AFL Cairns: End of the line for Saints stalwart Wes Glass
The Far North will bid farewell to Saints playing-coach Wes Glass this Saturday after an impactful five years at the helm.
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The Far North will bid farewell to Saints playing-coach Wes Glass this Saturday after an impactful five years at the helm.
The 400-gamer has made an enormous impact on Saints since taking over in 2020, leading the club to three grand finals in 2020, 2021, and 2023, as well as a preliminary final in 2022.
The veteran footballer previously played for the Port Douglas Crocs, where he was an integral member of four premiership teams.
Poetically, he will play his final match against his former side at the Croc Pit this weekend.
Glass said he was grateful to have the opportunity to play in Saints colours with his eldest son, Cooper, sighting it as a career highlight.
“Not many people get the chance to play senior footy with their son,” he said.
“I was pretty fortunate to play a fair few games with Cooper. We played together in wins against CTB Bulldogs and Manunda Hawks, which was great. He deserved it; he’s spent a lot of time at the Gold Coast Suns Academy this year.”
Playing all over the ground during his career, he previously spent 16 years at Willunga Football Club, winning six premierships in a row.
During this time he also played three years at South Adelaide in the SANFL before making the move to Port Douglas in 2015 with his young family.
A mentor for Far North players on and off the field, he coached the North Queensland team while also taking up a coaching role at the Gold Coast Suns Academy developing talent in the Far North region.
During his time at the Saints, Glass gave 24 homegrown juniors the opportunity to debut in the seniors, shaping the future of the football club.
“It was a big focus when I took over; not a lot of juniors wanted to play for the Saints,” Glass said.
“I did try to attract juniors to want to play for the football club. I worked pretty hard to make them feel comfortable and join in with the senior training sessions instead of having their own, and I had the backing of the football club, the Clarke family, and former president Shane Liversidge.”
Wes Glass cited six-time premiership coach Brad Cooper as a huge influence on his coaching career, and acknowledged the significant contributions of volunteers Liversidge and Liz Clarke in strengthening the Saints football club.
Saint assistant-coach and club captain Chris Novy will take over as coach for the 2025 season.
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Originally published as AFL Cairns: End of the line for Saints stalwart Wes Glass
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