One of Gippsland footy’s hottest stories is Cora Lynn’s recruitment of experienced senior coach Travis Marsham and his two former right-hand men in Gembrook’s recent run to three straight Yarra Valley Mountain District league Division 1 grand finals – Ricky Clark and David Main.
In the first of a two-part interview, Marsham sat down with the Gazette’s RUSSELL BENNETT in the Cora Lynn clubrooms to set the record straight about his signing, and what he has in store for the Cobras.
Russell Bennett: Travis, your involvement in local coaching goes back to Narre Warren with Ricky, and Aussie Jones, and senior roles at Gembrook-Cockatoo and Ellinbank as well…
Travis Marsham: I started out coaching Ellinbank – it was my first senior gig. It was a great league to start my coaching career in and this is probably going to be my last coaching stop, so I thought it was a little bit romantic to come back to the league I started in.
It’s good to come back. I know the league and I know the teams pretty well and because I’m local I stay up to date – reading through the papers about what’s happening out here.
RB: There are a lot of young kids involved in the club so that must’ve been a bit of a draw card…
TM: The biggest attraction for me to Cora Lynn was from an article – or a photo – the Gazette ran a few weeks ago of all the young players. There were, I think 17, 19-year-olds who had played senior football this year and that is very exciting. There is some serious talent amongst them. I believe there’s going to be a great opportunity to educate these kids and I think that’s where we could see some immediate results.
RB: When you first had a chat with the Cobras, who did you speak with?
TM: Terry Dillon rang me first and we had a chat. When we came out to the interview, Brad (Horaczko) and Tim (Payne) came along – the playing-assistant coach and captain – and I was really impressed by the leadership they showed. They both knew exactly what they wanted in a coach. They’re both relatively young as far as leaders go but that was a big part of what swung me across.
RB: What stood out most about the role?
TM: The young talented list and their administration which is, no doubt, one of the best around. They’ve got an incredible set-up. What they’ve been able to do – almost a $1 million in upgrades to the ground, the goalposts, lights and the scoreboard – is fantastic.
RB: What did the two players (Brad and Tim) tell you in that interview?
TM: Just that the team was craving some off-field control and that they were looking to be a little more educated about the game. I’d say my strength in coaching is just that. Anyone that I’ve coached before will tell you there’s a lot of video analysis, meetings and ‘why are we doing this?’, rather than just going out to train. I want the players coming off with sore heads because they’ve been really thinking about the game and not just playing it.
RB: There has been a fair bit spoken about incoming players since you were announced as coach, particularly with David Main and Ricky coming down with you. There’ve been a few questions raised about whether there would be other Gembrook-Cockatoo guys coming down to join them. Is there anything you can add?
TM: Gembrook is a great club and the last thing I want to see is the Brookers go poorly. I still get up there as much as I can. But there are a few things that are hurting them at the moment and I think being relegated and forced to travel a lot in Division 2… there are a few players not particularly keen on doing that.
I’ve got very strong relationships with all my players – that’s just how I coach. I’ve got a lot of players who I took to Gembrook who are perhaps making some gentle inquiries with me about joining Cora Lynn but there are a lot of things I’ve got to take into account. One is not overloading the list here, and another is ensuring Gembrook remains a great, strong, family club. That’s really important to me.
