The unique challenges of living their best football life in Sydney had rarely been better explained by coaches John Longmire and Adam Kingsley than when they dined out on the eve of the 2024 season with the visiting AFL posse of Andrew Dillon, Laura Kane and Daniel Richardson.
Of Kingsley’s five assistant coaches, three are living away from their families. Ben Hart’s and Craig Jennings’ families remain in Victoria while Brent Montgomery’s stayed in Adelaide. All three men are into their second season of commuting with Jennings living in a mobile home.
“We’ve been fortunate to have done that, but if you did an analysis of who lives in their own property in Sydney compared with who rents it would be pretty telling. Too often coaches are approached who are based in Melbourne to come here and when they look at the hard, fixed costs it’s just not worth it.