One of my main tasks when starting my role at Melbourne Victory is to also create an environment that will drive the whole club to the success it craves. I am not afraid to acknowledge that through interaction and observation we have already built small details of the Storm culture into our dressing room.

I have to say, however, that just as intriguing for me is watching the challenges that clubs in the AFL face and their methods for gaining any sort of edge. Australian rules has become more tactical and it seems more clubs are looking at sports like ours to see what they can take across to their game to improve. Last year, Hawthorn, another grand finalist, sent some of its coaches up to Brisbane to spend a week with the Roar. They came with an open mind and a willingness to take any small detail away and, from my perspective, I could tell it was an organisation that would test all boundaries in its quest for improvement.

I was fortunate enough to be asked by Brendan McCartney to spend a day with the Western Bulldogs and again I came away inspired after observing their absolute determination, while facing some difficult obstacles, to leave no stone unturned in their quest to became a force in their code. I see every day that Demons coach Mark Neeld and his team are on a similar journey.

In the AFL the ability to predict what may be the next game-changer in tactical terms is a great driving force and I use that philosophy in my coaching as well.

At Victory we are working hard to play a style of game that will give us an advantage over our rivals in the next few years, and while I look at our own sport to gain the tactical knowledge, there is no doubt that the vision is driven by watching AFL coaches testing the boundaries of their sport.