Can I take this opportunity to welcome John and Shelley Longmire, who later this evening will receive the keys to the Swans senior coach’s celestial palace - from where I'm told life will never be the same.
 
We were so pleased earlier in the year when John accepted our invitation to become our next senior coach, particularly as we knew John had other opportunities that he could have pursued.
 
The goodwill that has been extended to John since then from all parts of the AFL world has been extraordinary.
 
And it goes without saying we will support John in every way possible.
 
I'm sure all our younger players have a very good understanding of John's coaching credentials but some may not be aware of his playing career.
 
He made his senior debut for North Melbourne aged 17 in 1988. At 19, playing in a team that didn't make the finals, he won the Coleman Medal with 98 goals, won North's Best and Fairest, and was picked in the All Australian team. No one that young has come within 50 goals of that achievement.
 
It was - and remains - a truly astonishing feat.
 
At 22 he suffered a major knee injury which threatened to end his career and seriously hampered him for the balance of it.
 
He endured the bitter disappointment of missing selection in North's premiership team of 1996 and playing in its losing Grand Final side of 1998.
 
And when it seemed premiership success would elude him -- in what was his 200th and last game, he was selected in North's victorious team Premiership of 1999.
 
As a player he knows better than most the exhilaration of early success, and how it can be cruelly snuffed out. He knows how critical it is to approach every game like it could be your last.
 
And no matter how fate seems to conspire against you, if you can keep your self-belief amazing things can happen.
 
As with Andrew Ireland, in John Longmire our team is in the best possible hands.
 
But now, I want to talk about something I’m asked by people who are used to dealing in the hurly burly of the corporate world. When looking at our organisational structure they sometimes observe, “Now you've got a board and a CEO and a lot of high calibre senior managers who raise revenue, service customers and build a brand -- just like we do.’’

But then they observe there seems to be two big differences. First, they say you appear to rarely make any money. To which I say rather facetiously - well, that’s because we’re a not for profit company. And we take that title seriously.

And secondly they say the two people with the greatest visibility, status and influence in your organisation appear to be extraordinarily far down when you look at your organisational structure.

The obvious question is "How's that work?" 
 
I think the answer - which goes to the heart of this tribute to Paul and Brett -  lies first in defining  "What is our reason for being?".
 
From time to time we are described as a sports marketing business, an events company, and even an entertainment organisation.

We’re probably all of that and more.
 
But at our core we’re a football club.
 
But we're not like a traditional community football club with multiple teams, or teams that annually, say, confront relegation.
 
Our focus is on one team and one team alone.
 
Our reserves and development programs are all geared to assist in ensuring that our senior team -- which since 1874 has always competed in the strongest competition in the country --can be consistently successful.
 
So, logic kind of says, if that’s the case then self-evidently, as the people charged with achieving that on-field  success, the senior coach and captain are pretty important.
 
And while that’s true, it only provides part of the explanation for their importance and their influence.
 
For unlike most businesses or enterprises, we have no shareholders. No one has, if you like, financial equity in the Swans.
 
But we have a vast amount of people (hundreds of thousands, maybe millions) who have what I would describe as emotional equity invested in our Club.
 
These people, almost without exception, aren’t interested in our profit and loss statement or our balance sheet.
 
Their investment - their emotional investment - is purely in what happens on the field.
 
And they see their coach and their captain as the personification of the Club into which they have this massive emotional investment.
 
Custodians, if you like, of this emotional investment.
 
But again, as important as this is, it's only part of the explanation.  
 
Because for a lot of people, this football club affords them a sense of belonging (some people have used the term tribalism to describe it).

Feeling part of a football club - this football club - empowers them, emboldens them and enfranchises them.
 
And at times when people feel that maybe there is a lack of leadership in the broader community or times are tough, or they are going through a rough personal patch, they increasingly turn to the sporting field for inspiration -- as they always have.
 
And when they turn to this Football Club looking for leaders with conviction, with principle and who act in good faith, they see it in our coach and our captain

So for all those reasons, this is why we're different to just about every kind of enterprise that most of you here tonight either run or have an investment in, and why in enterprise our coach and our captain are so important and so influential.
 
