Craig Millar makes switch from O&M general manager to Myrtleford coach

From O&M head office to the classroom and back to footy. Myrtleford coach Craig Millar is doing things differently.

Flipping the script from running one of country footy’s biggest leagues to coaching its most success-starved club is the challenge driving Craig Millar.

In a rare career pivot made three years ago, Millar went from Ovens & Murray general manager to coaching Myrtleford — the club with the league’s longest premiership drought dating back to 1970.

Millar’s working life hasn’t always followed a straight line.

He grew up in Tasmania, played for Clarence, studied sports administration and also completed a teaching degree.

Myrtleford Saints coach Craig Millar after the win big win against Corowa-Rutherglen on Saturday. Picture Yuri Kouzmin

But for many years, the classroom waited, as he followed a footy career path all the way to the elite level.

“I was teacher-trained, but never taught,” he said.

“If I didn’t do it now, I was going to be too old.”

That chance to enter the classroom came when he accepted a job at Myrtleford P–12 College.

Myrtleford Saints coach Craig Millar. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Soon after, he took on the Alpine Saints’ coaching job in a return to the club almost two decades in the making.

Millar first arrived in Myrtleford from Tasmania in late 2004 to help rebuild a shattered club that had just suffered a 240-point thrashing in the final round of the previous season.

What followed was one of league’s greatest on field turnarounds.

Myrtleford defied all expectations to reach the grand final and Millar played a key role as the league’s leading goalkicker.

But the fairytale fell one point short with a goal after the siren seeing Lavington snatch the flag.

“It was a sad day for us,” he said.

“But for Lavington, no doubt, it was one of their most memorable ones.”

That experience of rebuilding a club from the ground up led him to his next role.

In 2006, Millar moved to Queensland to take on the job of running Redland Bombers.

“It was on its knees and we basically had to rebuild it from scratch,” he said.

“It was a great challenge.

“They’ve pretty much played finals every year since, but there were some long, hard years before that.”

When Redland joined the now-defunct NEAFL, Millar moved into a new role, helping manage clubs across Queensland, NSW and the ACT.

Football administration eventually led him back to Victoria, where he landed a job with Carlton, working in player development and special projects.

Then the Covid bomb dropped and clubs slashed staff to survive.

Working remotely from Myrtleford, Millar faced a difficult decision.

“The conditions of my employment changed,” he said.

“The hard part for a lot of other people was they were made redundant on the spot.

“There were only two or three of us who had our jobs offered back to us.

“But it was going to be too hard.”

Craig Millar became Ovens & Murray league general at the height of Covid. Picture: Supplied

In 2021, as the O&M battled border closures and travel bubbles, Millar stepped into the vacant general manager role.

“We were doing everything we could to keep the competition alive,” he said.

“But in the end, we just had to succumb to the inevitable because Victoria shut down again.”

The 2022 season finally went ahead without interruption, but for Millar, something was still missing.

“The only reason I left the O&M is because I had this itch I wanted to scratch with teaching,” he said.

“I wanted to roll my sleeves up and have a go before I got too old.”

Now in the classroom, Millar is also surrounded by familiar faces.

Several of his Myrtleford players including former coach Jake Sharp, Brodie Riccardi, Riley Calvene and Riley Smith, also work at the school.

“Footy is a big sport in our town, and that link and rapport the kids have with those guys is pretty important,” he said.

Millar dabbled in coaching as part of his previous footy admin roles.

Former Myrtleford co-coaches Jake Sharp, left, and Dawson Simpson. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

But coaching an O&M club is a bigger commitment of up to 30 hours per week.

“It’s a lot of time, but the emotions of winning and losing become quite addictive,” he said.

Myrtleford is in the mix to play finals following a rocky start to Millar’s senior coaching career with only one win in 2023.

“We had a lot of blokes go overseas, four or five moved interstate, and another four or five who just didn’t want to travel any more,” he said.

“We’ve gone from 16 to 17 travellers in my first year to only five now.”

But what hasn’t changed is the club’s determination to take on rivals from the bigger centres of Albury-Wodonga and Wangaratta.

“There was a time when the club lost 62 games in a row,” he said.

“But they didn’t forfeit, they didn’t go into recess, they just kept fighting.

“I just admire that about the club.

“A premiership, of course, would be so nice for so many people, but it’s not easy.

“The competition is really tight.”

Myrtleford is in fourth position on the ladder with a 3-2 win-loss record following a big win against Corowa-Rutherglen on Saturday.

Originally published as Craig Millar makes switch from O&M general manager to Myrtleford coach