EFL 2018: Matt Fife steps down as coach of Donvale in the Eastern Football League
DONVALE will target a non-playing coach for 2019 after premiership mentor Matt Fife’s decision to step down from the role.
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DONVALE will target a non-playing coach for 2019 after premiership mentor Matt Fife’s decision to step down from the role.
Fife took the Magpies to the 2017 Division 4 flag in his second campaign as coach, just three years after the club returned from a season in recess.
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Donvale announced last week that Fife and the football department agreed “the team is best suited for a non-playing coach”, but he will continue playing at the club next year.
Magpies president John Giles said interstate work commitments made it difficult for Fife to commit to coaching.
“He was always available, it was probably more the Tuesday night sessions,” Giles said.
“You just end up with so much lost time in your own life when you’re travelling continually.”
Donvale has also already announced a key recruit for next year, with premiership ruckman Zac Haig returning.
Haig spent 2018 at Nunawading, where he has a long family history, after finishing runner-up in the Eastern Football League Division 4 best and fairest.
He was also named in the 2017 team of the year.
“At the end of the day, Zac made a commitment to his family to go back to the club his grandfather and father were a part of,” Giles said.
“The intention was always to come back to Donvale.”
The Magpies finished with a 6-12 record Division 3 this season and will be one of six teams relegated to the fourth tier next year as part of the EFL restructure.
Premiership captain Karl Toce and fellow grand final heroes Jack Purcell and Dave Withers will all return in 2019 after missing this year through injury.
The returns of Jeremy Grocott (overseas) and Ben Lyall (injury) will also strengthen the Magpies next year.
Applications for the coaching position close on September 30.
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