New GIANTS Senior Assistant Coach Matthew Nicks will take the coaching reins over the JLT Community Series with coach Leon Cameron to take a backseat.
Nicks arrived at the GIANTS in November after eight years at Port Adelaide, where he spent the last two seasons as Senior Assistant Coach under Ken Hinkley.
The addition of the former Swan into the newly-created role has had an immediate impact, with Cameron able to take a step back when it comes to the day-to-day coaching grind.
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“It’s given Leon the chance to look into other areas, pre-Christmas especially,” Nicks said.
“A lot of the guys noticed Leon didn’t spend as much time on the track before the Christmas break, so he was able to look into a lot of other areas which was a benefit to him and kept him fresh coming into January.
“Plus, we really did notice him in January when he stepped up a little more and was involved in more of our drills. There was a voice of, ‘hey, the boss is here’, so from a player’s point of view, that was good for them.”
Nicks has had a seamless transition back into Sydney life, returning to the city where he played 175 AFL games between 1996 and 2005.
“It’s a great organisation, really good people and it’s been amazing,” he said.
“It’s obviously a family club, so the family’s been looked after and that makes it a much easier transition.”
The 43-year-old - one of the inaugural participants in the AFL’s Level Four Coaching program - has relished the new environment and working with a very different coaching group.
“Off the field it’s been great working with this young coaching group,” he said.
“They’re super enthusiastic, they’ve got some really good stuff in the way they work, and I’m bring some slightly different things to the table.
“I’ve enjoyed being able to work with them and share ideas.”
With Leon Cameron spending the second-half of last season coaching from the bench, Nicks doesn’t anticipate many differences despite him being the man in charge this weekend.
“I think the way coaching groups are set up, everyone understands their role in how it, and the coach’s box, function best,” Nicks said.
“Leon spends a lot of time on the boundary nowadays anyway, so we work as a team up there.
"It’s probably really just the pre-game final address to the players. I’m making sure they’re focused on the key areas before they go out and then bringing them back to those in each break that you don’t normally do as an assistant coach.
“Most of that’s already coming from the entire coaching group so it’s really just delivering it in the right manner, so the players understand the areas they’ve got to focus on.”
The GIANTS are set to name a squad featuring plenty of familiar faces when they run out against the Swans at Blacktown International Sportspark on Saturday.
With the GIANTS to play two pre-season matches before taking on Essendon in round one at Sydney Showground Stadium, Nicks is concerned with more than just the result.
“There’s a connection part to it,” he said.
“We want to get our more experienced and senior players out there if we can.
“There’ll be some that aren’t quite ready to go at this point but with it only being two games, we want to get as much game time into our players as we can, and this is part of their build up to round one.
“We’ll play a strong side, we’d like to get some of our guys who didn’t play last week back in, but it’s about building a connection.
“It’s not about the result as such, if we play some good footy and connect well then the result will take care of itself.”
The GIANTS take on the Swans at Blacktown International Sportspark on Saturday at 7:10pm, entry is free.
