EFL: Warrandyte president steps down following coach’s departure
Following a parting of ways with its coach last week, EFL club Warrandyte must also now find a new president. But a Bloods stalwart has assured the unity of his club...
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Less than a week after parting ways with its senior coach, EFL Division 3 club Warrandyte must also now find a new president.
The club announced last week that it had split with its coach of the past two seasons, Anthony McGregor, following a committee-based decision to review the club’s coaching ranks for season 2021.
But in the aftermath, the now ex-president Jason Smith – a personal friend of outgoing coach McGregor – said he had reflected following the announcement and informed the Bloods’ committee of his decision to step down.
This was to be Smith’s first season in the top job after taking on the role late last year.
“We’ve (McGregor and I) been mates out of footy for a few years with our daughters through kinder and school,” Smith said.
“I suppose I had to reflect leading up to the decisions … with him (McGregor) moving on I don’t think it works for me having him missing from the club.
“He rang me and said don’t think at all that it’s a decision you need to make just because I’m not going to be around, but I said it’s not that.
“There’s just going to be a hole and we may see some success and you’re not going to be a part of it, so that was really the reason for it at the end of the day.”
Warrandyte vice president Peter Hookey, who served as club president prior to Smith, said that while the situation looked dire from the outside looking in, that “nothing could be further from the truth”.
“It’s not a drama as we see it, we just have to tick small boxes along the way,” Hookey said.
“Everyone’s doing their job, it’s not the end of the world, and we just have to work through it … the committee hasn’t altered.
“It was almost inevitable I think that Jason would find it untenable to be president without his mate as coach, and we understand that, nothing’s bad about it.”
Hookey, who has ruled himself out from a second stint as Bloods president, said the club would prioritise filling the vacant coaching role.
“We’re going to fill the coaching role first, but we’re just taking small steps – we’re in the infancy,” he said.
“The club’s running financially very well, the committee is still stable, the reserves and under-19 coaches are still in place and they’re ready to go next year.
“It’s just now we’re looking for a senior coach and president, but the senior coach will be the first box to tick and the president will come after that.”
Hookey said the club will engage its local community as it looks to fill the presidency role further down the track, with ample time to do so given the season lay-off.
“We’re canvassing all Warrandyte identities and close associates for a president’s role, but the bottom line is that the existing committee will maintain the day-to-day operations until that’s fixed,” he said.
“We’re in the lucky position that it’s August and we haven’t got a season, so we’ve got months and months.”
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