By Nick Creely
Officer Senior Football Club president Nick McLennan is a popular figure in local footy, and recently sat down with NICK CREELY over a beer and burger to discuss everything from Officer, his cricket career, life outside of sport and his love for pink flamingo bed sheets…
Nick Creely: Well, it’s an absolute pleasure to sit down and chat with ‘Lord Nick – Barron of Officer’. Tell me about the nickname, it’s self-appointed isn’t it?
Nick McLennan: I was having a few beers down at the footy club one night, and some of the boys were talking about Lord Casey – Barron of Berwick, and they told me that I couldn’t get my name in the paper as Lord Barron. Your mate Russell (Bennett) at the paper stepped in and helped out, and printed it. I had just purchased land around the corner from the club and it appears the name has stuck.
NC: Now, take me back a little bit. You’re currently president of Officer, but tell me about how you became involved in local footy…
NM: I was playing state-level hockey at MCC in the city, and I kind of just decided it wasn’t for me anymore, and I wanted to do something locally with some of my mates, and low and behold I rocked up at Officer, then known as ROC in about 2005. I played a year of Under 19s with a few of the fellas and loved it. I stuck around, played the next three seasons before the body gave out. I then went into retirement, which lasted seven years until a very overweight and slightly less good looking individual that sits before you here today fronted up three years ago and had a run around. I think everyone thought it was a bit of a joke; they even sold me all the old apparel thinking I wouldn’t stick around. Within 12 months I was vice-president, and then 12 months after that I was president.
NC: I do want to get serious. It was a big year footy wise for Officer in 2018, how do you look back on it as your first year as president?
NM: For us, the goal was to play finals, and we did that. We improved our scores for and against, and particularly our ability to kick goals. We brought Doug (Koop) in for a reason two years ago, and he’s done a job and set the club the tasks to play finals, which is really important. It’s definitely brought some confidence to the place, we’ve started to see more past players coming back, and our fan base is picking up on a Saturday afternoon, particularly in the front-half of the year where we’d taken the first three games of the season, and there was a bit of hype.
The crowds we had on Anzac Day last year, and then against Narre Warren in Round 4, it was extremely healthy compared to previous years. It was important to break that mould, and win a few games. We just haven’t done it in recent history.
NC: Taking away the on-field stuff, what’s been the biggest challenge for you as the president?
NM: Establishing ourselves and generating contacts, fostering relationships with businesses and stakeholders has been something we haven’t been great at, we didn’t take it for granted, but we didn’t have a huge focus on it. It’s something we’ve changed, and we’ve started working with businesses, particularly locally. It’s certainly a challenge, but its allowed us to probably be a bit more adventurous in player recruitment.
But, the biggest challenge is, and it’s been no secret, is the changing of the leagues, and SEFNL folding. It’s been a long, drawn out process that pre-dates me, and over the last 12 months, it’s been a major focus, and it’s dragged me away from the footy club quite a lot. Ultimately we got the outcome, and we’re excited about going into 2019 in a new competition.
NC: Do you feel like the club has changed the perception from the outside, in terms of how you guys present yourselves?
NM: I think so. Club culture is a big thing, and we’ve always had a perception as being a good family club, and that’s where it’s ended. We weren’t always taken seriously on the field. We’ve worked to improve our standing in the comp, and in the local community. We’ve turned over our social media and it’s gone through the roof.
In terms of culture, Doug’s really been the main catalyst for the turnaround internally, and its meant that player retention has increased, and there’s an expectation of the minimum requirements, which is being upheld. Players that don’t want to adhere to that have been filtered out of the club, and we now have a really solid group of individuals focused on what’s ahead.
NC: Breaking that finals hoodoo, now that you’ve achieved it, is it a pass mark for the club?
NM: It’s a stepping stone, it was a bare minimum. It would have been great to go one better and win a final, and it’s unfortunate, but that’s football. We’re proud of the fellas for getting there. It’s been since we were marched out of West Gippsland that we’ve had any success, 14 years of not making finals, and it was kind of fitting that we did it in the last year of SEFNL.
NC: It was the last year of the competition, and from the start, you have been extremely vocal about the future direction of football in the region. As a club, you must be really excited about what AFL Outer East will bring to the clubs?
NM: What it brings, is competitive football. In a divisional structure, clubs will go up, clubs will go down, and it means every club has the chance to win games of football, and that’s what it’s all about. It helps junior development, it helps bringing in people to the club, and more importantly it helps the playing ground and our supporters.
NC: It’s quite complex, but what went wrong with SEFNL? I mean, you’ve got a bunch of strong clubs in growing towns who couldn’t come together to create a sustainable competition…
NM: A lot of the issues pre-date my involvement, but the key reason for why we failed was the success of the comp, we were simply too strong as a competition. Prior to myself coming on at Officer, my understanding was that there were certain commitments made by the AFL, and by the regional commissions to generate and make a divisional football structure out here, and they were promises they ultimately couldn’t keep.
You can’t force clubs into a competition where they don’t feel like they’ll meet the standard, and, as a result, we’ve seen clubs leave to Southern Football League and others, so we’re cursed by our own success to some extent. We also probably didn’t quite get the attention that we deserved as a competition.
NC: Back on Officer for a second, how is the planning going for 2019? I know Doug Koop’s locked away and some tidy recruits have come on board…
NM: It’ll be a lot of the same names. We’ve managed to secure some genuine senior footballers, and we’ve really addressed an issue in the playing group, which is our depth. We’ve picked up a few from Belgrave, Cora Lynn, the VAFA, and some young fellas from Beaconsfield, and they’re all ready to play senior footy. We’re pretty excited about the list, and I think you’ll find it’s a good side with good depth compared to previous years.
NC: And I know the elimination final loss against Beaconsfield was a tough result, but say the selectors made a bold call and selected you, could it have been different?
NM: (laughs) I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say I wasn’t part of the 24-man squad. It would have been a very bold selection, and it wouldn’t have changed the result, despite how much I’d tell Doug and the playing group that it would.
NC: You’re pretty famous for your footy career. I’m told you simply don’t pass or handball, and what was it, one senior game and 50-odd reserves games. You’ve even described yourself as playing the “worst 50 games of local footy ever”. Is that a fair assessment?
NM: A very fair assessment. I wasn’t too bad back in the day, I played on the wing and kicked a few goals, which is funny because I don’t kick any goals lining up at full-forward now. I had a very successful senior football career, which I like to remind Doug about. It was about 2007, and I came off the bench and played about four minutes, laid a shepherd and we beat Beaconsfield.
Until I think 2016, that was the last time we’d beaten Beaconsfield on the road, so I take a lot of credit for that (laughs). I was pretty surprised about my omission the following week; I mean the shepherd I laid was excellent.
NC: Is it true that you fake shoulder injuries so you don’t have to train, and then go up to the selectors, and remind them that you’re the president so you’ll get a game?
NM: Look, I don’t have any involvement in selection, but I do select the selectors. You can read what you want of that, but I don’t know about faking the shoulder injuries, I did have cortisone in my right shoulder about a month ago; you don’t go through that if you’re faking it, I can assure you.
NC: Members of the Officer Football Club have described you as the Donald Trump of local footy, in that your intentions aren’t actually pure, and you’re just president to weasel in for your second game in the ones?
NM: (laughs) Fact.
NC: Is there are a reason why you appear pure, is it just selfishness?
NM: (laughs) I don’t know how to answer that.
NC: What about the ‘MAKE ROC GREAT AGAIN!’ hats, mate? Doesn’t that kind of reinforce the point?
NM: Well, that was Doug’s hat mate. I don’t really know what to say.
NC: Now you genuinely believe you’re a high profile figure, don’t you? You do walk around the club and talk about how high profile you are…
NM: I’d be lying if I didn’t say I enjoyed being the centre of attention, yeah. It’s a natural human thing, isn’t it?
NC: Now, you have begged me to talk about your cricket career.
NM: No I didn’t. But I am a superstar.
NC: Nah, you did. You were pretty handy from what you tell me, and bowled to some pretty top-line players…
NM: Well, I started juniors at Berwick, and went out to Hawthorn Monash. The most frightening experience was having to face up to Dirk Nannes on a Thursday night, which was genuinely scary.
