COLLINGWOOD caretaker coach Robert Harvey will be out to continue the recent trend of interim bosses delivering first-up wins for their club after an in-season coach sacking.
But standing in his way on Saturday is a man who knows him well as a coach, will understand his preferences and anticipate the changes he may make when he takes the reins for the first time.
Harvey and Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir coached alongside each other as assistants under Nathan Buckley through 2018 and 2019, taking care of the midfield and backline respectively.
It presents a unique challenge for Harvey, who has declared he will not seek to make major changes but has strong views on how the game should be played.
Asked on Thursday if he would implement a more attacking game style, Harvey said: "Our profile says we need to score more. But I think it's been trending in the right direction up until now."
The Magpies are favoured to beat the Dockers after Buckley departed on the back of back-to-back wins and a strong month of form.
If they do, Harvey would be the fourth caretaker of the past five to lead his team to a first-up win, joining Rhyce Shaw at North Melbourne (R11, 2019), Carlton coach David Teague (R12, 2019) and St Kilda coach Brett Ratten (R18, 2019).
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The circumstances for Harvey this week are probably closest to Shaw in that he is taking over a team coming off a win and a coaching departure that at least publicly appeared more amicable than usual.
But beyond that trio, who went on to win the senior roles permanently, the first-up record of caretakers is poor.
In the past 10 years, the record for caretakers is 3-7, with the wins led by Shaw, Teague and Ratten preceded by six consecutive losses.
Dean Solomon (Gold Coast, 2017), Matthew Egan (Essendon, 2015), John Barker (Carlton, 2015), Mark Harvey (Brisbane, 2013), Neil Craig (Melbourne, 2013) and Garry Hocking (Port Adelaide, 2012) all suffered first-up losses.
David Hale was the AFL's most recent caretaker, leading Fremantle in a 43-point loss in round 23, 2019.
Egan's two-point defeat against Gold Coast after taking over from James Hird in round 21 was the only close loss in that group, with the rest falling short by an average of 54 points.
Then there is the challenge of holding on to the top job, which has proven much more successful in recent times than has historically been the case.
Since the turn of the century, eight of the 22 coaches who have taken over in a caretaker capacity have gone on to win the role permanently.
They have all had at least six weeks to prove themselves, with those coaches who have taken over in the final rounds of a season unsuccessful.
Of the eight successful caretakers, five led their teams to first-up wins and five ended the season with a positive win-loss record.
The exceptions were Grant Thomas (St Kilda, 1-6), Ratten (Carlton, 0-6) and Ratten again (St Kilda, 3-3).
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Paul Roos, who led Sydney to a 6-4 record after taking over from Rodney Eade in round 13, 2002, is the only caretaker coach this century to go on and win a premiership in the permanent role.
Harvey said on Thursday he was not using the next nine weeks to pitch for the top job and the St Kilda champion had put little thought into putting his hand up.
Getting the best out of the Collingwood players was his focus, and on that measure he will hope the Magpies follow the recent rather than long-term AFL trend under caretakers and start with a win.
