Former St Kilda superstar Nick Dal Santo has gone into bat for his ex-teammate Robert Harvey by claiming that the dual Brownlow medalist is ready for a senior coaching role.
However, the three-time All Australian believes that Harvey's opportunity to be a club's 'main man' is likely to lie away from the Holden Centre.
Despite this prediction, Harvey will lead the Magpies on an interim basis for the remainder of the season, with his tenure beginning on Saturday afternoon when Collingwood clash with Fremantle.
Speaking onย SEN,ย Dal Santo - Harvey's former midfield apprentice across their time spent at Moorabbin - divulged that the 383-game Saint is likely to use the rest of the home and away season to audition for roles elsewhere in the competition.
โWe all know what he was like as a player. In some ways, itโs hard to assess what people are like as senior coaches let alone as assistants,โ Dal Santo said.
โAs a teammate he was as reliable and dependable a teammate as they came, and we learnt so many lessons as younger players.
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โUltimately, and this is my take with no inside knowledge, I donโt think he gets the job at Collingwood. I think heโs auditioning for another opportunity, at another football club.
โThis is his opportunity for another football club - whether it be the end of this year, in a couple of yearsโ time, whenever - to say โactually, remember at the end of 2021 when Robert Harvey finally got an opportunity to coach his own team for nine games?โโ
Irrespective of Harvey's playing and coaching pedigree, Dal Santo held the view that Collingwood is likely to be chasing a tactically minded coach to steer their reshuffled playing list through a rebuild, and not one that shared the same philosophies as outgoing coach Nathan Buckley.
โNathan Buckley left Collingwood because they needed change. Whether you agree with that or not โฆ they needed a new voice,โ Dal Santo continued.
โRobert Harvey is a similar voice to what theyโve had. Because heโs been there for such a long period of time, itโs really difficult for him to come in and be completely different.
โIn many ways, youโre a product of your environment. You are as a player, but you are also as a coach. It is why we see a lot of Alastair Clarkson disciples go to other football clubs.โ
โI see Harvs in a similar mould to Bucks, with what they believe in and the way they would coach.โ
With the Magpies blooding several debutants this season, Dal Santo mused whether or not Harvey was obliged to continue the trend or whether he should in fact be looking to boost his credentials with victories instead.
โIt is a great opportunity for him, but does he also have an obligation to the football club to play the younger players?โ Dal Santo pondered.
โTo use this last nine games of the year, which are significant for him, to have a purpose, to move this group forward.
โSo Pies supporters, everybody watching their games at the end of this year can say โtough year, theyโve lost a coach, they had a bad trade period, we understand all that.
โโBut what I did see in that last nine weeks, whether Harvs takes over or not, is some growth."
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Should Harvey choose the former approach, his teammate of seven seasons claimed that it could actually hurt his employment chances.
โItโs more than young players getting an opportunity, itโs moving the ball a different way. Were they better with their skills, were they more competitive, have they stayed in games longer?โ Dal Santo said.
โWeโll be able to work out the balancing act for 'Harvs', to put his best foot forward but also get some growth out of this group, which may not always be in his best interest.โ
The footballing world will get their first glimpse of Harvey's coaching style on Saturday afternoon when the Pies do battle with the Justin Longmuir led Dockers at Marvel Stadium.
Harvey and Longmuir spent several seasons together as assistants under Buckley.
