Peter Banfield gets the nod at Nodders
After spending four years at Williamstown as senior assistant to Andy Collins, former VFL coach and league player Peter Banfield will go back to coaching his own team, at Mazenod Old Collegians.
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Peter Banfield has got the nod at the Nodders.
After a four-year stop at VFL club Williamstown as an assistant to Andy Collins, the former Essendon and Brisbane player has been appointed coach of Mazenod Old Collegians in the VAFA.
It will be his second stint in the amateurs: he previously coached Old Scotch.
Banfield, 55, said he was pleased to land the position.
“As you know, there aren’t many jobs around,’’ he said.
“There are 1000 coaches out there looking. I was just keen to coach again and with all the uncertainty around the VFL and how it’s going to look, I thought it would be a good time for me to go and do something else.
“It’s challenging, mate. I’m not getting any younger, there are a lot of coaches out there and there aren’t many jobs.
“To me, Mazenod looked like a good club, culturally, with a strong set of values, like Williamstown. Good facilities, good committee, and it’s close to home. It ticked some boxes …. looking forward to developing the players, looking forward to developing the coaches throughout the whole club.’’
Banfield brings an outstanding coaching record to the job.
He coached three VFL teams – St Kilda, Bendigo Bombers and Casey Scorpions and – before going on to the senior roles at Old Scotch in the VAFA, and Blackburn and North Ringwood (his junior club) in the top division of the Eastern league.
Banfield had made his start in coaching at Ainslie, taking it to three premierships on the hop in the 1990s.
“With my coaching experience and knowledge, the people I’ve coached under, it’s now my time to give back to coaches,’’ he said.
“I did that at Williamstown, and ‘Collo’ (Collins) gave me that opportunity and I really enjoyed it. It was a great experience, with a great group of people, and we had so much fun. I made me fall back in love with the game. It’s spat me out a few times but that’s OK.’’
Banfield said he took great pleasure watching Willy graduates such as Michael Gibbons, Lachie Schultz, Ben Cavarra and Brett Bewley play in the AFL.
A clever left-footer, he Banfield played 11 matches for Essendon and 45 for Brisbane. He later had a stint at West Adelaide.
Mazenod great Mark Murray will serve as his assistant coach.
“Peter strongly articulated the importance of embracing players from all teams as the senior coach and was clearly aligned with the values of Mazenod during his interview,’’ the club said in a statement.
“We extend a big welcome to Mazenod to Peter and his wife, Kathy.
“Peter and Mark are very excited and confident of a productive relationship that will see the Nodders soar over the next two years.’’
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