Rock, a member of the Roos’ 1996 premiership team, finished his playing career with Hawthorn before a string of coaching opportunities at North Ballarat, Melbourne and St Kilda provided him with experiences he now considers “invaluable”.
“I’ve come back here with a lot of knowledge, not only through my TAC Cup days with North Ballarat, but under Neale Daniher (at Melbourne) for two years and I also worked alongside Mark Riley who’s coached senior football at Melbourne and is now an assistant at Carlton,” he said.
“Then to go to work with Ross (Lyon) … to understand what the requirements are as a coach that’s been involved in a premiership up in Sydney. I learnt some wonderful things off Ross and I really think he’s going to be a great coach. What he’s imparted on me, I’m sure I’ll implement parts of here at North Melbourne.”
Rock’s return to North coincides with a new chapter for the club; the re-establishment of its home in Melbourne, the imminent construction of state-of-the-art facilities and, later this month, the appointment of a new captain.
However, some older themes remain. The club has stuck with its Arden Street base while former teammates and officials are now colleagues, which Rock says has made the transition smoother.
“There’s a lot of familiar faces, so that’s always nice and they say ‘Welcome home’,” he said.
“Whilst it’s nice to have some familiar people to work with, I’ll be judged on my work ethic. It’s not like I’m a player anymore, so I have to gain respect through the way I do things around the place with what input I can have with our midfield group.
“I’m really pleased and delighted that so many people have got behind the football club and the membership base has gone up unbelievably,” he added. “When I first started there would have been less than 2000 members, so to see it to where it is at this point in time is fantastic.
“I think with the facilities they’ve done a great job with what they’ve got and they’ve made the most of it, but as you can see with all clubs they’re moving forward in that area to try and give the players and the staff the best environment at an elite level.
“Having said that, it’s not just about the facilities, it’s more about the people and North Melbourne has always had great people involved that are willing to go that extra mile.”
Rock had a year to run on his contract at St Kilda, but decided that the chance to rejoin the club he played 178 games with was too good to pass up.
“Ross Lyon made it definitely clear that I was required to stay, but there was an opportunity to come back – through conversations that I had with various people throughout the latter part of the season,” he said.
“I know there was a genuine target for (former Collingwood captain) Scott Burns and when Scott decided to take the West Coast position, I suppose that’s when I really thought about it.
“There were some family reasons as well – just being a little bit closer to home and my two young children. It’s going to enable me to spend a little bit more time and help my wife a little bit more.”
And Rock sees that seasons spent in other coaches’ boxes can now be used to North’s advantage.
“I suppose it’s a different view of the expectations of what’s required to compete in a national competition and to be the very best,” he said.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in finals at other clubs. Obviously I want to be involved in developing individuals and developing the collective midfield – the team – but also be involved in premiership success.
“That’s what my aim is here at North Melbourne.”
