L-R: Ollie Dempsey, Oisin Mullin, Gryan Miers, Tyson Stengle. Pictures: AFL Photos

IT’S NOT often an AFL player names their dog after their development coach.

Then again, it’s not often you come across a development coach quite like Nigel Lappin.

As Geelong prepares for a remarkable 14th preliminary final in 19 years, the club’s sensational record of developing players from a variety of backgrounds – polishing uncut gems and turning them into multi-million dollar talents – has been put on full display once again.

Geelong’s qualifying final side from a fortnight ago, the one that comfortably dispatched the reigning premier Brisbane, featured 14 players plucked from football obscurity. Among them were six rookies, three players recruited after the 40th pick in the draft, two delisted free agents, two Irishmen and another collected off the scrapheap at the Trade Period.

It’s an unconventional list build, but one that has become the envy of the competition over the best part of two decades. It’s also the product of one of the League’s most highly respected, sought-after and universally admired development bosses in Lappin.

Patrick Dangerfield and Nigel Lappin during the Geelong training session at Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, January 13, 2017. Picture: AFL Media

His work is so highly regarded, in fact, that the Cats’ 2022 premiership star Zach Tuohy named his new puppy ‘Nigel’ a couple of months ago. And, no, it wasn’t a coincidence. It was named after Lappin. “They’ve got comparable IQs as well,” Tuohy joked.

This is Lappin’s 17th season at Geelong, a period spent mixing between line and development roles. For the last two seasons, he’s held the position as the club’s head of development. It’s a job that was previously occupied by Matt Egan, a figure just as lauded at the Cats before he left for a position at the Western Bulldogs as the club’s football operations boss.

Together, both Egan and Lappin are credited for the continued rise and rise of Geelong as a football powerhouse. They’ve turned Tom Stewart, the 40th pick in the 2016 draft, into a five-time All-Australian. They’ve made Mark Blicavs, a rookie pick in 2011, one of the League’s most versatile stars. They’ve crafted Ollie Dempsey, another rookie selection in 2021, into a Rising Star winner. The list goes on and on.

But what’s the secret to Geelong’s development dynasty? While every club can stumble on a diamond in the rough, very few can do it as consistently and as well as the Cats. Almost two-thirds of Geelong’s qualifying final side was made up of players either overlooked or unwanted by rival clubs, a staggering number and a symbol of the side’s success in this area.

“It’s hard to put your finger on it exactly,” Tuohy told AFL.com.au this week.

“I consider Nigel one of my best mates and I reckon a lot of players he’s coached probably feel that way. Nigel came over to Ireland for my wedding, he is somebody I’d lean on if something in my personal life went astray because he’s genuinely invested.

“It feels a lot more than just him being concerned about your skills. It feels a bit bigger than that with Nigel. Anyone who has worked with him has that feeling. Anybody who has worked with him feels like they could go to him with any problem, big or small.

“He just loves developing. That’s absolutely where his passion lies, and I think that tells. I reckon you get a lot of coaches who go through the development pathway on their way to becoming a senior coach, but this is actually the pinnacle for Nigel. This is what he wants to do and I just think it shows. It’s not a stepping stone, it’s not something he’s doing in the meantime. It’s where his passion lies.”

Dig deeper, though, and there’s a reason why Lappin’s handywork has helped turn Gryan Miers into one of the AFL’s most dangerous forward-half players since being recruited with the No.57 pick, or Tom Atkins into one of its toughest midfielders since arriving as a rookie, or Lawson Humphries into one of its classiest ball users after joining as the No.63 selection.

Gryan Miers kicks a goal during Geelong’s clash against West Coast in round 12, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

It’s the same reason Irish duo Mark O’Connor and Oisin Mullin were able to effectively shut down the influence of Brisbane’s superstar pair Cam Rayner and Hugh McCluggage earlier this September, and why Tyson Stengle and Jack Martin have been reborn since they were provided with another chance at GMHBA Stadium as delisted free agents.

