances during the game which didn’t help but I suppose it will go down in folklore with Lynchy and I in the goalsquare and Aker and Shauny trying to stay out the way! Just very lucky to get out of that without being whacked!CHAPLIN: When you finish football – whether it be in the next year or two or if you decide to go on like Tucky and play until you’re 40 – would you like to coach or would you like to have some time off with the kids?
WAKELIN: Yeah look I do love the coaching side of it. I love spending time with the guys and learning about what makes them tick, and getting the best out of them. But I have a bit of hunger to get out there in business and have a real crack at that. I want to stay involved in the club in some capacity. As far as coaching, people always say if you’re out of the game too long you cant get back into it but I don’t subscribe to that. I think if you’re a good coach and you’ve got a lot to offer – and I hope I have – then maybe a couple of years down the track the opportunity will come up.CHAPLIN: Talking about business, obviously a lot of people would know you’re a pharmacist by trade, how did you find going to uni and playing football, and then later on playing football and working?
WAKELIN: That’s one thing I don’t envy about you younger guys – it’s a very full program these days. I was lucky enough that I came through at a time when football was very much part-time so I had a lot of time where I could study. I did part-time study for eight years. People always joke that I’ve studied with every pharmacist in Victoria and South Australia in the past ten years but it has been great fun. It has given me peace of mind that I have something to go into post football. I also have some business interests too that I am really looking forward to getting involved in.CHAPLIN: Obviously your wife Carmen does a fair bit with you travelling to away games. How do you find going away for away games and not seeing your Gillon for a weekend?
WAKELIN: Yeah it is especially hard this early on when he’s only young. Carmen is very adaptable though. She is quite a resilient person but it’s always tough to be away. We’ve been lucky enough to have her parents down for a few weeks and my mum’s down this week so they’ve been great support for us in this first month.CHAPLIN: We’ve had the introduction of Toby Thurstans coming back into defence this year. How’s he been travelling and also Alipate Carlile who played one game last year, how are these guys fitting in this year?
WAKELIN: Yeah it has probably thrown around things a little bit. Toby had such an outstanding pre-season. He really took the bit between the teeth and said ‘look I really want to play, I want to make it my best pre-season’ and it really shows how important a pre-season is. He hasn’t done a thing wrong this year and he has probably been our best defender and his performances have really helped us in the backline. With Chad moving into the midfield and causing headaches through there it has given Toby and yourself and me the ability to play on their three talls yeah. Bobby Carlile had a few setbacks with injury late in the pre-season but he’s starting to play some good football so no doubt we’ll see Bobby play some games in the second half of the year and he’ll be around for a long time.
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