The highlight of my cricket career was when the World XI came out to Australia, and I was lucky enough to be one of half a dozen people chosen to go and bowl at those players. I threw a few balls down to Brian Lara, Daniel Vettori, Freddie Flintoff, Shahid Afridi, just to name a few. It was an interesting experience, Afridi almost killed me with a flat-bat shot back at my chest, but he was a nice fella and apologised. I was about 19 at the time, so it was an interesting experience.
NC: Now, did you bowl any of them out?
NM: I might have pegged Daniel Vettori a few times, yeah.
NC: Did you let him know about it?
NM: I do like giving a send-off, but I thought it might have been a little bit inappropriate.
NC: Tell me about the day you took 8/32, it was like 11 or 12 for the game wasn’t it?
NM: Yeah it was good, I was playing Subbies for Mt Waverley, it was my second game out there, and it was probably the only Saturday that I turned up after not going out the night before. They were just coming out really well, I think we were playing Ormond off the top of my head, and it was quite nice, because there was four or five players in that side that I played junior cricket with.
It was really nice to bowl at them, and ultimately get them all out (laughs). Took the new pill that day, and didn’t stop until the side was all-out. In the second dig, I snagged another four or five, and had enough, so I threw the ball to someone else that day. It was a good game, that one.
NC: It was an injury that probably spelled an end to cricket, wasn’t it?
NM: My cricket career was cut short back when I was playing at Casey-South Melbourne. The bowling coach down there decided my action wasn’t technically correct, and the end result was that I had stress fractures in my spine, which happened three times over two seasons, which was a shame, and I couldn’t recapture that action that I had.
I’ve got a kink in my spine, and my lowest vertebrae was fused to my hip, and my action was naturally tailored to my body’s abilities, and when that changed, I wasn’t able to get back to that.
NC: Are there regrets with cricket? There are so many instances of genuinely talented cricketers that slip through the cracks; do you believe you could have played higher?
NM: I think everybody says that about themselves. But in regards to regrets, I don’t think so. Ultimately, I didn’t get there, I was certainly a better cricketer than I was a footballer. I’d often be at the nets on a Friday doing sessions away from the club, and I’d be the last to leave training. I gave it everything I had based on the opportunities I was given.
NC: Is there a chance you’ll play again?
NM: I wouldn’t have thought so. I did roll the arm over about 12 months ago with the Officer Bullants in the nets; because I wanted to bowl at one of the fellas and prove that I still had his number. But, my shoulder and back aren’t up to it; I struggled for days after one session in the nets. It’s hard enough to come back and play footy.
NC: Now, I’ll take you back to your Uni days. You’ve been referred to as the Van Wilder of Berwick Monash. Is that fair?
NM: Very fair. It took me 10 years to graduate; it was a three year degree. I studied hard and partied harder back in the day, not much has changed (laughs), I do enjoy my social and extracurricular activities. I spent a lot of time working at the Student Union, which delayed my studying. I did certainly spend a lot of time down there, and I was reluctant to leave. They were some good times at Berwick Monash.
NC: I guess it brings you to the next phase of your life in politics. You’re massive on keeping your private and work life pretty separate, but you’re starting a new job, tell me about that…
NM: I’m going into State politics as a ministerial advisor in the State Government, which is a new challenge for me, and it’ll be quite interesting. Leading up to that, I worked as an Advisor for a Federal Member of Parliament, and then ended up as the Junior Vice-President of the Labor party for about 14 months.
NC: So what made you go down the road of politics?
NM: No real reason, I kind of fell into it. Coming out of school if someone told me I’d be going into politics, I would have laughed at them. Ultimately, a lot of the work I did at Berwick was advocating for students to create a better environment for them, the role involved a lot of lobbying to parliamentarians. I then got offered a job out of it, and the gentleman I worked for over eight years is genuinely one of the best in the business, and if not for him, I would have found something else to do.
NC: Is there a reason why you are so keen on keeping your work life and personal life separate?
