Locked in: Graeme Yeats to coach Port Melbourne Colts
The former Melbourne back pocket, Sandringham premiership coach and Dandenong Stingrays mentor will succeed Lindsay Gilbee at the Southern league Division 1 club.
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Port Melbourne Colts will have an experienced hand at the reins next year – VFL premiership coach Graeme Yeats.
The former Melbourne has been appointed senior coach of the Colts, replacing ex-Western Bulldog Lindsay Gilbee, who stood down because of his work and family demands.
The Colts position attracted a long list of candidates.
In the end a panel that included Gilbee, club great Jason Clarke and president Steven Duvnjak went with Yeats, whose most recent role had been with Edtihvale-Aspendale in the Mornington Peninsula league.
Appointed late in 2014, he steered Edi-Asp to four consecutive finals series but parted ways at the end of 2019 after his team fell down the ladder.
He briefly looked around for other jobs but sat out 2020.
Yeats played 182 games with Melbourne from 1984-1995 and joined Springvale in 1996, famously converting a tight set-shot in the last minute of the grand final to gives the Vales a thrilling victory over Frankston.
He coached Sandringham to the 2000 VFL premiership and guided the Dandenong Stingrays from 2004 to 2013, a period that took in regular finals appearances in the TAC Cup.
During that time the club also produced draftees including Nathan Jones, Tom Scully, Ryan Bastinac, Dylan Roberton, Levi Casboult, Tom Lynch, Luke Parker, Dylan Shiel, Adam Treloar, Nick Haynes, Lachie Whitfield, Zak Jones and James Harmes.
Yeats – a life member at Melbourne and a member of its 1988 grand final team – has joined Port Colts on a two-year deal.
He said he continued to hear good things about the club and was excited to take over from Gilbee and join the Southern league.
“I was thoroughly impressed with the recruitment process and strategic discussions that were had and thank the Port Melbourne Colts selection panel and committee for placing their confidence in me over the next two years,’’ he said.
Duvnjak said a rebuild of the list and a finals appearance in 2019 had the club in a strong position for 2021.
He said Yeats was an “outstanding appointment’’ for the Colts.
“Not only does he bring a wealth of elite football experience from his time in the AFL and VFL systems as a player and coach, but his development-coach experience across both AFL and TAC Cup programs, coupled with his most recent five years in local football clearly illustrated his ability to nurture talent and drive positive on field outcomes,’’ he said.
“Graeme has most recently led Edithvale-Aspendale to the MPNFL finals in four of five seasons during his tenure with the club.”
Duvnjak also took the chance to praise Gilbee.
“While I have congratulated and welcome Graeme, I would also like to thank Lindsay who has played a critical leadership role in our list rebuild and successful on field performances in 2019.
“Unfortunately, COVID-19 meant we didn’t get to see the full impact of Lindsay’s efforts in 2020 however, his contribution to our professionalism and culture cannot be underestimated.”
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