Footscray appoints club great to replace departing coach Allan Wise

With Allan Wise deciding to call time on his tenure, Footscray has turned to a club great and Subbies premiership coach to take the Bulldogs’ reins.

Dale McDonald celebrates a wicket in Footscray’s Second XI premiership.

Footscray has turned to a club legend to lead the club into the future.

Dale McDonald has been appointed head coach after Allan Wise decided to call time on his tenure at Merv Hughes Oval.

McDonald, a 150-game great and former Bulldogs Premier Cricket captain, skippered the club’s Second XI to a premiership last season having returned as high performance coach.

He scored more than 4000 runs and took 92 wickets in a decade long stint at Footscray before 86 First XI matches and almost 2500 runs at North Melbourne/Greenvale as a player.

Turning his attention to coaching he was an assistant at the Kangaroos before moving to VSDCA powerhouses Brighton and Williamstown.

Williamstown celebrates its Subbies premiership in 2018.

McDonald helped the Seagulls break an 11-year First XI premiership drought in 2017-18 before retiring and taking the top job at Torquay.

McDonald said he had no hesitation putting his hand up for the job after Wise stepped down.

“It’s an exciting time … I’ve always had an ambition to coach Premier Cricket,” he said.

“I’ve always wanted to go down the coaching path and to find my way back to the Bulldogs is really exciting.

“Coming back to the club the last two years under Wisey, if he decided to step down, I was always going to put my hand up. It was a pretty easy decision.”

Wise decided to step down after three seasons at the helm.

The legendary Premier Cricket paceman lifted the Bulldogs from 16th in 2018-19 to second place in his first campaign and a fifth-placed finish and semi-final appearance this season.

The Bulldogs had all four grades play finals this season, the first time in club history.

Bulldogs president Geoff Collison revealed Wise had told the club at the start of the season he was unlikely to continue and it was eternally grateful.

“Allan Wise has done an absolutely fantastic job where two of the three seasons where he has coached the club all four XIs been in the finals for the first time in the club’s history,” Collison said.

Dale McDonald during his time at Greenvale Kangaroos.

“He is widely respected by the players and the club is extremely grateful to Allan for all his guidance and wonderful efforts.

“We are all very appreciative, he has put in an enormous amount of work into our players and the club.”

Wise leaves the club in a strong position.

Leading Bulldogs Dean Russ, Dylan Kight, Travis Dean, Jake Reed and Dan Sartori have committed for 2022-23, while the club has some of the most exciting young talent in the competition.

Paceman Max Birthisel finished the home-and-away season with 23 wickets – 12th in the competition, while Dylan Brasher is already a proven performer.

The Bulldogs finished runner-up in the Under-17 Dowling Shield with dominant performances from leading prospect Mitch Jamieson, Muhammad Rafay, Josh Pace and Arjun Sehrawat.

McDonald was looking forward to seeing what the club could achieve.

“Wisey’s done an amazing job with the club, basically turned it around in the last three years,” he said.

“He’s put in some fantastic processes and plans, so there’s not a hell of a lot for me to change, maybe just tweak a few things here and there.

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“It’s been really good to work alongside him and the other coaches and our list is pretty strong with all four teams playing finals.

“It’s exciting times ahead, we’ve got a really good junior program and academy – looked after by George Shaw and Dervis Duradbegovic.

“I think we’ve got a strong list and it’s a really good time for the club moving forward, it’s just what we want to make of it.”

After beating Essendon in an elimination final, Footscray’s season ended with a semi-final defeat to St Kilda.