NM: I’ve seen plenty of people get engulfed by their work, and they find it really hard to separate the two. I’ve always had a really strong core group of friends outside of work and that pre-dates politics. Politics certainly isn’t the most interesting thing for a lot of people, and so for me, I like to separate the two. I certainly made the mistake previously of neglecting friends for work, and it’s something I’m aware of and won’t do again.
NC: Now, you’ve got a lot of hobbies outside of work and footy, and I’m aware you do believe you’re a professional at everything you do. Tell me about your home brewery…
NM: It’s interesting; we’ve got eight or nine different beers that we’ve put together over the last 18 months. There’s a sense of satisfaction making something yourself, and the best thing about it, is the stories that come out of it when you have friends over. It’s a real conversation starter, and it generates good friendships, it also saves a lot of money, which is an added bonus.
NC: And you’re a DJ too..
NM: Semi-retired, I hung up the headphones four years ago. I was convinced about 12 months ago to do a one-off type reunion gig, and now i’m finding myself every six to eight weeks doing it still.
NC: Now I’ll bring you into your home life a little bit, and I do feel sorry for your housemate Tristan. He tells me you’re a messy, lazy bloke, lots of cups, plates, food everywhere. Would it be fair to say you believe you rule the roost?
NM: Well, yeah I do, I have the master bedroom for a reason.
NC: So are you going to address your laziness around the house?
NM: I have a policy around the house that you clean up in common areas, and you’re free to do what you want with the rest of the house.
NC: While we’re on the master bedroom, tell me about the pink flamingo bed sheets?
NM: Now, this is a story.
NC: I’ll tell you what I know first. Tristan was going down to get some bed sheets, and you asked him to get you some and said “don’t come back with anything but pink flamingo bed sheets”..
NM: That’s actually not correct (laughs); it’s very far from the truth. We moved in to this new house, and the night we moved in, Tristan’s brother came and planted five big pink flamingos in the front yard for no reason. The next morning, Tristan was about to go and he said to me, “I’m about to go get some bed sheets”, and I asked him to go and get me some, and I said “I don’t care, get me anything, just make sure they’re neutral colours”.
I fronted up home the day after a footy function, and I was wearing a pink flamingo shirt, and I walked into the house past the pink flamingos in the front yard, my bed was spotless, made, and there was pink flamingo sheets, pillows, pillow cases and pink flamingo pyjamas hanging there. Anyway, they haven’t left the room, they’re still there and it’s become a running joke now.
NC: So you’re categorically denying you didn’t want them?
NM: Can confirm that I didn’t request pink flamingo bed sheets (laughs).
NC: Apart from being a skilled cricketer, footballer, politician, president, and chef, you also believe you’re a tradie, and that stems back from a landscaping gig you did for six months…
NM: I’m more of a tradie then the other blokes in the house (laughs). When I stepped out of high school, I worked as a landscaper for two and a half, three years, and I stopped doing that when I hurt my back.
NC: So you recently put out a deck, and I’m aware that you only put down one board, and then called smoko.
NM: Not correct.
NC: So what did you do then?
NM: Dug some holes, made a hatch, stained it, put the posts in for the pergola. I know why they’re claiming they did more, because they genuinely did. Maybe go and ask those in question who’s done the rest of the garden.
NC: You’ve been described as Donald Trump and Van Wilder in this interview, and the next comparison is Valentino Rossi. What happened in Vietnam, Nick?
NM: Wow (laughs). I went to Vietnam with the fellas for a motorbike trip and I’d never ridden before. They asked me to come along, and for genuine fear of missing out, I agreed to go on this trip to Vietnam. I basically learnt how to ride a motorbike in the middle of Ho Chi Minh City, and low and behold, we were riding along cliff faces on very unstable surfaces. I almost died three or four times. It was an experience, but I wouldn’t change any of it.
NC: Are you leaving something out there? Did you have insurance?
NM: I had insurance, but it turns out travel insurance companies don’t cover anyone deemed as learners, so I was insured, but not for anything motorbike related.
NC: But you do get offended when people call you an amateur?
NM: I do, yeah. I went into the trip an amateur. I don’t know what I am now, but I’m not an amateur.
NC: Nick, it’s been an absolute pleasure chatting mate, all the best for the footy club in 2019.
NM: Cheers mate.
