Norwood captain Jace Bode to take over from Garry McIntosh as Payneham Norwood Union Football Club coach
Recently crowned Payneham Norwood Union premiership coach Garry McIntosh has stepped down as Falcons coach with a fellow former Norwood captain taking his place.
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Payneham Norwood Union premiership coach Garry McIntosh has stepped down from the Falcons job with a fellow former Norwood captain to take his place – Jace Bode.
The recently crowned Adelaide Footy League division one mentor made the announcement to players and club members on Wednesday night.
McIntosh will stay at the club as an assistant – and possibly B grade coach – alongside Bode, who will also play for the Falcons.
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Bode, 32, takes the job after retiring from Norwood at the end of the recent season following a brilliant career at The Parade.
McIntosh – a dual Magarey Medallist with the Redlegs – guided PNU to its first ever top flight Adelaide Footy Flag last month by defeating Prince Alfred Old Collegians.
He took over as Falcons coach in 2005.
The triumph followed division one grand final losses in 2015 and 2017, as well as back-to-back flags in division three and two in 2013 and 2014.
McIntosh said he had been thinking about moving on and finding a replacement for the past three seasons.
But the 371-game Redleg said the premiership win had no bearing on the decision.
“The last three probably where we started thinking about making a change,” McIntosh said.
“It wasn’t about going out after winning a flag, it was about finding the right person at the right time and we found that with Jace.
“I’m looking forward to learning off him myself actually, he’ll bring a different manner and a different style as well.
“The gameplan he wants to bring, he’s got good ideas and I think it will be innovative and refresh our players.”
Bode said having McIntosh alongside him was a big factor in taking on the role.
“I think he’s irreplaceable, Macca,” said Bode, who captained Norwood from 2016 to this year.
“That was certainly something I weighed up in my decision making, how do you emulate what the great man has done for the football club over a long period of time?
“Essentially with my role as a player coach, it’s going to be a fantastic opportunity to learn from him and bounce ideas off him.
“As soon as the Payneham presented itself, the fact Garry was really keen for it to happen and it’s a fantastic club made it easier to make the decision in the end.
“To have a guy like Garry that can mentor me means the transistion is going to be really smooth.”
Bode played 39 games with Sturt and made nine AFL appearances with Melbourne before moving to The Parade in 2011.
He went on to play 156 more matches with the Redlegs, winning a hat-trick of premierships from 2012-14.
Injuries hampered his final season as he managed just nine games in the league side.
While his SANFL career did not end quite the way he would have hoped, Bode said coaching had long been a passion of his.
“For me as a player nothing really changes,” Bode said.
“The last four or five years I’ve been that beat up that you end up contributing less on-field with your actions and more with your leadership and coaching.”
Bode has previous experience coaching CBC’s first XVIII side and a junior development program at Norwood during the Nathan Bassett era, which included looking after the likes of Orazio Fantasia, Trent Dumont and James Aish.