Richmond is mourning the passing of Australian Football Hall of Fame coaching great Allan Jeans.
Although Jeans is best remembered for his premiership success as coach at both St Kilda and Hawthorn, the influence he had in his one-season coaching stint with the Tigers, in 1992, should not be underestimated.
Four-time Richmond Jack Dyer Medallist, and former Club captain, Wayne Campbell, was just starting out on his league football journey when Jeans arrived at Tigerland to take over the coaching reins.
Campbell, nowadays an assistant coach at Richmond, today fondly recalled Jeans’ time with the Tigers . . .
“The impact that he had at the Club on a number of people, in such a short space of time, just shows what a great man he was,” Campbell said.
“In effect, he was here for only about nine months, but the positive effect he had on players like Stewie Maxfield, Brendon Gale and myself, along with Cameron Schwab and Doug Vickers, who were the CEO and Football Manager back then, was profound.
“He was wise, he was a disciplinarian, and he had amazing charisma.
“Anyone who ever heard a speech by him could certainly vouch for his ability to attract your attention . . . the quiet words leading up to the booming voice, which made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up!”
Campbell has vivid memories of his initial meeting with his new Richmond coach in late 1991.
“I still remember the spot where he came up and shook my hand and said, ‘I’ve watched your tape and I really think you can play’. I’d only played 12 games in my first season and I didn’t know whether I could play or not, but when ‘Yabby’ said that, I thought, gee, he’s smart, so I must be a player,” Campbell said.
“That gave me a real lift and I reckon from that moment on, I was on the right track . . .
“He said, ‘I’m not about wins and losses, you’re just going to play in the middle with Stewie Maxfield all year and we’re going to develop you as players. Then, hopefully, we’ll get some good players down the track and build a side’.
“So, for the whole year, he backed me in, even when I played some bad games.
“I remember I had the flu one week, so he said, ‘Right, you’re not playing’. I started to argue, but he just said, ‘You’re not playing and that’s that!’ So, I quickly retreated.”
The famous Allan Jeans coaching mantra of “either we’ve got it, they’ve (the opposition’s) got it, or it’s in dispute” was drummed into the Richmond players throughout the 1992 season . . .
“Yabby kept going on about that, along with ‘the side that wins in most positions on the ground, and makes the last number of mistakes, wins the game’. Unfortunately, however, when he was with us, we were making more mistakes and we were beaten in most positions,” Campbell said.
“It was just a shame that we didn’t have him for longer . . .”
Following Jeans’ enforced resignation from the Richmond coaching position at the end of the ’92 season, due to ill health, Campbell remained in close contact with him.
“I used to go out to his place and play tennis, along with the Paul Coburn, who was our Club physio and Chris Bradshaw, our doctor. We all got on really well with Yabby and kept in touch with him,” Campbell said.
“Then, luckily enough, Brendon Gale and myself went out and saw him last week.
“We spent an hour with him and his mind was as sharp as anything.
“It was an extraordinary hour hearing all those stories from him . . . we could have stayed there for hours.”
Richmond’s CEO, Brendon Gale, who also spent the 1992 season under Jeans’ astute coaching guidance, reinforced Campbell’s comments about the man . . .
“Although Allan had only one year here at the Club, he certainly influenced a lot of people,” Gale said.
“He was highly respected and we all had a great deal of affection for him.
“Over the years, he retained a keen interest in our club’s development and when I spoke to him last week, he was eager to talk about Damien’s progression as a coach and the progress of our playing group.
“Allan was a great football person and we are all saddened by his passing.
“On behalf of the Club, deepest sympathy to Allan’s wife, Mary, the rest of his family and the many friends he made throughout his wonderful football life.”
As a mark of respect for Allan Jeans, the Richmond team will wear black armbands in Saturday’s Round 17 match against the Gold Coast Suns at Cazaly’s Stadium.
