The document discusses how Australian rules football clubs carefully consider a player's character and attitude in addition to their on-field abilities during recruitment. It emphasizes the importance of "good blokes" who will positively contribute to the team culture. Clubs conduct extensive interviews with players, families, coaches and teachers to assess a candidate's psychological traits and determine if they are the right fit. A player's attitude and interpersonal skills can significantly influence draft positioning, with those exhibiting strong character rising up teams' rankings.

1. Personal Branding
Ref: 0091
A is for Attitude
By Matt Windley | November 19, 2012
A player once mused an AFL list is much like a PE class at school. You have your teacher’s
pets, leaders, jokers, nerds and those who sit at the back of the class and insist on mucking
about.
And while the latter are tolerated as long as they fall back into line, those prone to detention
are not.
Brendan Fevola and Daniel Connors are two players who have fallen out of the system
because of behavioural issues.
Thursday’s national draft is a critical filtering point where clubs can make sure “bad eggs”
are kept out.
As Essendon captain Jobe Watson told the Herald Sun, clubs cannot afford to waste time on
players who aren’t of a certain disposition.
“Any time you bring someone into your club, you want to know that they aren’t going to be
people who hold you back,” Watson said.
For further information on this handout and the consulting
and coaching programs available please contact:
Image Group International
Asia Pacific Head Office
T: (+61 3) 9824 0420
E: info@imagegroup.com.au
www.imagegroup.com.au
©2012
Page 1 of 4

2. Personal Branding
Ref: 0091
“You want to know that they are willing to fulfill and embrace what the ethos of the team is.
The amount of energy that you might spend trying to manage people and get them to do
what you want is really wasted, so clubs and even teammates now aren’t prepared to put up
with people who they have to constantly manage.”
Never has being a “good bloke” in the eyes of a prospective coach, footy manager or
recruiter been so important.
AFL talent manager Kevin Sheehan says the sport requires players and staff to work
together productively for up to 50 hours a week.
So attitude is the NO.1 thing that Michael Turner, regional manager of TAC Cup team
Geelong Falcons, tells his players to focus on.
“And that’s a whole range of things,” Turner said.
“It’s being prepared to work hard, to fit in with the team, follow instructions, be coachable.
That is 100 percent the key area with AFL clubs now. Once they tick off on the (playing
ability) then that’s what they come home in on.”
Recruiters are under enormous pressure to get the right people to their club. Several
recruiting departments have access to a psychologist to help assess the characteristics of
potential players.
Parents, teachers and employers are all interviewed to get a better idea of the man behind
the footballer.
Collingwood recruiting manager Derek Hine says no stone can be left unturned to find the
right player for the club – on and off the field.
“Because clubs are becoming more and more accountable, and as a consequence, it’s just
critically important that you are able to profile the athlete and be able to substantiate the pick
that you make,” Hine said.
“It obviously matters if the pick is right or wrong, but it’s extremely important that you’re able
to get in front of the board and say ‘these are the reasons we actually picked this particular
player.”
“It’s obviously about looking at the athlete, his strengths and weaknesses in both a physical
sense and psychological sense. Then you look at the resources that you’ve got in your
organisation to say: ‘OK, if I end up brining player X in, can I do so in confidence, knowing
that we’ve got the support structure in place to be able to address any particular weaknesses
he might have in his game or psyche?”
“If you don’t think you can turn him around, then you may as well not bring the athlete in.”
For further information on this handout and the consulting
and coaching programs available please contact:
Image Group International
Asia Pacific Head Office
T: (+61 3) 9824 0420
E: info@imagegroup.com.au
www.imagegroup.com.au
©2012
Page 2 of 4

3. Personal Branding
Ref: 0091
Former Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett confirms there is pressure from board level to bring
quality people into the club.
“It’s terribly important,” Kennett said.
“Recruiters spend a great deal of time not only assessing the individual’s football abilities,
but whether he is going to fit in well as a member of the team and within the culture of the
club. It wouldn’t have mattered how good a footballer they were, if they were not able to be a
part of the team they will not be selected.”
“All recruiters, and certainly at Hawthorn, spend a great deal of time with the individual, with
his family, before making recommendations that they should be drafted. So it’s not just on
football ability.”
Psychological assessments and interviews with clubs are critical when determining if a
player is the right fit.
Some try to meet players before they are “coached” to give good answers in interviews,
while others wait until after the under-18 national championships.
But if clubs want to get the full picture, Turner said they should look no further than the
player’s TAC Cup of state league club “because they see them in a football atmosphere and
know how they react to the scenarios.”
“Some AFL clubs are very good at doing that and some clubs are very poor,” Turner said.
“We all give an honest appraisal.”
He said players know what to expect when interviewed – Geelong’s Billie Smedts addressed
Falcon players on the subject this year – but above all they are urged not to feel intimidated.
“We only encourage them to be themselves,” Turner said. “That’s what the clubs want. Thry
just want an honest assessment.”
For further information on this handout and the consulting
and coaching programs available please contact:
Image Group International
Asia Pacific Head Office
T: (+61 3) 9824 0420
E: info@imagegroup.com.au
www.imagegroup.com.au
©2012
Page 3 of 4

4. Personal Branding
Ref: 0091
Geelong Falcons player Mason Wood who will be drafted into the AFL. Picture: Cormac
Hanrahan.
A POOR attitude may see potential draftees plummet in draft calculations, but
players of exceptional character can rocket upwards.
Take Geelong Falcon Mason Wood for example.
Falcons regional manager Michael Turner believed that Wood, 19, (right) was no
more than a middle-of-the-road draft candidate at the start of the season.
A stellar year on the field for the Falcons and Vic Country has undoubtedly helped
the 189cm forward, but Turner said Wood's off-field qualities had enhanced his
chances of being selected early in Thursday night's draft.
"A kid like Mason Wood was probably going to get drafted at 30-40," Turner said.
"But if a kid tests really well and interviews really well, then he'll go up in draft
calculations.
"So Mason Wood has probably gone from pick No.40 to around the 20s because he
interviews really well.
"After the draft combine, they sort of fine-tune it a bit, the AFL clubs, and things can
change pretty dramatically."
For further information on this handout and the consulting
and coaching programs available please contact:
Image Group International
Asia Pacific Head Office
T: (+61 3) 9824 0420
E: info@imagegroup.com.au
www.imagegroup.com.au
©2012
Page 4 of 4