AFL premiership coach Paul Roos has spent 30 years at the elite end of football, but that doesn’t mean he is ignorant of grassroots leagues such as the Ovens and Murray.
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In fact the last Melbourne mentor told on Friday how through an O and M match in the 1980s he came across future AFL stars John Longmire and Steve Johnson.
“I remember coming up here, I think in the mid to late ‘80s on a bye weekend and I think Wang Rovers were playing Corowa and Johnny Longmire was playing and I met Johnny,” Roos said.
“I stayed with Stevie J actually, his father….I think Stevie was only about three or four at the time, so it’s always been known as a really strong league and I remember watching that day there was some terrific players and I am sure there still is up here.”
Indeed Roos has had weekly updates on Albury in 2016 with the Demons development and rehabilitation coach Daniel Cross sharing his AFL duties with playing for the unbeaten Tigers.
“He’s really committed to whatever he does and obviously committed to us and we knew that he loved his footy and we knew he wanted to play some more football and give back to the community,” Roos said of Cross whose Melbourne playing career ended last year.
“It was a pretty easy balance and we just trusted him to play when he thought he was available.
“He played some Saturdays and ran for us on Sundays, that shows you how fit he is.
“We were rapt that he was able to play and it’s great that he’s playing in a grand final.
“It was a hard decision for us not to have him play again, he’s a borderline AFL player and he’s a committed player wherever he plays.
“I knew he would play well up here and I believe he’s had a fantastic season.”
Roos was speaking before addressing Albury Tigers’ James McQuillan Future Fund grand final luncheon on Friday.
He recalled his time at the highest level which included playing for Victoria 14 times as well as for Fitzroy and Sydney.
Roos expects the Swans to bounce book from their loss to GWS when they play Adelaide in a semi-final on Saturday night.
He declined to say whether he supported the AFL continuing with the last round bye which was introduced this season and has pushed the grand final to October.
“I would like to see what the whole four-week block has looked like to make an informed decision,” Roos said.
“I think at the end of the final series everyone will look back and decide whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, it has probably suited some teams and not suited other teams.”
