John Worsfold
Encyclopedia
John Worsfold is a former Australian rules football
er who represented in the West Australian Football League
(WAFL) and the West Coast Eagles
in the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League
(VFL/AFL). He also represented Western Australia in State of Origin
matches. He is the current coach of the West Coast Eagles, having been appointed in 2002.
, Worsfold made his debut in Round 4 of the 1987 VFL season
against Carlton
, which was also the Eagles' first year in the then Victorian Football League.
Initially playing a midfielder role, Worsfold won the club's best and fairest award in 1988 when the Eagles first played in the finals. In 1991 Worsfold was appointed captain, and moved to a defensive role across the half back flank, where he formed part of a celebrated half-back line with fellow club legends Glen Jakovich
and Guy McKenna
. Worsfold was captain of the club during the 1992 and 1994 premiership seasons, becoming the club's first premiership captain. He remained captain until he retired at the end of the 1998 season, where he was controversially dropped for the club's second week finals match, a game that would have been the final game of his career. Ironically, this was a virtual repeat of what happened to his predecessor as captain, Steve Malaxos
, who was dropped for the 1990 Preliminary Final and never played again. He was succeeded as captain by fellow defender and vice captain McKenna.
Worsfold was named on a half back flank in the West Coast team of the decade in 1996, and again in the club's twentieth anniversary side, "Team 20" in 2006. In both teams, Jakovich and McKenna make up the rest of the half back line.
as an assistant to David Parkin
and then to Wayne Brittain
in 2001, before applying for the senior coaching roles at both West Coast
and Fremantle
at the end of the 2001 season. Eventually he was appointed to the senior coaching role at West Coast, the club he had formerly played for, where he achieved some level of immediate success, taking the club back to the finals in his first season. After a string of early finals exits in 2002, 2003 and 2004, Worsfold finally took the club back to the Grand Final in 2005
, where the Eagles were narrowly defeated by four points by the Sydney Swans
.
In 2006 the club finished on top of the ladder after the home and away series, and followed it up with a win in the Grand Final, again against the Swans, this time the margin being a solitary point. In doing so Worsfold became only the fourth person in the history of the AFL/VFL
to both captain and later coach the same club to an AFL premiership, and the first at the West Coast Eagles. In the 2007 season West Coast finished third on the ladder. They lost to Port Adelaide in the qualifying final then they got eliminated by Collingwood in the semi final. The 2008 season was not as successful for Worsfold and the West Coast Eagles Football Club. With the loss of players Chris Judd and Ben Cousins, West Coast went from third to fifteenth. Finishing with four wins and eighteen losses. In the 2009 season Worsfold and the West Coast Eagles Football Club made an improvement, finishing eleventh on the ladder with eight wins and fourteen losses.
But the 2010 season brought in the lowest point of Worsfold's coaching career with the West Coast Eagles
completing a spectacular fall from grace and winning the wooden spoon
, winning just four games; two against , one against 2008 premiers and against . Injuries and poor form had plagued the Eagles' 2010 season. Twelve months later however, the Eagles were back in the finals, finishing 4th at the end of the home and away season and losing a preliminary final against eventual premiers .
The 2009 season has seen Worsfold and his coaching department implement the use of both zone defence and man-on-man strategy depending on the situation.
in 1989 at the Curtin University of Technology
, located in Perth, Western Australia
.
Worsfold is married to Georgina and together they have 3 children.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er who represented in the West Australian Football League
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
(WAFL) and the West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
in the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(VFL/AFL). He also represented Western Australia in State of Origin
Interstate matches in Australian rules football
Australian rules football matches between teams representing Australian colonies/states and territories have been held since 1879. For most of the 20th century, the absence of a national club competition and international matches meant that football games between state representative teams were...
matches. He is the current coach of the West Coast Eagles, having been appointed in 2002.
Playing career
Recruited from South FremantleSouth Fremantle Football Club
The South Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Bulldogs, is an Australian rules football club, based in Fremantle, Western Australia, playing in the West Australian Football League...
, Worsfold made his debut in Round 4 of the 1987 VFL season
1987 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1987.-Night Series: defeated 8.10 to 8.6 in the Final at Waverley Park.-Leading goalkickers:...
against Carlton
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
, which was also the Eagles' first year in the then Victorian Football League.
Initially playing a midfielder role, Worsfold won the club's best and fairest award in 1988 when the Eagles first played in the finals. In 1991 Worsfold was appointed captain, and moved to a defensive role across the half back flank, where he formed part of a celebrated half-back line with fellow club legends Glen Jakovich
Glen Jakovich
Glen Jakovich is a former Australian rules footballer for the West Coast Eagles.Glen was recruited from South Fremantle in Western Australia and debuted in 1991 and played most of his career at the Centre Half Back position, in the number 27 gernsey...
and Guy McKenna
Guy McKenna
Guy Lindsay McKenna is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He is the current coach of the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League . McKenna also played 267 games for the West Coast Eagles, including the 1992 and 1994 premiership wins...
