Prince Alfred Old Collegians Football Club names Craig Pitt as coach for 2020 Adelaide Footy League season
Prince Alfred Old Collegians has looked within the club to find a replacement for Brett Backwell and has named star recruit Jack Trengove to be his assistant.
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Newly appointed Prince Alfred Old Collegians coach Craig Pitt has joined forces with best mate Jack Trengove in a bid to bring another flag to the Adelaide Footy League powerhouse.
The Reds announced on Friday that Pitt would take over as a playing coach to replace departing 2016 premiership mentor Brett Backwell.
Former Melbourne and Port Adelaide midfielder Trengove, who signed with PAOC earlier this month, will serve as Pitt’s assistant.
They are close friends from growing up in the southeast and going through school together.
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Pitt said going one better in 2020 was the priority after falling to Payneham Norwood Union by four points in the division one grand final in September.
The 28-year-old was one of the Reds’ best in the decider and was also named in the 2019 Adelaide Footy League team of the year.
“Every time you go into a season, the aim is to try and win a premiership,” said the former Glenelg vice-captain, who plays alongside brother Jake at the Reds.
“When you’ve got so close and just missed out I think it makes you even hungrier to go that one step further.
“I think we’ll have a pretty driven group because of how we finished off last year.
“It’s great to have Jack on board, not only as a player but in an assistant coaching role as well because he has a lot of experience and is well respected.
“Saying that, there’s no pressure on Jack. We want to hopefully get some wins for him and for him to enjoy football, which is something he hasn’t really been able to do while battling injuries and then recently being on the outer of the Power team.”
Pitt has tasted premiership success, playing under another good Prince Alfred College mate, Jack Kelly, in Robe’s 2018 Mid South Eastern Football League triumph.
He then joined PAOC at the beginning of this season.
It followed a 66-game career at Glenelg, where he won a reserves flag and rose to become vice-captain before departing the SANFL after the 2016 season.
Pitt said about 90 per cent of last season’s grand final side had already recommitted to the Reds for 2020.
And now, he said, coaching had become a growing ambition.
“Over the last few years I’ve thought about it a bit more as I’ve gotten older,” he said.
“I’ve taken on more of a leadership role around clubs and developing younger players.
“When the opportunity came up at PAOC, where I was already going to be playing anyway, I thought it would be silly of me not to apply and see how I went.”
PAOC parted ways with Backwell earlier this month, with chairman Michael Siciliano saying both parties decided a fresh voice as coach was in the best interests of the club.
Backwell took the club to its first ever division one premiership in 2016 and also guided the team to this season’s grand final.
Meanwhile the Reds have also signed former Carlton and Woodville-West Torrens defender Cameron Giles for next season.
Giles, who was selected by the Blues at pick 39 in the 2013 AFL draft, has spent the last two seasons at his hometown club Blyth Snowtown, where he helped the Cats win the 2019 North Eastern Football League premiership.
patrick.keam@news.com.au