Jackson Kornberg: a lasting legacy

After 10 years of dedication and commitment to the Sandringham program, 2021 Senior coach Jackson Kornberg will be leaving the Dragons to coach the Gold Coast Suns' VFL program in 2022. We contacted those who have worked closely with him throughout his journey to reflect on his contribution to the club. 

As an 18-year-old, Jackson Kornberg waltzed into the Sandringham Dragons, full of energy and just as much confidence. 

Encouraged by close friend Paul Carrigan to apply for a position, he sent an email off, got a response a couple of weeks later and has been involved with the club since. 

In 2021, he leaves behind a successful culture and legacy of care and professionalism after a year in charge as senior coach of both the boys and girls programs in 2021 and ten years of involvement beforehand. This is how those up close have seen it. 

Culture 

Two of Sandy’s boys' more convincing victories this season came off the back of lockdowns. The Dragons beat Eastern by 48 points in round nine and then defeated Greater Western Victoria by 24 points in a top-of-the-table clash to finish the year. 

Kornberg's passion for footy and individual player development permeated during the hiatuses across the last two years. For both Luke Cleary – who happens to be Kornberg’s neighbour - and Josh Sinn, the 28-year-old was often their training partner. 

“When you could catch up with one bloke, he’d be the first one saying 'do you want to go for a kick?',” Sinn said. 

Cleary added: “He filmed my kicking each week so we could track progress and that was all when he wasn’t the coach and not working full time so just putting the extra effort in for me. 

“So I know he’s done that for (10) years, so left a real mark on 100s of boys now, most of it when he wasn’t the coach and then flourished this year when he was finally given the role.” 

During the lockdowns, many people around the club shared the lengths he went to in pursuit of keeping everyone connected. 

“I think his professionalism stands out the most, he makes everyone work hard and holds everyone accountable. He’s been huge in a COVID year because trying to keep everyone connected has been very hard but he’s been awesome at that,” Sinn said. 

More recently, he got the combine invitees together to train, determined to give them the best opportunity to hit preseason in excellent shape. 

But, just as the actions he does for the highly-touted are celebrated, is the less-noticed work he does is just as important to the program. Under Kornberg, vice-captain Cleary believes everyone feels valued. 

“I know player one through 70 could say they had a relationship with him and if something was happening, he would know about it…I know having spoken to people that, Jacko left a real mark on them and these aren’t even the boys that are gonna get drafted so I feel like he had a real ability to know how people are travelling and check in on them and bring them along. 

“It would be so easy for a NAB League coach to put all their effort into those guys because at the end of the day, that’s what they get marked on but he just took a real interest in the whole club and not just himself and how it would look if he had so many drafted.” 

Kornberg’s relationship with now Casey Demon George Grey, who graduated from the Sandirngham program in 2019, substantiates Cleary’s belief. 

Injuries curtailed Grey’s ability to push his way into draft calculations but that didn’t compromise the ongoing care. 

“When he knows you want to get better as a player and respects you as a player and a person, he’s always going to keep tabs on you,” Grey said. 

“If I play a good game or play a bad game outside Dragons footy even now, I wouldn’t be surprised if I came home to a text from Jacko saying ‘congratulations mate’ or ‘keep your head up’. 

“He’s still acknowledging your successes despite not being your coach anymore or at the highest level, he has that appreciation for all sorts of players.” 

Sinn agrees that the balance which Kornberg fosters is a point-of-difference in his arsenal and enables the club to progress, allowing a prosperous culture to permeate. 

“The biggest thing that makes me happy that Jacko’s done, is he’s made an impact off-field,” Sinn said. 

“We’d catch up and have walks and have coffees so that’s something I’m really grateful for, both the time that we talk shit but also asking questions and asking for help.  

“His biggest thing is making you a better person which he goes on about a bit in the preseason in front of all the families and the families might think ‘what is this bloke talking about?’ but he truly does. 

“It’ll be hard not to see him around the club or in the state, but he’ll find a way, he always finds a way that’s what makes him the best coach I’ve ever had.” 

Reinforcing the squad mentality that Kornberg breeds, two more of Sandy’s impressive outings came when a chunk of their side was out for representative honours. Victory over Oakleigh by more than 90 points and a 10-goal annihilation of Calder demanded others step up. 

At the Best-and-Fairest night, Cleary declared that the year had been one his favourite from a footy perspective, something he credits Kornberg for. 

“He built a good culture of selflessness and made the club a really enjoyable place to be,” Cleary said. 

