Sturt supercoach Martin Mattner pledges his immediate future to the Double Blues, eyes more flags
Triple premiership-winning Sturt supercoach Martin Mattner has addressed rising speculation over a move to the AFL, making an emphatic statement about his future.
Triple Sturt premiership coach Martin Mattner has shut down AFL speculation over his immediate future, declaring he will remain in charge at Unley next season.
And the master mentor has thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the SANFL by saying his outstanding Double Blues machine – which lost only one game this season in the best year by any team since Glenelg in 1973 – is built to remain a superpower.
Revealing he had put off a return to the AFL indefinitely, Mattner said he had yet to be informed of any Sturt player departures, although long-time captain James Battersby is unlikely to remain a Blue after “stepping away’’ from the club two weeks ago when he was told he was not in the frame to play in last Sunday’s grand final.
The 29-year-old has been linked to a move to rival SANFL club North Adelaide.
This year’s Jack Oatey Medallist, explosive on-baller Angus Anderson, could also be on the move as he will attract AFL attention after his stunning performance in the Blues’ 31-point grand final triumph against the Tigers.
Mattner – a former AFL assistant coach who lost his role at Adelaide due to cost-cutting measures in the Covid-ravaged 2020 season – said he wanted to remain at Sturt indefinitely and continue to build on this year’s incredible, 19-1, premiership-winning season, capped off by the convincing grand final victory.
“I’m at Sturt next year and we’ll go for another one (flag),’’ he boldly declared.
“I’ve said all the way along (that he has aspirations to return to the AFL) but I’d love to stay here for a bit longer and achieve some more things here.
“At the moment, with family and my wife’s work, I’ve put any aspirations to return to the AFL on hold. In the future, who knows?’’
Mattner, who also coached the Double Blues to premierships in 2016-17 in his first coaching stint at the club before joining the Crows at the end of 2018, had been linked to an assistant coaching role at Port Adelaide under new coach Josh Carr.
But he will remain in charge of the SANFL’s new superpower, whose only defeat this year was by just two points in the final minor round against Adelaide.
“The big thing moving forward for (Sturt football manager) Chris Trapp, myself and the footy club is retaining the group we’ve got,’’ said Mattner, a 222-game AFL player for Adelaide and Sydney.
He also won a premiership as a player for Sturt in 2002 and an AFL flag for the Swans in 2012.
“The positive with that is that we do have a lot of players in their mid-20s, not too many older guys, and (triple-premiership small forward) Josh Hone, one of our oldest players (aged 29), has told me he is going around again, which is a bonus,” Mattner said.
“The other part of it is our reserves, they played in the granny on the weekend (losing to Glenelg) and there are some good players there, such as Lachie Burrows, Rory Illman, Morgan Ferres, Hugo Kittel, Willa Taylor and others.
“We’ll also have 18 players, depending on the draft, come up from our under-18s (who won the premiership) to train with us, so we’re well positioned to have sustained success.’’
Mattner will also have two more gun midfielders to call on after Jared Dakin (groin) and Mitch Crowden (knee) missed the grand final through injury.
As for Battersby’s future, Mattner said that would be decided in the next “couple of weeks’’.
“We haven’t had that conversation yet,’’ he said.
“Two weeks ago he decided to step away, so we gave him some space, and I guess we’ll sit down and have a conversation at some stage in the next week or two about what he’s planning for next year.’’
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