Game day program Semi Final 1

Vickerman spoke about his Captain and the
leadership he has provided this season.
“What I thought, the biggest growth from him,
is that he’s just saying what needs to be said
right now without the consequences of worrying
about friendship or anything. He’s just got a total
win mentality now and he’s going to be direct
with all of his teammates.”
“I really think it has [filtered through the rest of the
team]. Because if you get that honesty from your
captain and you accept it, you’re going to give that
honesty to someone else. I thought Casper was
the next one in line who has really stepped up in
that area, but there’s been a real growth in the
entire group.”
As injuries took their toll – there was rarely a time
throughout the regular season when Vickerman
had his full squad at his disposal – shuffling lineups
to find the right mix wasn’t the hardest part,
as Vickerman explains.
“I think what I’ve found this year is that’s actually
the easier part of coaching - when someone goes
down, the next player steps up.” Vickerman said.
“The harder part of coaching is when people return
from injury and how to integrate them – I’ve learnt
some lessons this year. When Chris [Goulding]
first came back maybe we could’ve done that a
better way, how we re-introduced Casey and DA
[Dave Andersen] and all these guys coming back,
they’ve been some good lessons for me this year.”
Vickerman admits the only thing he is concerned
with after finishing on top of the ladder and
claiming the Minor Premiership is home-court
advantage.
“The only thing that the Minor Premiership means
to me is that we’ve got home-court advantage
- there is no trophy or banner for a Minor
Premiership. We get to reward our fans by having
the most possible games at home and at a place
we love to play.” Vickerman said.
“To have a 20-win season, you’ve got to do
some things really well and it was nice to stay
consistent in the second half of the season.”
Looking to win their first Finals series as United, it
is fitting that Dean Vickerman – a born and bred
Victorian – is spearheading Melbourne’s campaign.
12 Game Day Program