When did you first think about moving into coaching?

I never thought about it because I was always fairly calculated with what I did off the field. I always had a good job and started my own businesses, so it wasn’t until Kevin (Sheedy) asked me to do it part-time that I really thought about it. I did that for a year, was reasonably successful and after it he told me that he needed me to be full-time. That was 1999-2000 and that's where it evolved.

Did it help having a little break between retiring and moving into coaching?

It was a good cushioner, but I was still there and around the players. The hard part was to try to distance myself from the players and go on to coach them. I haven’t gone cold turkey on football yet, one day that will happen.

You have a lot to worry about first, but one day do you look forward to even just a year away from the game?

It just depends how the coaching regime goes. At some stage, yes I would. You live a very demanding life when you have a profile and it has become high pressure, so at some stage I'll do that.

When you joined Sheedy, did you think you would want to be a senior coach one day?

I just went along for a couple of years, we won a premiership in 2000 with a fantastic side that in the end probably coached themselves. People then automatically think that guys involved in that coaching structure should be coaches at other clubs and that's how that push came. I struggled to come to terms with that, as I was happy with what I was doing. I also had an operation that put me on the skids for a while and it wasn’t until a couple of years later that I thought I might want to find out if I could be a senior coach.

Influences on your coaching?

Everyone that you come across in the coaching area throws opinions and philosophies across. Obviously Kevin, but then I worked under Chris (Connolly) for two years and he taught me a completely different side of football to look at and how to prepare and organise for it as a coach. Those two are the biggest ones and I talk to Mark Thompson a lot about coaching as well.

There was plenty of speculation on you becoming a senior coach; did you put your hand up for any jobs?

There was a couple that I spoke to on a preliminary basis, but not in an official interview. That was to find out what they wanted out of their playing list and things like that, so I never went for a full job interview. Being here for two years before getting the job helped and to do it on a part-time basis was fascinating, even though it's not the way you want to do it. Then I went through the process and hopefully there's not another one.

How different is it coaching young players now to when you played?

The authority hasn’t gone out the window, but it's more a compromise of what you say and do nowadays. Then you have to let them impart what they have to say and you then come to a conclusion, but there is still the old-fashioned coaching that's still there and they need to understand who is in charge.

Has coaching changed much?

A lot of coaching is working around the rules and the tactics, and study of the opposition has gone to phenomenal levels. That is significant. Even the kicking zones and stoppages, it just never ends. Everyone is trying to find the edge and I don’t know what the next one is, but whoever finds it will have an advantage.

What have been the major changes in the game over your 25 years?

All the rule changes. Don’t take the football instinct out of the game is what I would say. You just don’t want to see footballers that just have the ability to run being the best players. They have to think about that and the game is getting quicker, but that's happening because of sports science and the introduction of different methods to train players. The competitive nature should always remain and they have cleaned it up enough.

How does the 2000 team compare with yours of 1985?

The fitness was at completely different levels but the '85 side was dominant. We played an All Stars side that was made up of the best players from every other team and we beat them at Waverley. That's like beating a state team. The '85 team would be a better side in 2000 had all things been equal, and that's not because I played in it.