EFL: Ben Neagle steps down as Lilydale senior coach
Eastern Division 1 club Lilydale will begin its search for a new coach following Ben Neagle’s decision to step down.
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Eastern Division 1 club Lilydale is in the market for a new senior coach following mentor Ben Neagle’s decision to step down.
Neagle headed up the Falcons for four seasons, with the former assistant taking over in the main gig after the departure of then-coach Sean Millane in Round 4 of 2016.
Season 2020 was set to be his fifth year at the helm, before the coronavirus crisis forced the season into shutdown.
Neagle led the club to its first finals series since 2011 in his second season in-charge, turning a five-season drought into three consecutive appearances from 2017-19.
Club president Anthony Simmons said time constraints with increased family and work commitments meant Neagle had to make the tough decision to step away from the role.
“He’s got a young family and he’s just had his fourth kid, and he’s quite busy with work,” Simmons said.
“He made the decision that he didn’t feel that he could put in the time that’s required.
“It’s not just Saturday, there’s all the reviews they do on a Monday, then research on opposition for match-ups, game-plans and all that stuff – it’s a large commitment.”
After missing the finals with a sixth-placed finish in 2016, the club finished in third in each of the subsequent years under Neagle.
His highest point as coach came as he steered the Falcons to the 2018 second tier grand final on the back of a 13-win home-and-away season.
The club looked set to field a younger line-up this season following the departure of experienced names including Lachlan Koger (Coldstream), Ashraf Davies (Mansfield) and Trent Elliot (Warburton-Millgrove).
Simmons praised Neagle for his service and paid tribute to his development of homegrown talent across his tenure, which he said is a “point of pride for all at the club”.
“Ben’s been very professional in the way he’s gone about it in the last five years,” Simmons said.