By Patrick Kennedy – @patkennedy17
Glenn Archer and Michael Tout are back together at Warrandyte FC in a bid to lead the Bloods resurgence.
Do not be alarmed North Melbourne fans; your favourite son hasn’t gone to Sydney, but he is back inside the EFL fold.
Glenn Archer, 41, has returned to the Warrandyte Football Club after an absence of four years, and word has it, he hasn’t missed a beat.
Following a successful venture into the film industry, just see Blinder if you want proof, Archer is back in his natural habitat brining his Premiership and All-Australian credentials with him. His return has elevated the fortunes of the recently relegated senior side, who are now sitting 3rd on the Division 4 ladder.
Archer has managed a few games for the Bloods this season, kicking a bag of four in the process, but his presence off the field is proving just as much a winner. The return of the former Kangaroos hard-man coincides with the arrival of former Bloods coach and good friend Michael Tout, who last coached the side in Division 3, when Archer last played.
The overlap is not a coincidence.
“He just said to me, ‘wherever you coach I’ll come and assist you, play a few games and see what happens.”
“There was never any persuading in 2010 when he first played and there wasn’t any for this season either, he just loves and enjoys playing footy,” said Tout, who has returned with Archer to help regenerate the bloods back up to Division 3.
The presence of Archer, once described by Dennis Pagan as the player who epitomised everything that is great about AFL, has been a source of vitality for the younger brigade of Warrandyte players who breath every piece of Archer-advice they can garner.
Kyle Sultana, 21, as a new player to the club could not have asked for a better mentor in his opening season.
“He still plays and trains as hard as everyone else, and he provides us with footage of AFL and EFL games and analyses them really well, showing us important parts of the game we need to consider and learn from,” he said.
The mentorship Archer provides the club is invaluable, according to the coach, and his presence adds to the motivation of his teammates.
“There’s no doubt that the players grow an extra leg when he’s around at training or on game-day, obviously his reputation is enormous so players want to do anything they can to gain his respect.
“He’ll pull blokes aside at training or on game day and work individually with them, giving them advice about marking in one-on-one contests or using your body in a different way to gain an advantage, his value as a teacher is just as important as what he provides as a player,” Tout said.
And, if you’re wondering whether Archer’s kamikaze modus operandi and unflinching courage have waned in his early forties, rest assured, he is still the same shinboner. “He’s still a lunatic out on the field,” Tout said, as he recalled the beginning of Archer’s EFL career, when he played out a game with a torn hamstring, was knocked out in the same match, and then was available for beers on the same night.
Re-uniting in football terms with his old mate is something Tout has enjoyed immensely, as the knowledge and stature of Archer has benefited the club, and Tout greatly. “He hasn’t got a big –head or anything, he’s just fantastic and he’s made my job a lot easier,” Tout said.
Archer reportedly has a great rapport with everyone at the club, and his good mate, Tout, describes him as a genuine ‘knock about guy’. However, the white line is still the white line, and the footy oval remains that place on earth where Archer’s nice guy qualities are soon forgotten.
“He’s still got that angry streak in him, doesn’t matter who he’s playing for, or who he’s playing against or what the division is, Glenn plays like Glenn,” Tout said.
So there’s a stern warning to the rest of the Division 4 competition, whenever you happen to play the Bloods, be assured that ‘Glenn plays like Glenn’.
A great learning experience or your worst nightmare…you’ll have to wait and see.