It’s because Lappin doesn’t just mould footballers, he moulds people. To find any on-field answer, he poses an off-field question. Deeply invested in the mental aspect of professional sport, the Cats – and Lappin, in particular – have long been steadfast in their view that the psychological makeup of a player is just as important as their physical capabilities.

“He’s an all-round good bloke,” Tuohy said.

“If you were underperforming, his first instinct would be to check if everything is OK with you personally before delving into the football side of it. He tends to care more, in my experience, about that stuff.

“He’s also very thorough, though. He’s an incredibly smart guy and he studies a lot. He does a lot of the actual study, he’s big into the psychology aspect of it and he has the credentials to back that up. He’s got a fascinating outlook on what makes a good player a good player. It’s rarely just as simple as, ‘They’re good at football’.”

Not even Geelong’s ‘sure thing’ recruits have, on the surface at least, been considered certain stars by rival teams. Yes, the club traded – and traded big – for blue-chip talents like Patrick Dangerfield, Jeremy Cameron and Bailey Smith. But first-round picks have been used on flyers, athletic prospects and high-upside talents that required the developmental tweaks only someone like Lappin can provide.

All-Australians Bailey Smith and Jeremy Cameron at the AFL Awards at Centrepiece, August 28, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

Max Holmes was a bolter at the No.20 pick in 2020, a player drafted more on his athleticism than his football feats at that stage. Sam De Koning and Connor O’Sullivan were both top 20 selections, as well, but were key-position prospects without a solidified position and needing time put into them first. Shannon Neale and Shaun Mannagh, both picks in the 30s, were hardly guaranteed hits either.

But most on the club’s list – be it first-round picks, mature-aged recruits, Irish imports or rookie selections – benefit from an unwritten rule at GMBHA Stadium. You cut your teeth, earn your crust, learn the ways, then get picked. There are no shortcuts, as frustrating as that may be initially.

Blicavs, Jack Henry and Miers didn’t play a single AFL game in their first season at the club. O’Sullivan played one game in his first year. De Koning played only one game in his first two seasons at Geelong. Dempsey played seven games in two years, then was a Rising Star winner in his third. Zach Guthrie played 20 games in his first four seasons. All the way through, Lappin and the club preached patience.

“If a player comes in and they’re ready to play early, they’ll play early. It’s just that they make sure they have the required skills to survive,” Tuohy said.

Zach Tuohy during a Geelong training session at GMHBA Stadium, September 20, 2024. Picture: Getty Images

“These are all bona fide, A-Grade players, but they took their time. I don’t think it’s necessarily been a deliberate thing, although I think it’s been pretty successful, so maybe it’s become somewhat deliberate. But it’s not said to the players. I think they’re told when you’re good enough, you’ll play.

“It’s happened so often now – guys that don’t get straight into the side and turn out to be stars – that I just think there’s buy-in from other guys that don’t play early. I don’t think there’s any panic, because there’s so many examples at Geelong of guys not playing for a year or two and turning out to be integral to a pretty good side.”

Geelong, indeed, has turned out to be a pretty good side. On Friday night, the club’s development pathway will again have provided the platform for a team hoping to make it seven Grand Final appearances – and potentially five premierships – in just 19 years. There is good reason why dogs are being named after development coaches.

And yes, for those wondering, the deed was returned.

“His dog is ‘Reggie’, which is my nickname,” Tuohy laughed.

“I’m assuming that’s not just a coincidence.”

Geelong Gems

2011: Rookie Draft: Mark Blicavs
2016: Pick 40: Tom Stewart
2016: Rookie Draft: Jack Henry
2016: Rookie Draft: Zach Guthrie
2016: Category B Rookie: Mark O’Connor
2017: Pick 57: Gryan Miers
2018: Rookie Draft: Tom Atkins
2019: Rookie Draft: Brad Close
2021: Delisted Free Agent: Tyson Stengle
2021: Rookie Draft: Ollie Dempsey
2021: Category B Rookie: Oisin Mullin
2022: Trade: Jack Bowes
2023: Pick 63: Lawson Humphries
2024: Delisted Free Agent: Jack Martin