Opposing co-coaches and former Yarrawonga premiership teammates Craig Ednie and Jeremy O’Brien embrace after the 2017 South East Seniors PDFNL grand final.
Photo by
Holly Curtis
Once upon a time, Jeremy O’Brien and Craig Ednie ran out on to the field, the Yarrawonga Pigeon teammates standing shoulder-to-shoulder, wing-to-wing.
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Now, in a full circle moment, O’Brien and Ednie will be sharing the coach’s box at the Barooga Football Netball Club, after the Hawks announced the latter’s signing to the end of 2027.
“Pound for pound, he’s one of the best footballers I’ve played with,” said O’Brien, looking back on his involvement with the O&M Morris medallist and former Richmond Tiger.
“He turned over every stone to make sure he got the best out of himself.”
Some years later, the pair met on the field again — but this time, as bitter rivals.
Craig Ednie handing out advice to his players while serving as playing coach at Rennie.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
In an about-face from just years earlier, the two faced off in the 2017 South East PDFNL grand final between O’Brien’s Tungamah and Ednie’s Rennie.
The contest saw Rennie record a 13-point win to snag the flag.
Flash forward to eight years later, and O’Brien, who calls Ednie a good mate, conceded that it took many phone calls to get Ednie to commit to the shared coaching role despite his earlier interest.
“After quite a few phone calls, I eventually got him over the line,” O’Brien said.
The result is what O’Brien labelled “an extension of the friendship”, with the pair set to share the role until 2027.
“It’s good for me to have that extra support, but also it’s good for the players of the club who are going to benefit from having Craig there as well,” he said.
O’Brien was realistic about the prospects of there being differences of opinion between himself and Ednie.
Jeremy O’Brien in his Tungamah days.
Photo by
Ray Sizer
“There’s no doubt we’ll have robust discussions, but at the end of the day, that’s for the betterment of the players and club,” O’Brien said.
“We’re not always going to agree on everything. And if we do agree on everything, that’s probably not right either.
“We’re both grown men, we’re both going to have our opinions, and not to say we’re never going to have disagreements, but I think on the whole ... we do think pretty similarly, and we do have similar ideas in terms of the way we want to play, the way we want to recruit, the way we want to have the club moving forward.”
That there is a unique chemistry between the two is undeniable.
“We played under the same coaches, having played 17s and 18s together at Yarrawonga,” O’Brien said.
“There’s certainly that element to it, as well as that we probably think a similar way, and have similar ideas in terms of game styles and what works.”
At this point, efforts to raise the Hawks’ ladder standings in the seniors are yet to pay off with a win this season.
But under O’Brien’s ‘Kaizen’ coaching style, which teaches that success will come through a series of small improvements, O’Brien sees plenty of promise in the young local talent that is beginning to pay dividends.
“We don’t want to be where we’re at now for the next two years; we want to continue to build,” O’Brien said.
“What that looks like in a win-loss scenario, I’m unsure.
“But we’ll hopefully push the club in the right direction.”
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