Article by John Forrester reproduced from the NEAFL Eastern Conference record, round 15, 2011
The NEAFL may be a bit of a step down from the AFL, but it is success that counts, and now Robert Shirley is going for his second premiership in two years.
In 2011 he is enjoying another good season with Ainslie FC and has taken on more of a development role within the club, as well as contributing as a player and assistant coach.
Rob Shirley started playing footy as a child in the country town of Whyalla, South Australia. At the age of seventeen he moved down to Adelaide where he played for Woodville-West Torrens Eagles until being drafted by the Adelaide Crows in 1999.
Shirley struggled to establish himself as a regular in the Crows outfit in his first couple of years, but was a regular after the 2004 season as he was considered as one of the games supreme taggers.
Despite the success of the Adelaide Crows in Shirley’s time there, the club was never able to deliver that coveted AFL flag during this time. He called time on his AFL career at the end of 2009 and chose Ainslie Football Club as his next destination, which proved to be an inspired choice.
The tough midfielder said he chose to come to Canberra to get away from the stress of the AFL for a while and try a different type of football.
“We [my family] just wanted something different for a year, and a different type of footy than the AFL scene, and this club was perfect.”
In his first season with the Ainslie Football Club , Shirley won that elusive premiership as a member of the team that beat Eastlake in the grand final.
His role in the team is fairly different than what it was when he played for the Crows. Not only does his experience promote him as an instant leader, but he came to the club as an assistant coach, giving him even more responsibility.
Without current head Coach Chris Rourke this may have been too much to ask from the ex-Crow, but Shirley said that ‘Rourkey’ really helped him find his feet and get used to having a bigger role to play.
Now in his second year with the club he has taken on the running of the senior transition squad, which is responsible for bringing the next crop of stars through. The transition squad contains players between the age of 15 and 21, and he said that he sees some real talent there for the future.
“They’ve got some great talent, the footy club, in that young group and I definitely see improvement from those guys. Hopefully they can take it on and become ten year players for the club.”
Despite having the title of assistant coach next to his name, on game day Robert Shirley is unable to provide much input into the tactics for the team as he prefers to concentrate on his own game.
Apart from giving occasional bits of information during the breaks about how the midfield is running, the main aim for Shirley during the game is to play well and be a leader on the ground, where the head coach can’t go. Importantly Shirley says he is still enjoying playing his football, saying that the young group Ainslie have make it fun and interesting at times, although at the age of 31 he is finding it harder to get up the day after the game. He is still undecided as to whether he will be at Ainslie for the next couple of years, saying that it is a decision he’ll make in the best interests of his family.
“The footy club has been fantastic and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it, so it’s going to be a hard decision if we do decide to leave. But it has been a great experience if that’s the way it goes; on the other hand I could see myself playing for another two more years.” The role he has taken up at Ainslie is a step towards life after football and the Ainslie player says that he can see himself coaching somewhere at some level, despite now realising how stressful a job it is.
The inaugural NEAFL season is past the halfway point and the teams that will likely be featuring in the finals have predominantly already made their mark on the competition.
In his second season with Ainslie, Shirley says that they are playing much more consistent football than they even played last year, apart from their self admitted worst game against Southport.
With seven games left Ainslie are placed well, having recently taken outright second place on the Eastern Conference table and are building well towards the finals. Robert Shirley, and the whole Ainslie team, will be hoping they can reproduce the form that took them to the title last year.
Last Modified on 11/07/2011 23:03