Aldinga coach Damian Smith quits battling Southern Football League club after loss

Aldinga’s coach has walked out on the battling SFL club after the Sharks’ 166-point loss on Saturday. It comes five years after the club made national headlines for sacking its coach following a 300-point loss.

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Aldinga coach Damian Smith has walked out on the battling Southern Football League club, resigning immediately after the Sharks’ 166-point loss to Christies Beach on Saturday.

Fifth-year Sharks coach Smith addressed his players in the change rooms in the wake of the 27.15 (177) to 1.5 (11) defeat at Bice Oval then told club officials.

Smith told Messenger Community News he was not happy with the lack of communication and resources he said the club had promised but not delivered.

The former Sharks player said the big loss, which left the club with a 0-2 record, had no bearing on his decision to pull the pin.

Damian Smith pictured in 2014 after he was named coach of the Sharks. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“I felt that I didn’t have the full support of the football club in providing things we needed to function properly as a team,” Smith said.

“I don’t want to get into specifics but a senior coach needs to have communication and being provided with the tools he needs to do the job.

“It wasn’t just yesterday as we had only 16 fit players in the second half, so we knew it was going to be a big score against us.

“In some ways it was a hard decision to make, in others not so hard.

“I can walk away knowing what I have given to the club.

“This has been coming for a while.’’

Aldinga has had five coaches in the past 10 years and has won just 15 games in that time.

In 2014, they gained national media attention after sacking their coach following a 300-point defeat and later when ex-Hawthorn star Shane Crawford played a one-off game for the battling club.

Last season the Sharks finished bottom of the ladder with a 1-15 record and an average losing margin of 98 points.

Damian Smith addresses his players. Picture: Tait Schmaal.

Aldinga president Danny Wilde was disappointed by Smith’s decision and said it came as a shock.

“We thought we gave as much support as we could,” Wilde said.

“We don’t have big dollars to go and get players and recruiting has been so hard.

“There was probably some areas the committee and footy department which needed a bit of work and needed to be talked about.

“We were keen to work with what we had and try and move forward but he decided he was done.

“I’ll be honest, I probably saw the signs and left it a bit too long and I take responsibility for that.

“I should have been acting on a couple of things earlier and it might not have come to this.

“But at the same time, my door is always open.”

Wilde said the club would ask reserves coach Jake Stangewitz to fill the role in the interim and begin the search for a new coach.

Aldinga president Danny Wilde (left) with Steve Flintham in 2012. Picture: Noelle Bobrige

“We’ll have to see what’s out there,” he said.

“He (Stangewitz) may be able to fit the role for the rest of the season, hopefully there are some A-grade coaches out there with experience and that aren’t doing anything who might be able to mentor Jake, who’s a good, up-and-coming young coach.”

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