Former Richmond coach Tom Hunter takes the reins at VAFA club
Inaugural Richmond AFLW coach Tom Hunter will take the reins of a VAFA club in 2021 and it hopes the high profile appointment will be a boost to its recruiting campaign.
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Brunswick NOBS has secured one of the best coaches on the market, appointing former Richmond AFLW coach Tom Hunter for 2021.
Hunter was axed by the Tigers after leading the club in its inaugural season this year and arrives at the VAFA Division 1 club after Tim O’Dwyer stepped down due to family commitments.
The former Collingwood draftee helped build Richmond’s women’s program through the VFLW and was named VFLW Coach of the Year in 2019.
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He also has experience as an assistant coach at Richmond’s VFL team and NAB League club Calder Cannons.
Brunswick president Jarryd Browne believes Hunter can have an impact across the entire club.
“I think it’s a coup for the whole club because he brings a wealth of experience across all levels, from development to women’s football and having been drafted as an elite player,” Browne said.
“He’s a young and enthusiastic and I think the group will gravitate towards him, we saw that with Tim, someone who really invests themselves in the group.
“I had a chat with Tom initially and he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, I told him about the club and the direction we’re going in and I think we both understood that we fit really well together.
“It’s really important for us, as a community club that doesn’t have a school alliance, that our development is strong from the juniors and having women’s football as well appealed to him.”
Hunter will also work closely with Brunswick’s development coach John Ross as well as Renegades women’s coach Joe Larizza.
“We’ll have a lot of one-club training sessions where the Renegades and men’s team will be able to train together and he’ll be able to pass his wisdom on,” Browne said.
With the 2020 season cancelled, NOBS will make a delayed return to Division 1 in 2021 after finishing runners-up in 2019 to earn promotion.
Browne hopes Hunter’s arrival will help the club’s recruiting campaign.
“We’ve had a recruiting committee set up since July working on a few players,” he said.
“The industry is changing a lot, especially for clubs close to us in the Essendon District where salary caps will be reduced.
“We believe we’ve built a really strong culture, all inclusive, and adding Tom’s name to our football club will be an added attraction.”