Adrian Fletcher

[Dale61]

This was in last weeks TXU VFL Record.

Passing on the baton

With almost 250 AFL games under his belt, Adrian Fletcher is the perfect choice to help develop Collingwood and Williamstown’s young talent.

When he headed to Melbourne late last year, Adrian Fletcher’s
focus concentrated on winning a spot on the list at Collingwood.
While he was unsuccessful in making the Magpies his fifth AFL
club and his push towards 250 AFL games appears permanently stalled at 231 games, Fletcher is more than pleased with
the outcome.

Sure, he would still love to be running around at the elite level, but his time at McHale Stadium paid dividends for him
and Williamstown.

Although he was only with Collingwood a short time, it was enough to create a favourable impression on the club hierarchy.
Collingwood assistant and Williamstown coach Brad Gotch approached Fletcher, 32, about joining the Seagulls as a playing
assistant-coach.

The Magpies then asked Fletcher to work for them in a part-time capacity to help develop the skills of their rookie players and
assist in the coach’s box on match day.

Fletcher views his latest football journey as a win-win situation. He is able to continue playing football, gain an invaluable insight into coaching and help nurture the young players at both Collingwood and Williamstown.

The latter is an area that has always interested him throughout his League career, which took him from St Kilda to Geelong to
Brisbane to Fremantle.

“Wherever I went, I always took an interest in the kids,” Fletcher said. “I knew where you had to come from to play
AFL and I thought if I could pass on something that I learned over my time, it was something that would give me a great deal of warmth.

“I work with the Collingwood rookies on a Monday and a Tuesday
and hopefully by the end of the season we will be able to see some real improvement.

“And, Brad Gotch is teaching me all the things he has learned in coaching over the past 10 years and he’s had a lot of success.”
It hasn’t taken Fletcher long to gain a sense of the history at Williamstown, an aspect he believes is important that all Collingwood players who pull on the blue and gold guernsey understand.

“One thing about Williamstown is they have character and 120 years of history behind them,” he said.

“Every time we run out on the ground we want to think about playing for the jumper and think about our efforts.”

While he could be excused for taking his foot off the accelerator after 14 seasons, Fletcher said it was crucial he led from the front.

He said it would be folly to understate the standard of the VFL competition.

“I’m putting in as much time as I would if I was playing AFL,” he said. “I still want to improve as a player and a person and being assistant coach I want to show the way.”

It hasn’t taken long for him to win over his new teammates and the Seagulls’ faithful.

"Racetracks are for racing, roads are for getting there."

[This message has been edited by Dale61 (edited 02 May 2002).]