Dingley coach Shane Morwood bows out on a premiership high
The former Collingwood star reflects on a nine-year tenure that produced four flags and eight consecutive seasons of finals.
Southern
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It was the phone call that led to a flag-filled era for Dingley Football Netball Club.
Then-Dingoes president Leigh Menzel made it in August, 2010, sounding out Shane Morwood about the club’s senior coaching position.
Morwood had been looking after the Dingley Under 17s, where his son Matt was playing.
“Leigh said, ‘Can we have a talk to you about coaching our senior club?’’’ 1990 Collingwood premiership player Morwood recalled.
“I said no thanks, haven’t got time, too busy with work. They persisted, and I had the support of my GM at the time, Troy Jones (at his former employee Monier) … he encouraged me to stop working so much and actually get involved and take it on.’’
Rebuffed initially, Menzel brought in former Dingley coach Craig Meade, who, like Morwood, had come out of Noble Park.
They set up a meeting with Morwood and put it to him again. A deal was done.
That was the start of Morwood’s coaching rein.
The end came last Saturday night at the club presentation when, as expected and amid great emotion, he stepped aside after nine seasons that produced five grand final appearances and four premierships.
Ruckman Danny Ades will succeed him.
“I think there’s a need for change at the club, a transition to the next coach,’’ Morwood, 57, said on Monday when asked why he had called time.
“Danny has been groomed over the last three years, as a playing assistant, and his ambition was to be a senior coach.
“I had no set plan originally as to how long I was going to coach — it’s amazing to look back and think nine years went so quickly. One of the goals was to set up the foundation of success and have the right people in place to continue that on. I think Danny is the right person. It’s going to be a new world for him but he’s been under my wing for five years. He’s learnt a lot. He has a lot of information in his head and what he’s written down, and I’m always going to be there to support him if he needs it.’’
Noting the leadership of senior players like Jackson Peet, Travis La Rocca, Daniel Farmer, Lucas Walmsley and Chris Horton-Milne, Morwood added: “We’re in a strong position to move to our next stage, and that next stage has to be without me. It’s been an amazing journey and one I’m very proud of.’’
When his team defeated Cheltenham at Moorabbin three weeks ago to take the 2019 Southern league Division 1 flag, Morwood declared Dingley could now be considered a “great club’’.
It has certainly made Olympian strides since joining the Southern league in 2007 after a few years of struggle in the Casey Cardinia division of the Mornington Peninsula Nepean league.
Menzel was president when the Dingoes made the move. And after a stint on the Southern league board he was back as president to oversee Morwood’s appointment, calling it a “tremendous day for the club’’.
“More than anything it was about profile,’’ Menzel told Leader at the time.
“We just thought we needed a high-profile name who can hopefully attract a few players to the club.
“We have a truckload of juniors. We need to put a few bigger bodies around them.’’
Morwood had seen Dingley play twice in 2010. He thought the Dingoes were “a long way off it’’.
In his first year as coach they improved to seventh.
They rose to the finals in 2012 — and they have made them every season since, more than compensating for the 2014 grand final loss to East Brighton by winning four of the next five premierships.
This from a club that had won only two flags before Morwood arrived.
Morwood said each premiership had its own “special qualities’’, but he spoke highly about this year’s success, highlighting how the Dingoes had to overcome injuries during the season and then regroup from a heavy defeat in the second semi-final.
What were his strengths as a coach?
“I think my ability to connect and develop people,’’ he said.
“To make them better as individuals and understand the impact they can all have on each other and everyone else around them in our club, and hopefully they take that into their personal lives.
“You look at the premierships and you say that’s fantastic. But there is a lot of other stuff that goes on, on a daily, weekly, basis.’’
Morwood turned Menzel down initially, but will always be grateful for his approach.
And he’s thankful his son Matt started playing football again.
“Matty retired at the age of 11,’’ he said. “Three years later he decided he wanted to play footy again, and I decided I’d be the team runner and assistant coach. It went from there. So if Matty hadn’t started playing again, I wouldn’t be where I am right now and nor would the club. Funny how it all works out.’’