“In year 11 (2019) I didn’t really see the Dragons as a place I loved, but this year it became that and I’m really sad to leave it and a lot of that is Jacko’s doing. 

“He built a culture of working hard but also just getting around each other and mateship. He’s left a massive legacy on us Dragons boys by encouraging the leadership group to plan social events and chat shit as well. Obviously you’re training hard but feel free to talk your minds and don’t always feel like you’re being watched and have to impress.  

“It became more of a footy club sort of vibe this year than a professional program.” 

Co-captain Darby Hipwell agrees that his approachability off the track bred better results: “He’s always happy to see everyone, cracking gags no matter if they were funny or not but he was always trying to lighten up the place.” 

From an on-field success point-of-view, in 2021 Kornberg guided the Dragons to an 8-1 minor premiership season, the most points scored per game and least points conceded per game. His side have the most NAB AFL Combine invites with 11 as he facilitated a game plan where his star-studded lineup could show their strengths and play exciting and offensive footy. 

Kornberg served an apprenticeship under now Williamstown VFL coach Justin Plapp, Jeremy Barnard and Josh Bourke as former Sandy senior coaches and formed an excellent marriage with Mick Lovejoy in taking care of 2019’s bumper crop of midfielders. 

“I don’t think he could really have had any better people to learn from and work with,” said club stalwart Ian Penn who has been involved with the Dragons since their establishment. 

“He listened, he took on board what was being said to him and generally carried through, but he still had his own mind. If he wasn’t sure what was said to him, he’d look into it and come back with a response. 

After coaching Sandy in 2019, Bourke endorsed Kornberg’s coaching credentials. 

“I think Jackson’s strength no doubt is his tactical knowledge and I’ve been acutely aware of that even when I was at Dandenong, he had a reputation for his ability to unpack the game, analyse it technically and tactically,” Bourke said. 

An underlying theme those who have played for him have affirmed is the extra time he spends going through vision and more to enhance their knowledge which Bourke has seen translate to game day. 

“He understood what was trending at AFL level and what was and in place, he’d done the work to understand how to combat different methods.  

“He was active at setting different things up from stoppage. His ability to support us in seeing that was terrific and probably the more poignant point was his ability to develop the individual player with their stoppage craft and what that looked like.” 

Whoever went into the midfield that Kornberg has helped nurture for so long at the Dragons stepped up this season. Best-and-Fairest winner Finn Callaghan. Third-placed Lachie Benton. Even 17-year-old Ben Mansfield. 

For three consecutive weeks, Sandy held their opposition to two goals as Kornberg got his side in the groove of playing for each other and the jumper, despite numerous changes week-to-week due to injury, school football and Vic Metro commitments. 

Before the game against the Cannons, Kornberg reminded his players of their ten-year legacy of being hard to play against. 

“Jacko has talked about ‘be where your feet are’,” assistant coach Nick Moodie said. 

“Be present in the moment, make sure you’re living in that moment, don’t think about things that have gone on behind, don’t think too far ahead, just be a Dragon, enjoy being a Dragon and live by those values of being a really good kid, improving yourself and get better every day.”  

Beyond his commitment to playing group, his support of all staff and contributors at the Dragons was evident throughout the year as senior coach. Conscious of the realiance on volunteers such as trainers, assistant coaches and officials behind the scenes, Kornberg never failed stressed the importance of recognising their contributions and made sure to encourage all players to thank the staff for giving up their time, particularly on away games requiring significant travel, such as trips to Ballarat and Wangaratta. 

His esteem from the Dragons’ girls, too, puts paid to any suggestion that his merit as senior coach was enhanced by a bumper crop of talent. 

With no players drafted this year and just one win from their eight games, the girls didn’t have the success of the boys, but Kornberg adapted his support to their needs according to vice-captain Bridie Hipwell. 

“We didn’t have many [wins], but after every game…he would go straight into what we did well and really focus on the small things and then where we could improve from there into the next thing,” she said. 

“He didn’t dwell on what we didn’t do well, but just what we did (do well), and then where to go from there, which I thought was really good, because it kept us in a positive mindset through the whole season.” 

Legacy 

Sinn considers Jackson Kornberg his best junior coach. The 28-year-old also happens to be one of Sinn’s close mates. 

Kornberg got the best out of Sinn as a footballer and helped mature Sinn the person. 

“Jacko at training can be an absolute arsehole or he can be your best mate and it all comes down to what you’re doing on the track because he’s not there to f*ck around, he’s there to make sure the football club gets the best out of everyone,” Sinn said. 