But all of that said: A great coach and a great captain don’t have to be the source of every new idea or every good idea.
 
They don’t have to be right all the time.
 
And they shouldn’t be portrayed as perfect or infallible.
 
But, without genuine leadership by the coach and the captain, real change is impossible, innovation is stifled and success is, at best, problematic.
 
So that’s why I’ve taken the liberty of calling this valedictory speech, “The brilliant coach and the inspirational player and captain”.

Could I set the scene and go back to 2002?
 
It was a turbulent year.

•    Media speculation about the viability of the club
•    A palpable sapping of morale throughout the organisation
•    Departure of a  substantial number of senior staff during the year, and the heart and soul of the team and the Club, Paul Kelly, retired at year’s end as did the great Andrew Dunkley

•    And a virtual uprising by many of our "emotional equity holders", demanding that the interim coach be appointed on a permanent basis
•    We went into 2003 overwhelming favourites for the wooden spoon
•    Message was - Swans have a really poor list, poor management (board), and are in a desperate financial position
•    Through a combination of hard decisions, good decisions, brave decisions - things actually turned out a bit differently. 
•    In 2003 we had two crowds of over 70,000 - the two largest attendances for an AFL game of any description ever staged outside Melbourne.
•    And we went within 20 minutes of making the grand final (without Jason Ball and Michael O’Loughlin and with our best player Adam Goodes on one leg) - with the winner of that preliminary final being short odds to win the premiership.
With the value of hindsight, the way we navigated through 2002 was the making of the club you see today.
 
And it was the springboard for the emergence of the brilliant coach and the inspirational player and captain.  

The following are a number of categoric statements about Paul and Brett's standing in our club.  
 
While the words are mine, the sentiments have been sourced from a range of people intimately involved in our club.
 
First to Paul

•    Paul Roos is by any measure the best/greatest coach in the history of our club - and by a fair margin.

•    Paul Roos has been intimately involved in what is almost a revolution in the way our football club (but actually the way most AFL and indeed all professional football teams in Australia now operate).

I come back to my earlier point that without the support of the coach, finding better ways of doing things simply doesn’t happen.
 
The key for me was the agreement struck in late 2002 that Paul (as Senior Coach - clearly the most important person in the football club in the eyes of our  "emotional equity holders" ) would report to the newly arrived Head of Football (Andrew Ireland) who reported to the CEO who reported to the Board.
 
This comes back to some earlier comments. Because since forever, a coach’s pride + egos + status dictated that on any organisational chart they were very near the top, or had to have direct access to the titular heads of the football club.
 
What this ground-breaking arrangement was all about, was playing to individual's strengths but also providing complete clarity to every person involved in our football activities as to their specific role and areas of accountability.
 
It was highly dependent on a massive leap of faith by Paul (and equally by Andrew).
 
It worked brilliantly (as will the relationship between Dean Moore and John).
 
Time doesn’t permit much elaboration on some of the other sweeping changes that occurred during Paul's tenure as senior coach but they include:
 
•    Player empowerment - basically giving senior players their head. From which flowed “The Bloods” (Stuart Maxfield)
 
•    The elevation of sports science (i.e. medical, rehab, conditioning) to where it now sits - and that is world class, and as important as any thing we do

•    A belief that a team didn’t need to slide to the bottom for an extended period to access talent.
 
This was underpinned by Paul's  belief that there were always players in the system with unrecognised or unacknowledged potential - that he, and the Swans system, could identify and help improve (I make the point one last time that this has never been a directive of the Board).

I could talk about his commitment to serious and genuine delegating of responsibility to all of his colleagues; his tailored approach to each player rather than the traditional one-size fits all; sideline coaching; rotating and shared captaincy; the pre-game lock-out, and his extraordinary use of humour etc etc.

But the acid test I guess is in a game plan, match day context.
 
Paul brought:

•    a clear understanding about the things that win AFL football games

•    and that these things were highly measureable and could therefore be easily conveyed to players, but also, when appropriate, to  the broader organisation

•    and as a consequence, the player group were not only supremely confident that Paul's philosophy was correct, but -- and this is a really critical point --  that they could consistently translate it into practice.
As Mick Malthouse said, "The Swans are always a chance in September because under Paul Roos they play finals style football every week."
 
