Doug Koop is eyeing another Cranbourne premiership cup on Saturday.
By Peter Sweeney
IF, AS appears a formality, Cranbourne wins the Casey Cardinia Football League flag on Saturday, Doug Koop will do something he has been longing to for ages – place a miniature premiership cup on the top of the homemade pyramid in the Eagles’ clubrooms.
The missing piece of furniture has irked the Cranbourne coach since a reserves player from Narre Warren “borrowed” it some time ago.
And though the pyramid looks incomplete, the absence of a cup has hurt Koop – whose playing career was shortened by a serious knee injury after five games for North Melbourne, 44 for Melbourne and three seasons with Woodville in the SANFL – and his players more. And it has driven them to dig deeper.
As has the formation of a nine-man-strong leadership group of players, who met on Tuesdays during the season to discuss on and off-field matters. Cranbourne knows it is still “a local club” – but a rule of letting the club know if you couldn’t come to training was to be adhered to.
Players realised it was to be taken seriously when three senior and nine reserves players who failed to attend a training session over Easter were dropped for a week.
“It sent out a clear message of how serious we were,” Koop said.
And then there’s last year, when top dog Cranbourne was blown out in straight sets.
“Yeah, my arse is still in a bit of pain from that. Yeah, it was a wasted opportunity,” Koop said.
“Aussie Jones (Beaconsfield coach) did a real good job in stifling our better players in the second semi and then Narre got a flying start and we couldn’t catch them.”
This year, nobody has been able to catch the undefeated Cranbourne. He won’t say so, but it has got a lot to do with Koop.
“As normal,” Koop replies when asked how he is preparing his players for the grand final.
“There’s no point in changing things.”
Doug Koop – who describes himself as “older than all my players and too old to make a comeback” – is a Leading Senior Constable with Victoria Police. A copper for 18 years, he is on leave to plan a premiership.
In his fourth year at the Eagles – who, amazingly, have not produced a VFL or AFL player – Koop recently signed for another two seasons. Eventually, he would like to be a full-time coach at Cranbourne.
“I’m here enough, it feels like full-time,” Koop said.
“There’s 10 hours a week or so of training and things and nearly double that in preparing players, ringing them up and the like.
“This is a well run footy club – but to have that people have to put in the time. A football club is about more than footy. It can teach people much about life.
“It’s a place of discipline and we have set the bar high. We’re not a place which attracts dickheads.”
Koop and close mate Billy King, whose son Ben plays for Narre, run Kicking On, a series of drills and exercises that help players kick straighter.
“Statistics show that it works,” Koop said.
For now, statistics show that Koop and Cranbourne are kicking on. And come Saturday night, one would be foolish to think that home-made pyramid won’t have a miniature cup on its head.
