NEW Melbourne assistant coach Craig Jennings says he’s relishing his new club.
Jennings, who has taken on the newly-created position, game analysis and education coordinator, says he had enjoyed every moment since crossing from the Western Bulldogs.
“I really love it here at the footy club – from the minute I walked in,” he told Melbourne TV.
“We’re all still getting to know each other in the coaches’ box, but it’s been pretty smooth so far – it’d just be good if we could get a long way in front of a game and rest up a little bit.
“There has been a lot of pressure in there, because we’ve had to come back from three or four goal margins, right from the start of NAB Challenge.”
Jennings said he had a clear role on game day, assisting the coaches.
“Specifically, in my role, I’m there to offer solutions and support all of the coaches. I do a little bit of predictive stuff on what I think the opposition will do next and how we manage some of the strengths of the opposition, and then turn them into flaws and how we can expose some of their flaws.
“It’s really no different to my role, where I had 10 years at Essendon and the role I had in that box. In my year at the Bulldogs, I learned a lot about the way they go about it, so I’m not surprised they’re such a good team and they’re one of the premiership favourites at the moment.”
Jennings said the key with the coaches’ box was having a different mix of people.
“What you need in the coaches’ box is a real variety of opinions and ideas, so you don’t want six Paul Roos’ in there or six Simon Goodwins. You want a nice blend and I know that’s what we’ve got at this footy club. We work really well in there and we’re a solutions-focused coaches’ box and I think that’s important,” he said.
“Because there is a new system, defensively and in attack, things aren’t working perfectly at the moment. But when things do work well, you see it on the scoreboard … kicking five or six goals in a row. We’re a pretty dangerous footy club in attack.
“We don’t want to get away from the stuff that Roosy (Paul Roos) has built for a few years, and Brendan McCartney and Simon Goodwin are really strong on – and that’s the stuff at the contest. That’s in our DNA.
“The other stuff is to help us win a contest and then score from it, as opposed to just winning the contest and not being able to do anything with the footy.”
