JOHN LONGMIRE

With a foreword by Lance Franklin.

Highly respected AFL coach John Longmire spent 14 years leading the Sydney Swans, taking them to a triumphant premiership in 2012 before four agonising Grand Final defeats over the next decade. In this rare insight into what makes a modern-day coach tick, Longmire reflects on the soaring highs and deflating lows of his career and what he’s learnt about leadership , culture , team building , talent development and strategy .

Longmire was a teenage goalkicking sensation from the bush who was a vital part of North Melbourne’s powerhouse sides of the 1990s before two knee reconstructions blunted his effectiveness. One of those setbacks denied him a flag in 1996, but three years later he willed his failing body over the line in his 200th and final game to win a premiership medal.

After helping modernise the AFL Players’ Association for the professional era and becoming a player manager, Longmire joined the Sydney Swans as an assistant coach in 2002. As a key lieutenant to coach Paul Roos, he played a part in ending footy’s longest premiership drought in 2005. On succeeding Roos, Longmire led the team to 12 Finals Series , five Grand Finals and the 2012 Premiership .

Longmire reveals what he learnt from working with champions such as Adam Goodes , Lance Franklin and Isaac Heeney . His message is one of remaining open to possibility and making the most of the sliding-doors moments in life.

Above all, Longmire’s story epitomises the power of regeneration, of self and of team.