WRFL Division 1: Yarraville-Seddon coach Chris Atkins steps down
A first-year Western Region Football League Division 1 coach has stepped down after not leading his team in an official match amid the coronavirus crisis.
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Yarraville-Seddon is searching for a new coach after first-year mentor Chris Atkins stepped down.
Atkins was appointed to the top job last October as the club prepared to return to the top flight of the Western Region Football League after its Division 2 premiership triumph in 2019.
He took charge of the Division 1 outfit after holding assistant coaching roles at Sunshine and Kyabram but did not have the opportunity to lead the Eagles in the season proper, with the campaign canned amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The club said Atkins had vacated the role “due to personal reasons”.
“Chris, in his inaugural year as senior coach, has encountered the most challenging year with dealing with the ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic and in turn the WRFL 2020 season being cancelled,” Yarraville-Seddon president Rick Halliwell said in a statement.
“The decision … is Chris’s, and Chris’s alone, as he had the full support of the committee, players and members of the club.
“As a club, we are currently in discussions with Chris and exploring other opportunities within our club which may be more supportive of his current personal position and to ensure he remains involved with our great club.
“As a coach and person, Chris has had a positive impact and influence on our club and will always be welcomed back to the Yarraville-Seddon Eagles Football Club.”
Atkins took over from premiership coach Vinnie Turcinovich in controversial circumstances.
The Eagles revealed last September that they had invited expressions of interest for the coaching role despite Turcinovich losing just four games in his two seasons at the helm.
Atkins was appointed in late October, while Turcinovich is now coaching Division 3 club Braybrook.
Yarraville-Seddon was well-placed to be competitive under Atkins this year, with Lake Wendouree champion Ben Taylor headlining the recruits.
Taylor is a four-time best-and-fairest winner at the Ballarat league club, while he was co-captain of its 2010 flag and claimed the Henderson Medal for the competition’s best player in 2016.
Max Maynard (Fitzroy Stars), Ned Lanyon (Echuca), Mitchell Eade and Angus Eaton (both University Blues) were other noteworthy signings.
The Eagles also boast a stable of young guns, including 2019 best-and-fairest Brandon Lester, Lachie Huell, Jack Webster and Blake Green.
“My aim at the start was not to lose any of the existing list and add 8-10 blokes, if we were able to do that with the player points system,” Atkins said in February.
“I think we’ll definitely be able to be competitive and push a few teams.
“I won’t be making any rash predictions, but I think we’ll be competitive. A few of these young guys are definitely Division 1 players who have been playing Division 2.”
Halliwell said Yarraville-Seddon would launch its search for Atkins’ successor immediately.
Division 1 coaches Anthony Eames (Spotswood), Steve Kretiuk (Hoppers Crossing) and Adam Contessa (Sunshine) have recommitted to their clubs for 2021.
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