Victorian Amateur Football Association: Melbourne High School Old Boys promotes assistant-coach Bernie Pretty
When highly-regarded coach Matt Nicholas handed back the coaching reins at MHSOB, the Unicorns looked within for a replacement.
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When highly-regarded coach Matt Nicholas stepped down at the end of the 2019 season, Melbourne High School Old Boys looked to within for his replacement, promoting assistant-coach Bernie Pretty to the top job at Woodfull-Miller Oval.
Pretty coached the MHSOB reserves for four seasons, a stint that included three grand final appearances and a premiership win. Last year he was senior assistant to Nicholas and helped take the club to a third-place finish.
When Nicholas announced he would step down from the role after five years, Pretty was quick to put his hand up.
“It’s a wonderful club,” he said. “The seniors lost a preliminary final and were one game off promotion, the reserves lost a grand final and the thirds and under-19s played finals. We’re in a really good position.
“We bat really deep and all teams have a chance of being successful.”
Appointing its new coach from within has made the transition a seamless one.
“It really helps that you’ve got to know them all,” Pretty said. “You’ve built up a level of trust. And there’s a rapport. It helps getting friends of players to join up. That word of mouth.”
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Many were surprised with how deep the Unicorns went into the post-season last year, but not the new coach.
“Last year we dropped a lot of games we shouldn’t have,” he said. “I think we could have been a standout team on the ladder and we didn’t do that. I think we were better than fourth.”
Pretty said the club was well-placed to go a couple of steps further this season.
“Building the depth and having that success is good,” he said. “But we’ve got a couple of younger guys who are really improving.”
The five years Nicholas spent at the helm have been something of a renaissance at the club and Pretty said he’d be difficult to replace.
“They’re big shoes to fill,” he said. “I’d walked away from football until he asked me back. His ability to engage a group was outstanding and the club needs to be mindful of that.”
Football operations manager Lachlan McKinnon said the Unicorns were busy working on signing a couple of recruits to bolster the list.
“(And) 90 to 95 per cent of our playing list has re-signed, which gives us a great start to the year.”
Justin Grant has joined from Mount Eliza, continuing the club’s strong links with players from the Mornington Peninsula.
The Unicorns will kick off the new season with a match under lights against Glen Eira at Packer Reserve on Saturday, April 4 (7pm).
New players are always welcome at the club and anyone interested can contact MHSOB football operations manager Lachlan McKinnon (0423-645-680).