Without wishing to demean in any way any of the journalistic descriptions of Paul's coaching philosophy and style, I think it’s so important that Paul is recognised as more than a coach who brought “family values” to his role, or because of his fabled man-management skills.
 
He has been a highly creative, innovative and an amazingly analytical senior coach.
 
We could not have had a better coach; leader; and ambassador.
 
Paul is simply one of the most influential people in terms of adding lasting value to our Club in its long history.  
 
And now to Brett.
 
Brett Kirk is a champion player. 
 
One of the great myths is Brett is a battler made good.
 
Brett Kirk is a champion who battled for recognition in the early part of his career.
 
As Paul said at a press conference a few weeks ago, "The term champion is bandied around far too loosely". He then paused and said of the man sitting next to him, ‘But Brett Kirk is a true champion’.
 
Champions turn games. And while most of us have never watched the DVD and never will, his second half in the 2006 Grand Final - against arguably the best midfield of all time - was the stuff of legend. If ever a player deserved a premiership medal, he did on that afternoon.
 
Brett Kirk is one of the great players in this Club's history.
 
In our stellar period from 2003 - 2008, he finished in the top two in our best and fairest every year - winning the RJ Skilton Award twice - including in our Premiership team of 2005. He has been All Australian, 4th in the Brownlow, AFLPA Most Courageous, Paul Roos Medallist as Best Player in a Finals Series.

Brett Kirk is also one of the greatest Captains in this Club's history. I say that in the knowledge that in the room tonight are former captains Bob Skilton, Barry Round, Dennis Carroll, Paul Kelly, Stuart Maxfield and current co-captains Adam Goodes and Craig Bolton.
 
Brett is, however, the embodiment of not needing a title to lead. It's just what he does.
 
Some of the comments from those closest to him and who went into battle every week with him include:
 
"His whole career and ethos were based around what was best for the team".
 
"As a leader his passion for the team and the club was inspiring. Whether it be at three quarter time of a grand final or running laps in November, if Kirky asked or demanded something of you, then you would do everything in your power to do it."
 
"The respect the players have for him is unparalleled.’’
 
This year the AFL Players Association - based on the vote of all players within the AFL competition - awarded him AFL Captain of the Year.
 
Like Paul, Brett is one of the most influential people in terms of adding lasting value to our Club.
 
I now just want to briefly touch on some personal attributes that both Paul and Brett share and which have left such an indelible mark on our club:  
 
The first is respect.
 
I think it's fair to say Paul and Brett are seriously competitive.
 
You can’t survive, let alone have success in such a physically demanding sport that’s played over such a long season unless you are ultra-competitive.
 
And behind the benign personas, beat the hearts of two men for whom winning is of paramount importance - make absolutely no mistake about that.
 
But what they've demonstrated repeatedly is that no matter how much winning means to them, it's hollow if it comes at a cost of flagrantly breaching community or AFL or Swans or team rules and conventions.
 
But it's more than just rules - it's ensuring that the spirit of the game is treated as sacred.
 
As Paul said some years ago, and I paraphrase "If I wouldn't go up to a stranger at a bus stop and abuse them why would it be any different on the football field?"

To observe their level of self-respect and their respect for their colleagues, their opponents, this club, the game itself and the broader community has been truly uplifting.
 
It has permanently changed this Club. And for the better. 
 
I also want to talk about the significance of trust or, if you like, acting in good faith.

There's long been a convention in our sport that a new coach or a new captain -- but particularly a new coach -- was entitled to basically say to their colleagues "You're going to have to earn my trust".
 
I believe it's a seriously flawed proposition.
 
It's arbitrary, it’s divisive, and it punishes honesty and openness.
 
And unless you have all the stars in alignment it will ultimately bring some part of your club undone.
 
My observations of Paul and Brett over a long time is that they basically take a reverse approach and implicitly say. "I’ll take what you say in good faith - i.e. I trust you. But -- if you lose my trust -- you may not find it easy to get it back.’’
 
