West Adelaide signs Nathan Bassett as new senior men’s coach
Beleaguered SANFL club West Adelaide has pulled off a coaching recruiting coup, signing former AFL assistant and dual premiership coach.
West Adelaide has finally got its man.
After weeks of negotiations, the Bloods have pulled off a recruiting coup, landing highly-rated AFL assistant and dual Norwood premiership coach Nathan Bassett as their SANFL senior men’s coach for the next three seasons.
Bassett, 48, inked his deal on Tuesday after officially leaving Melbourne on Monday, where he served as the Demons’ backline coach this year.
Bassett replaces Adam Hartlett as Bloods coach after the three-year mentor left the club midway through the season, originally taking a mental health break and then being told he would not be reappointed.
Hartlett has since joined Glenelg as a part-time assistant coach and will be part of its coaching panel for Sunday’s SANFL grand final against Sturt.
West president Alison Surjan hailed Bassett’s signing as “a significant step forward for the Bloods’’.
“Nathan’s record speaks for itself. He is an exceptional mind with proven success in developing players and building high-performing teams,’’ she said.
“His leadership and experience will play a key role at West Adelaide and this is a major step in our club becoming relevant again in the league.’’
Bassett arrives at Richmond Oval with a big job to do but with plenty of experience.
He has been tasked with trying to get West back to the finals for the first time since its last premiership in 2015, while it has won six of the past seven SANFL wooden spoons, including this year.
This season it won three of its 18 games.
But there have been positive signs with the Bloods’ junior development program.
Their under-16s won this year’s flag while their under-18s were beaten in the grand final by Sturt.
Bassett has coached in the AFL for 10 years, including assistant coaching roles at Essendon, Port Adelaide and Melbourne.
He led Norwood to back-to-back SANFL premierships in 2012-13 – after starting with the Redlegs in 2010 – before moving to the AFL.
He was Redlegs coaching director last year before joining Melbourne.
Prior to coaching, Bassett enjoyed a 12-year AFL playing career after initially being drafted by the Demons as a rookie in 1997.
He joined the Crows the following season, where he became a star defender, playing 210 games in 11 seasons from 1998-2008, making the All-Australian team in 2006.
Bassett said he was “super excited’’ to join West and looking forward to “building a platform that can make us a successful football club for the long term’’.
“What I like is that we can see a way forward,’’ he said.
“There are strategies in place and good young talent at senior level and coming through the juniors, which was reflected in the under-16s premiership win and the under-18s appearance in the grand final. I’m here to break the cycle.’’
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