PLAYING AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
JW: Do you think you'll be able to remove yourself from the emotional side of things?

RE: Oh yeah. I've removed myself from that already. Once the decision is made, you have a range of emotions for awhile but I think you just move on. There are a lot of people I got along well with, including players and supporters, so from that aspect I don't harbour any ill feeling or grudges or anything like that. I've started a new job and I'm enjoying that so that's been my whole focus. I haven't really thought about the Bulldogs too much, to be honest.

JW: With your job in opposition analysis, you must be able to take more into this game than others.

RE: It's more on an individual basis than anything and what I've noticed about individuals, if they're improved or haven't reached some heights they've had in the past. I've been able to pass on some information about their strengths and weaknesses, so from that aspect it's gone a bit deeper than other weeks. Some players have spoken to me about Bulldogs players and where they might play, and how they cope with different situations. Some players have come to speak to me about it so you just pass on the intel and hopefully it helps.

JW: Martin Clarke played a shut down role against Essendon on Brent Stanton and did very well. Can you see him doing that again this week against the player you class as most dangerous?

RE: It's probably not the most dangerous player but more so players Marty could go with. It's the first time he's done it and the other weeks he's done well without that so I think there's scope for him to play his normal role but if someone gets off the chain maybe he can go to them. There's no one in particular at this stage [this week]. At least we know now Marty can do that so it adds an extra string to his bow, gives him more confidence and more chance of staying in the side as well.

THOUGHTS ON THE BULLDOGS EIGHT MONTHS ON
JW: Robert Walls said on SEN recently he didn't want Carlton to succeed in the 12 months after the club sacked him. Can you relate to that?

RE: I heard him say that. I can understand that feeling. I probably felt like that when I was at Sydney. I haven't felt any great strong feelings in that aspect now. I feel quite comfortable with where I'm at and what I'm doing. It's an interesting one. If they were flag favourites, I'd probably feel a bit funny but I honestly haven't had those feelings. I know they're a club that's not flush for money and there are a lot of good people involved at the club and the supporters are very passionate and were terrific to me, so from that aspect, you know if they don't go well, it puts the club at risk in many ways, off-field as well. Certainly from that point of view, I don't want that to happen to them. You know the people involved, certainly players and the passionate supporters, and because there hasn't been a lot of ultimate success and they've struggled off-field for a long time, you'd just hate to see them really struggle or be at the behest of the creditors, or whatever the case may be.

JW: I'm interested to get your thoughts on Ben Hudson and whether he would have remained at the Bulldogs had you stayed on.

RE: That was discussed before I left and the general feeling with the whole match committee then was, 'no, he should retire'. I threw up there was an unknown about Ayce's body and that if they got an injury, if Ben was going to be good for back up and good for competition. Because it's such a unique position, the ruck, if Ben had played another position, I would have been a definite 'no', but because it's unique you can't just throw anyone into it and because he's a bigger body and competes well, I raised the possibility of people thinking about him staying on. Everybody said 'no', but that doesn't mean if I'd stayed … I probably maybe would have leaned towards him staying. He had come to the match committee and said he wanted to know early enough what was happening because he was from Queensland, a physiotherapist, and there was a chance for a business. He wanted to keep playing footy but he understood it. He was a terrific club person so he was never going to be any issue once that was decided. Then he was told there wouldn't be another year and that was OK with him and he moved on. For him, it's fortunate he got a call out of the blue and gets to play another year. He's been going OK - his first game was fantastic [although] for an older player, the short turnarounds are going to hurt him. He's going to be good back up for them now that [Matthew] Leuenberger is out.

JW: There must be some players at the Bulldogs that you still enjoy seeing develop, like Luke Dahlhaus.

RE: His impact last year for a rookie-list player just starting was enormous. It was probably as good an impact as I've seen from a first year player. He was terrific. I can see a very bright future for him, he's going to be a very good player.

THE ROLE AT COLLINGWOOD
JW: The reality versus the expectation of your role. Is what you expected it would be like seven months on?

RE: It's just going to evolve. Both the club and myself are sort of in the dark a bit about where it sits and it's going to depend on the personalities of the coaches and things, and it's up to me to adjust to people. There's three parts: there's opposition, tactically and throwing up ideas, and secondly, to assist the coaches in any way they see room for improvement or ideas, and there's a range of different coaches, age wise and experience wise, and I'm enjoying that. Then there's probably just parts of it too about different ideas regarding the club and where it might be able to improve. I'm enjoying it. I think that helps me with where I'm at in my footy life. I'm comfortable with the role, I really enjoy it, I enjoy the people and the club, so from my point of view, I'm happy.

JW: Do you want to be a senior coach again, or is that something that's waned?

RE: That's waned a bit. I think when I finished last year, I still had that burning and wanted to do it, but I'm content with this role. It's a new role for me and it's new role in footy, so that's exciting in many ways. You can see that it will grow and I'm certainly happy knowing that. You never say never but I'm certainly content with what I'm doing. It's unlikely and I won't be pursuing anything.

JW: Coaching so many inexperienced coaches, is that one of the biggest challenges?

RE: It's also knowing where you sit. The assistant coaches are really going to be told by Nathan. He's directing what he wants from them and how they're going to deliver their messages to players. Nathan and the three line coaches - they're coaching the players. He's telling Robert Harvey how he wants the midfield at stoppages, etc. That's not my role. My role is more about supporting and delivering messages and just having discussions with them. Then there's the development coaches, Mitch Hahn's on board and I coached Anthony Rocca in Sydney so I've already got a relationship with those guys, which helps. It's not something where you sit down every week and have a meeting. You pick up points here and there and have discussions. My method is more asking questions to them and opening discussions than telling them what they need to do.

JW: Did you give Nathan advice on how to get through the off-field issues with Mick Malthouse and Eddie McGuire a few weeks ago?

RE: Nathan is pretty good, and I think it was more about him being able to bounce things off me. He's got his own mentors and friends he talks to as well, but me having an understanding of what he'd be going through at certain stages and the pressures that come with it … it's just about me being there to chat and again just asking questions: 'How are you going?' ... 'Have you thought about this?'. It's not even feedback. It's just to have a chat. In that aspect, I don't know Nathan really well and vice versa so there's got to be the trust element to be forged as we go forward but certainly he's embraced me in the role, which has been positive, and good for both of us.

JW: Since arriving here, which players have surprised you the most with things you didn't know about them?

RE: No one has super surprised me, to be honest. I suppose I didn't realise how physically intimidating and big Travis Cloke was as a player, and his work ethic, which is terrific. Scott Pendlebury is just a super professional player, and as good as he is, he's probably better than I thought he was as well. Nathan Brown I didn't know a lot about but his form and the way he's gone about it has been very impressive as well. They're all pretty high quality. There's a lot of the young kids I didn't know much about. Lachlan Keeffe is doing well, and Ben Sinclair. Coming from another club you don't know the youngsters that well so you see them get opportunities, and Nathan's been fantastic with that, although I know it's been a little bit forced at times, but a few of them have really grabbed that opportunity, which is great.

JW: So does the quality run a bit deeper than you thought when you were outside?

RE: I think it's always difficult for top teams with salary cap implications and not getting draft picks to keep restocking, but there is a few good young lads and you don't really know them too much when you come into a club. I think Jackson Paine has done well for his first year and there are a few who haven't played yet but I think introducing them will be good for the future. Having those injuries that people see as a negative - and it probably is - but by the same token it gives players opportunities and a chance to increase our depth and find players for the future.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs.

Jennifer Witham is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenWitham.