Five of Des Headland’s former teammates are senior AFL coaches in 2023.
During his time spent with Brisbane (where he won the 2002 premiership) and Fremantle, Headland shared the field with Michael Voss (Carlton), Craig McRae (Collingwood), Chris Scott (Geelong), Brad Scott (Essendon) and Justin Longmuir (Fremantle).
Senior coaching was well on the radar for three of the quintet in particular, while all five were destined for bigger things after their playing careers.
“When you look at it now, absolutely,” he said on SEN WA’s The Run Home.
“Particularly the likes of Michael Voss and the Scott brothers. You know just by the way they played, their brand of football and they just demanded respect. They had a hard edge, their head-over-the-ball, follow me type attitude as players and they turned that into great coaches.
“Craig McRae was always one of the larrikins and got the group together on the mad Mondays and the footy trips.
“He really knew how to get a team together and you see that with what he’s doing at Collingwood.
“With ‘Longy’ as well, he’s got those really good people skills about him. He seems to get it across to the players and hopefully they get a few wins for him and take the pressure off a bit.”
What McRae has done at Collingwood since his arrival prior to the 2022 season has been nothing short of remarkable.
The way he has the Magpies playing is pleasing on the eye, even for someone like Headland who never thought he’d see the day where he admired the black and white.
“Collingwood, as much as you love to hate them, they’re pretty exciting to watch,” he added.
“I remember when ‘Vossy’ took over as Carlton coach I gave him a quick message saying, ‘You’ve made me a Blues fan’, which was unlikely.
“I never thought there’d be a day you’d sit there and love to watch Collingwood play footy, but they are playing a really exciting brand and (with) a never-say-die attitude.
“And when you’ve got a rare, special talent that’s coming through like Nick Daicos, I don’t think we’ve seen someone like him for a very long time.”
Headland’s former clubs Brisbane and Fremantle, with Longmuir in the hot seat, clash at the Gabba on Saturday afternoon, while his old colleagues Brad (Essendon) and Chris Scott (Geelong) will do battle for the first time since the former took over at the Bombers.
Voss and Carlton meet West Coast in Perth on Saturday night, before McRae and his Pies travel to Adelaide to meet the Crows on Sunday.