When Jade Rawlings sits down to watch Saturday night's AFL grand final, he will do with a sense of satisfaction knowing he has played a role in helping one of the clubs get to the ultimate stage.
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The 43-year-old, who has just finished his first season in charge of Norwood in the SANFL, spent eight seasons at Melbourne from 2012-2019, serving in a number of assistant coaching roles as well as senior coach of the club's VFL affiliate, Casey.
He looks back on his time at the Demons as one of immense change at the club, but admires the work that has been done to put them in with a chance to break a 57-year premiership drought against the Western Bulldogs.
"When I was there the club was on its knees for a couple of years," the Devonport born and bred Rawlings said.
"From when Paul Roos and Peter Jackson got involved through to Simon Goodwin taking over, that's when significant change started to occur.
"The club set out on a pathway of what brand of football they wanted to play, how to go about its business off the field and how to recruit and all of those things have now come together.
"I'm still pretty close to a number of people at the club and there is a sense of satisfaction watching them play the way they set out to and being in a position to achieve the ultimate.
"You don't fluke being on top of the ladder or being in a grand final and there is a way to go about things.
"They got close in 2018 but no doubt we all got ahead of ourselves a bit and got sat on our backsides pretty strongly the last two years."
Rawlings reserved special praise for current coach Simon Goodwin, who he still keeps in close contact with.
He said Goodwin is much more than just a coach to the playing group.
"I have huge respect for Simon because he's taught me so much," Rawlings said.
"To see where he was at the start this year, which was perceived to be under serious pressure, to what he has been able to do - I feel really happy for him.
"It's the way he thinks about people, the bigger picture, he's humble, he appreciates what other people do to help his charter as a coach.
"He's not a limelight man - he just wants to coach the team to its full capacity and he's had his own hardships on and off the field and he just keeps coming out the other side."
One player who Rawlings didn't work with at Melbourne, but knows through his 2020 stint at North Melbourne is fellow Devonport product Ben Brown.
While the forward was slow to find his feet at the Demons, Rawlings believes a stint in the VFL has been invaluable for him.
"It's about the journey and Ben didn't hit the ground running with his knee injury and found himself in the VFL where he probably questioned himself," Rawlings said.
"But the club did the right thing and reserves football shouldn't be seen as something derogatory.
"He's re-evaluated what a good game in the Melbourne system looks like, not just goals and marks."