loris bertolacci

Brian Cook deserves a lot of credit for Geelong Football Club

Brian Cook deserves a lot of credit for Geelong Football Club

I started at Geelong in 1998 and my decision to accept a position with Geelong and resign from Essendon was re-inforced by the fact I was informed that Geelong was a well resourced financial club. Well to my dismay by early 1999 the club was found to have a massive debt and the CEO and committee was overhauled and Brian Cook was appointed. What followed was tough to swallow for me. The clubs number 1 priority was to recover the debt. Bendigo Bank sponsored the club and reduced the debt and Frank Costa & co secured this move. But of course till 2004 this meant that funds dried up for me. I had the bare minimum for equipment and staff and Financial Security was prioritized above performance as NO 1 aim of club. Of course we had drafted from 1998 2002 the bulk of players that were developed through that era resulting in finals in 2004/2005 & flags in 2007/2009.

A summary of the history of Brian’s influence is in this article below:

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/afl/geelongs-nineyear-journey/2007/09/26/1190486430575.html

Brian Cook drove all these steps and clearly outlined the process to staff often. Whilst it was a pain to be under resourced I could see the club was heading in the right direction. The facilities were still good and the ground and surrounding areas were great. Just not much money for staff & equipment. So simply I employed people on minimum wages in the fitness area and developed them. Jarrod Egan, Chris Dennis, Mark Spivey, Matt Hornsby, Luke Meehan etc.

Mark Spivey

I am not sure but think it was 2004 when Brian Cook had a meeting with all the staff and said that the priority had changed to team performance given the club had reduced the debt and stabilized finances. Immediately Brian released funds for a gym restructure for example.

But I think that Brian’s main influence was felt in late 2006 when he conducted a review of the club’s footy department. I was terminated in April 2006 but this review was started mid year after the club’s on field performances collapsed and there were other “problems” occurring.

Below is a link to the findings of the review that members received.

http://www.thecattery.com.au/Multimedia/GFCLetter_060928.pdf

He identified the need to get quality staff in administration in the footy department and also the need to get cutting edge sports science and back up with medical staff. I was keen in 2005 to get an International standard Sports Medicine person into the club and in mid 2006 (after I was gone) Chris Bradshaw was recruited. This was a key appointment by Brian Cook.

Brian has a Sports Science background and in the review identified that the pre-season of 2005/2006 had been insufficient to hold up what should have been a tilt at a flag in 2006 after close calls in 04/05. The machinations behind this poor fitness preparation are described by a media release from my lawyers in 2006 in the link below. It was an insufficient fitness preparation in 2005/2006 pre-season for 2006 and Brian’s review was spot on and more so what was implemented with resources, admin and staff.

http://www.thecattery.com.au/Articles/25112006_2.php

Also more importantly Brian Cook had the wisdom to realize the club had the right list which was at the right age and development. The players had been in 2 years of finals and were ready. So he stabilized the club, kept the list and added expertise from Neil Balme to the Sports Science area. He created clear lines of decision making with little interference and the rest was history. But I am sure he realized that after 2004& 2005 that the club was on target and didn’t need a cull of players. That was the number one call in my opinion. So many clubs have reacted savagely to a poor year by getting rid of players. Clubs like Freo have ripped their lists apart in the past,

It was reported in the media that there was angst between Cook and Thompson but I can only read and interpret the papers here. Brian Cook settled my termination case in March 2007 and I was happy and respected his input that day and the decision. Again good timing because it got a gremlin out of the system before the season started in 2007. This “angst” between Cook & Thompson is suggested below in an article in the Courier Mail. Obviously the events of 2010 had to be handled professionally by Cook and on field and off field success suggests this has happened.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/bombers-brigade/story-e6frepix-1111117584163

I think that Brian has a unique mix where he has been CEO at a number of clubs but also has Sports Science qualifications and experience in the sports science area. Thus he understands athletes and training and this subtle mix allowed him to make quality judgements on what was needed to succeed on the field especially after the shemozzle of 2006.

So I think a lot of the credit (apart from the players, coaches & staff of course!) has to be directed at Brian Cook.

June 28, 2011 - Posted by Loris Bertolacci | AFL