NEWLY appointed Sydney AFLW coach Scott Gowans had an unlikely face in his final interview for the role.
Alongside club CEO Tom Harley was AFL senior coach John Longmire, a rarity to find in interviews in the women's space.
The Swans' holistic club approach to their new women's program couldn't be more apparent, with Longmire also taking it upon himself to show Gowans around the club on his first day, introducing him to the 50-odd staff members they came across along the way.
"From a personal point of view, I really wanted to tick the box of coaching interstate off my resume, it sounds silly, but it was something I wanted to do," Gowans told womens.afl.
"To get the opportunity to do it at Sydney is amazing, I've heard a lot about their Bloods culture, and I just want to learn about it and implement it in my coaching."
Gowans had an 11-3 record at North Melbourne before his contract wasn't renewed amid the cost-cutting of 2020.
He's spent the past season-and-a-half at Collingwood as Steve Symonds' senior assistant and midfield coach, and was part of the inaugural build at Carlton as an assistant in 2016-17.
It means he is well prepared to take on the challenges of a third inaugural AFLW side, acting as list manager as well as coach in the lead-up to the first season.
"I took lessons out of that experience at Carlton, and I will take lessons out of both Carlton and North Melbourne to Sydney," Gowans said.
"To be honest, I reflect on them and think – I know I've been unlucky – but how lucky am I to be involved in three inaugural programs? That just won't happen again."
Gowans' role in Sydney is wide-ranging, looking to help developing the burgeoning women's football programs in the state by working with coaches.
"A big part of my job will be coaching the coaches that are wanting to or already coaching in the female space, whether they're male or female, and upskilling them as quickly as I can," Gowans said.
"Not to tell them what to coach, but to explain what I think works at AFLW level, which they can then take back to their coaching and implement ideas.
"A classic example might be focusing on kicking – which they need to do – but they're doing so much work on it they're forgetting ground balls. So it's more reminding people and narrowing them in the focus where if you can't pick the ball up, you can't kick it.
"It's a bit of a space that needs to be improved in AFLW – picking the ball up quickly, safely and then get your possession done from there. A lot of effort, and we've all done it, is spent on kick-mark-handball, but I think winning the contest and groundball is something we can all spend time on."
Gowans has seen the AFLW evolve over his six years of involvement but has seen marked change from 2020 onwards.
"The team defence and the pressure teams apply has been the biggest change. At Collingwood, we wanted to move the ball by hand, North and Richmond want to move the ball by foot," he said.
"But if you get the pressure Fremantle and Adelaide bring, you need to be able to cope with it and change the way you play a little bit."
So, what's the first job on the list for a newly appointed coach?
"We're open for business. We want to start building a list, so we want to talk to player managers and players this week, get right into it, roll up our sleeves and start building a list," Gowans said.
"There's a lot of footwork, a lot of conversations to be had with players and managers, we've got the open sign on and happy to hear from all customers."
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