I can’t tell you how this approach to relationships positively impacts onto an organisation.
 
Where there's trust as a starting point, there's hope, there's optimism, there's honesty -sometimes even brutal honesty - there's innovation. And there's enjoyment.

The one other personal attribute of Paul and Brett on which I want to comment is hard to describe in a single word.
 
But it’s their sense of team.
 
They both have embedded in their psyche an appreciation that in a team sport (in this case per medium of our football club) it’s all about sharing the glory (and sharing the pain).
 
As a consequence these days at this Club we don't jockey for recognition for any success - or lack thereof - that might come our way. It's very egalitarian - everyone owns a piece of it.
 
But it goes beyond that. It’s also about making it easy for the people who takeover the role that they have long held, and for which they've received such acclaim.
 
And why? 
 
Because they don’t feel threatened by a club or an individual player or coach that could have success - maybe even more success than they had - without their direct involvement. 
 
They instinctively understand that the ultimate complement they could be paid, would be the Club building on the foundation that they have played such a major part in constructing.
 
What then are their legacies?
 
So many….
 
Let me try and briefly articulate some of them:
 
The first is the part they played in delivering our first premiership after 72 years.
 
Paul's victory speech with the Cup aloft will forever be etched in our memories. Constantly re-enforced by the statue at the SCG.
 
As will Brett's relentless exhortation of his team mates - seemingly at every stoppage throughout the 2005 finals series. 
 
Winning the premiership has made us a more mature Club. But it's also provided us with a road map of what's needed to do it again, and again.
 
The second legacy comes back to those hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of people who have so much emotional equity invested in this club.
 
And it's the sense of pride that they have in being part of the Swans or as many call it - the Bloods tribe.
 
This is not pride borne of arrogance or triumphalism but rather borne of the pleasure that people derive from a sense of belonging to a Club whose values they hold as important and genuine.
 
There can be no more ringing endorsement of that than when the greatest "Swan" of all time, RJ Skilton says "I want you to know how proud I am of my Club".
 
The final legacy is in large measure up to many of you here tonight to translate into reality.
 
Andrew Ireland and I chatted some months ago about this.
 
We instinctively knew what it was - the challenge was to find the right words.
 
We've traditionally said that our aim was that all people who passed through our Club emerged better for the experience - and the Club in turn was strengthened by each individual's involvement.
 
That remains on foot. And always will.
 
But it's a bit unaccountable, and really a bit nebulous.
 
What Paul and Brett have both exhibited - each in their own unique styles - is not only a strong self-belief, but a belief that not only did most people who become part of this Club have a capacity to lift their horizons beyond the here and now, but they - Paul and Brett - (as the leaders of this club) had an obligation to do everything in their power to assist in this process. 
 
In other words, virtually everyone has so much more potential than they, or the world in general, believe is the case. And we can, and we should, help them to unlock that potential.
 
What then if the pledge we make to players (their families, advisors, mentors) or maybe everyone who becomes part of this organisation is that "This club commits to provide the tools and the guidance for anyone who becomes part of it to enable them to reach their true, or full potential".
 
Now that would be a legacy!
 
It's actually open-ended and something that would be breathtakingly transforming.
 
I'll leave it with you all for your consideration.
 
So, there you have it Ladies and Gentlemen.
 
A tribute, on your behalf, to the brilliant coach and the inspirational captain which I hope has done them justice.
 
Before closing, I want to acknowledge the enormous influence - to our very great benefit - that Tami and Hayley have had on their husbands. It's more than being supportive partners. It extends to being counsellors, advisers and confidantes, and Paul and Brett - and we - couldn't have done it without you.
  
All that now remains is for me to do is to propose a toast to truly the most brilliant of coaches, and truly the most inspirational of captains.
 
But in so doing I am really also proposing a toast to our Club and the hundreds and thousands or maybe millions who have so much emotion invested in it.
 
Could I ask you all to be upstanding and charge your glasses?
 
The toast is very simply to Paul and Brett.
 
"To Paul and Brett".