Shane Crawford confirmed to coach Ardmona Cats following successful appeal

Ardmona Football Club hasn’t won a game since 2015, and was on the verge of being booted from its local league. However, a last-minute appeal has seen their ban lifted, and a Brownlow medallist set to coach the mighty Cats.

Footy great Shane Crawford is on the hunt for new recruits after being given the green light to take over one of the Victoria’s least successful clubs — the Ardmona Cats — as coach next year.

In a massive win for the battling club ahead of its centenary season, the Cats have had their suspension lifted by the Kyabram District Football Netball League, paving the way for the Hawthorn premiership player and Brownlow Medallist to take over the reins.

Ardmona hasn’t won a game since 2015 and looked set to fold after being dumped from the league after losing every game this season.

Hawthorn great has been given the go ahead to coach local footy battlers, the Ardmona Cats.

But after two appeals, the Cats have won a last-minute reprieve and will play on again in 2020, with Crawford eager to turn the fortunes of the bush battlers around as they chase their first victory in five years.

“We’ve got the green light and I’m really excited to try and help this footy club get back to where it belongs,” Crawford said.

“It’s going to be a massive challenge, but I would rather do it with a side that needs a lot of love than with a side near the top of the ladder.

“I’ve been watching the club for the past four years.

“I’m not promising a win, but we’ll be doing everything we possibly can to try and make sure that happens.”

The Ardmona Football Club is all smiles after a last-minute appeal to keep them in the league was successful.

Crawford was appointed coach in October, but the club looked headed for extinction before Friday’s decision to give the Cats a lifeline to compete in 2020.

Asked if he would don the boots, 45-year-old Crawford said: “I probably won’t be able to help myself.”

His first task is to start looking for potential recruits as he looks to secure the long-term future of the ailing club who lost a promotional “Battle of the Battlers” game in 2018 by 211 points against Eastern Football League club Nunawading.

“If anyone wants to have a kick with us, let us know,” he said. “We need players, so it is the more the merrier.

“It’s exciting for the locals to have their footy club back again. It’s time for this footy club to start becoming competitive again.

“The one thing I can guarantee you is that we are going to have some fun along the way.”

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Next year marks Ardmona’s 100th season and Crawford wants to make it a season to remember for the club.

The Cats haven’t made off in a grand final in more than a decade, and lost all 16 games this year by big margins, including a league record drubbing of 401 points in July.

Fourteen losses were by more than 150 points.

“We’ve got a big job ahead of us now, but I’m excited by the challenge,” he said. “Hopefully everyone will get on board and start supporting us.”

Originally published as Shane Crawford confirmed to coach Ardmona Cats following successful appeal