. Worsfold was captain of the club during the 1992 and 1994 premiership seasons, becoming the club's first premiership captain. He remained captain until he retired at the end of the 1998 season, where he was controversially dropped for the club's second week finals match, a game that would have been the final game of his career. Ironically, this was a virtual repeat of what happened to his predecessor as captain, Steve Malaxos
Steve Malaxos
Stephen "Steve" Malaxos is a former Australian rules footballer and coach from Western Australia. While playing for Claremont in the WAFL, he won the 1984 Sandover Medal. Malaxos was an All-Australian with Claremont in 1986 and while he was with the West Coast Eagles in 1988...
, who was dropped for the 1990 Preliminary Final and never played again. He was succeeded as captain by fellow defender and vice captain McKenna.
Worsfold was named on a half back flank in the West Coast team of the decade in 1996, and again in the club's twentieth anniversary side, "Team 20" in 2006. In both teams, Jakovich and McKenna make up the rest of the half back line.
Coaching career
His coaching career started in 2000 at Carlton Football ClubCarlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
as an assistant to David Parkin
David Parkin
David Parkin is a former Australian rules footballer and four-time premiership coach.- Pre-football career :He attended Melbourne High School and during his time there, was the school vice-captain and captain of football....
and then to Wayne Brittain
Wayne Brittain
Wayne Brittain is a former coach of the Australian Football League.- Career :In his playing career, he did not play in the AFL, instead he played for Zillmere Eagles in the Queensland State League. He eventually suffered a back injury which ended his career...
in 2001, before applying for the senior coaching roles at both West Coast
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
and Fremantle
Fremantle Football Club
The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...
at the end of the 2001 season. Eventually he was appointed to the senior coaching role at West Coast, the club he had formerly played for, where he achieved some level of immediate success, taking the club back to the finals in his first season. After a string of early finals exits in 2002, 2003 and 2004, Worsfold finally took the club back to the Grand Final in 2005
2005 AFL Grand Final
The 2005 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Sydney Swans and West Coast Eagles, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 2005. It was the 109th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to...
, where the Eagles were narrowly defeated by four points by the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
.
In 2006 the club finished on top of the ladder after the home and away series, and followed it up with a win in the Grand Final, again against the Swans, this time the margin being a solitary point. In doing so Worsfold became only the fourth person in the history of the AFL/VFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
to both captain and later coach the same club to an AFL premiership, and the first at the West Coast Eagles. In the 2007 season West Coast finished third on the ladder. They lost to Port Adelaide in the qualifying final then they got eliminated by Collingwood in the semi final. The 2008 season was not as successful for Worsfold and the West Coast Eagles Football Club. With the loss of players Chris Judd and Ben Cousins, West Coast went from third to fifteenth. Finishing with four wins and eighteen losses. In the 2009 season Worsfold and the West Coast Eagles Football Club made an improvement, finishing eleventh on the ladder with eight wins and fourteen losses.
But the 2010 season brought in the lowest point of Worsfold's coaching career with the West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
completing a spectacular fall from grace and winning the wooden spoon
Wooden spoon (award)
A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
, winning just four games; two against , one against 2008 premiers and against . Injuries and poor form had plagued the Eagles' 2010 season. Twelve months later however, the Eagles were back in the finals, finishing 4th at the end of the home and away season and losing a preliminary final against eventual premiers .
Man-on-man Defence vs Zoning Defence
In an era where most coaches have implemented "the flood" defence by having their players zone back, Worsfold has maintained a man-on-man style of game. While this has led him to much success in the home and away season, finishing 2nd and 1st after the home and away rounds in 2005 and 2006 respectively, the strategy, or rather the inflexibility from this strategy has also led to criticism at times. Firstly, teams such as the Western Bulldogs and Fremantle have been perceived to exploit West Coast's macro-positioning. However, the most notable example of this criticism has come after the qualifying final against Sydney in 2006.The 2009 season has seen Worsfold and his coaching department implement the use of both zone defence and man-on-man strategy depending on the situation.
Other
In addition to his distinguished AFL career he also completed a Bachelor of PharmacyPharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
in 1989 at the Curtin University of Technology
Curtin University of Technology
Curtin University is an Australian university based in Perth, Western Australia, with additional campuses in regional Western Australia and at Miri , Sydney and Singapore...
, located in Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
.
Worsfold is married to Georgina and together they have 3 children.