The 28-year-old makes sure every player feels valued and knew the role that he needed to play in everyone’s off-field development. 

“With Jacko I felt like I was player number one – whether I was or wasn’t is irrelevant, it’s more that I felt like that,” said 2018 graduate and now Carlton Blue Liam Stocker. 

“What he was able to do was formulate my talent and basically streamline my development into making the most out of my ability rather than trying to improve everything at the same time. 

“He was always good at identifying that with me and whittling it down to two or three things I can concentrate on every game and when you make it that simple, particularly with the under 18s, it just made playing well relatively easy.” 

More than the wins and losses, the respect he has had for the club and people has been longstanding. 

“He was always jovial and greeted people with a big smile and didn’t ignore people,” Penn said. 

“His enthusiasm got him through. He was very enthusiastic with what he attempted to do, very enthusiastic about the game and the players and I think that’s a thing he’s had on his side. 

“The legacy that he’s left is the way that he approaches people as footballers and as human beings. He treats people the way he wants to be treated. It’s contagious.” 

Development of talent:  

In 2018, Kornberg visited Stocker in hospital multiple times. 

The then 18-year-old broke his jaw in an ugly incident on the footy field which threatened to hamper his development, but his midfield coach was with him every step of the way. 

Unable to eat solid foods and lacking in fitness, Kornberg helped increase Stocker’s training loads and initiated craft sessions. It expedited the now Blue’s recovery and propelled him to a Morrish Medal. 

The specificity of Kornberg’s advice was AFL-standard and polished Stocker’s weapons. 

“I think without a shadow of a doubt he would have got an extra 15% out of me on his own,” Stocker said of Kornberg. 

“He put hours and hours and hours of effort into me and I have no doubt it helped me get through to the AFL pathway, it’s pretty much as realistic as it gets. It’s about the same time that AFL development would put into you that he was putting into me as an under 18s coach on a part-time basis going over weaknesses and provided a realistic insight into what the AFL world would be like.  

“I was a completely different player between my last year of school and top age year in terms of football IQ and also just understanding what the game required of me from a leadership point-of-view at stoppage and a game-situation point-of-view.” 

“We did heaps of work in transition patterns, inside 50 kicking, [defensive] 50 exits and a heap of stoppage work and when I got into the VFL system the year after that on an AFL list, I didn’t have to learn some of the stuff they were learning because I already knew half of it."

On the track, Kornberg’s long been a consummate professional at developing AFL-level talent. 

2016 Dragons premiership player and now GWS Giant Tim Taranto recalls the work Kornberg did for him during his top-age year to prime him for a year that commanded selection with the second pick at the 2016 draft. 

“He was probably the most caring coach I’ve come across and I’d always want to spend the most time with him,” Taranto said.

“I just wanted to work as hard as possible, and he was always available, so I always took that opportunity with him. We’d do groundballs, hands, kicking, he’d literally be a kelpie for me, I’d just kick the ball, he’d go chase it literally half an hour before training. He worked hard and it helped me a lot in that year. 

“I wish I had someone like him right now to be honest, it’d be nice because he was willing to do so much for anyone. It wasn’t just me, he’d help a lot of other boys as well work on their deficiencies as well.” 

As well as the inroads on-field he has had a hand in, he leaves behind an embarrassment of cherished relationships – with staff, coaches, ex-players. 

Kornberg is still in regular dialouge with Taranto, the pair catching up for occasional training sessions when Taranto is in Melbourne, and Stocker commends the significance of their relationship: “It’s an incredible resource to have someone who understands the AFL landscape that’s not in the AFL landscape so there’s no bias intended,” said Stocker. 

Kornberg was one of the first people Richmond’s Hugo Ralphsmith told when he was drafted in 2019. Kornberg nurtured the talented Richmond wingman as a junior and was a major factor in him realising his dream.

"Being a younger coach, he understood the stresses and anxiety of getting drafted and stress associated with year 11 and 12," Ralphsmith said.

"You felt like you could talk to him which took a whole lot of stress off overthinking stuff. He'd just tell you how it is and give you good feedback and bad feedback and help you grow as a player.

“I still keep in touch with him a fair bit now because he's a ripping fella. He was always in my ear telling me 'I don't want to find out about the debut over Instagram' so I had to flick him a text when I was debuting!"

 tributes

The Sandringham Dragons would like to thank Jackson for his unwavering dedication towards the program and wish him all the very best for his time at Gold Coast and beyond. 

Story by Jonty Ralphsmith. Interviews by Jonty Ralphsmith and Marcus Uhe. Thank you to all who contributed.