Premiership hero Dale Morris stood down by Western Bulldogs, Garry Hocking and Luke Ball have been stood down from their AFL roles
The brutality of coach cuts have gripped Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge, with a premiership hero one of the casualities. He says there is a feeling of guilt among those who are still standing.
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IT was a sombre Luke Beveridge who spoke on Friday about having to stand down a number of the Bulldogs football department staff, including development coach and premiership hero Dale Morris.
“That was probably one of the top-three most challenging days of my life last Friday and I can only imagine how challenging it was for the young men who got that news as well,” Beveridge said.
“I’d love to think at some point in the future I can go to those guys and say, ‘We’ve got a position for you if you’re willing to take it up’. “
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The 2016 premiership coach admitted to a feeling of survivor’s guilt following the cuts.
“There’s a sadness attached to that and I’ve already gone on record about the guilt that we all feel, the ones that are still in the program and have still got jobs,” Beveridge said.
“All the workflow’s changed.
“Even in the time we’ve been away from the club, you’re no less busy, you’re just busy in a different way with so many communications and meetings and strategising and trying to work out what you’re going to do when you come back.”
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On a lighter note, you know coronavirus is having an impact in other ways when a senior AFL coach is helping pick up the cones at training.
That was part of the duties for Beveridge yesterday, who admitted the new set-up has taken him back to yesteryear.
“I feel like I’m coaching St Bede’s Mentone Tigers again,” he said.
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SAVAGE CUTS LEAVE AFL CHAMPS OUT IN THE COLD
Glenn McFarlane
Two of the game's most respected football minds – Garry Hocking and Luke Ball – have vowed to return to the AFL system following staff stand-downs that have severely impacted every club.
The decorated pair were among a raft of AFL coaches and officials stood down due to the financial tsunami caused by coronavirus.
Both are using their time away from the game to better connect with their families and to reset their priorities, confident they will re-emerge more rounded and better equipped for the challenges ahead.
Neither was on the strict list of 25 football department staffers each club had to lodge to the AFL for this week’s return to training and for the season reboot from June 11.
Hocking, who is Collingwood’s VFL coach, and Ball, who is Essendon’s VFL boss, hope an easing of restrictions in the coming months could see them return to their clubs – at least remotely – in 2020.
“It hasn't turned me away from the game,” Hocking told the Herald Sun.
“It’s made me even more hungry as a coach.
“It's got nothing to do with the glamour of it all. It’s all about working with the players and the people around the club.
“That’s the industry we work in. I signed up for it, that’s what we do.”
Ball, who has previously worked with the AFL in umpiring, match review and football operations, has been with the Bombers for two years.
“I am disappointed, but, like everyone, I’m missing the footy club and missing footy,” Ball said.
“No one likes uncertainty. But I’ve loved my few years at Essendon and I am certainly committed there and hopefully it will all work out.
“Footy has been good to me. I’m not going to sink the boots into it when times are tough.”
Ball, 35, has loved spending more time with his three young children, while also boosting his personal development opportunities.
“That's been one of the best things to come out of it,” he said of the extra family time.
“Being able to help out my wife at home, appreciate a bit more what it takes to be a full-time parent and to spend more time with the kids has been really good.”
Hocking, 51, too has enjoyed extra time with his three children (in their early 20s), while working five days a week as a farmhand at Rob Costa's 100-acre property, west of Geelong.
“My hammies and glutes have been knocked around a bit,” Hocking laughed. “But I’ve never shied away from hard work.
“Some days it's like seven or eight hours of weeding, or mowing or planting trees. You are bending over a lot, so conditioning-wise it’s taken a bit to get used to.
“But I'm really fortunate for the opportunity (to work) because I know a lot of people, not only in football, but across Victoria and Australia, have lost their opportunity to earn money.
“They are probably sitting at home thinking how do I pay the bills and how do I get some groceries?”
As Magpies’ VFL coach, Hocking would sometimes leave his Geelong home at 6am and not get home until 10pm, so the chance to better connect with his kids has been a huge positive.
He’s grateful that Collingwood – including coach Nathan Buckley, football boss Geoff Walsh and chief executive Mark Anderson – has kept its staff in the loop, while Mark Brayshaw and Greg Hutchison from the AFL Coaches’ Association have provided invaluable support.
“The one thing they haven't done is forget their workers, and that’s what makes Collingwood a great club,” he said. “The players have been great. Out of the blue I’ve had Jeremy Howe send me a text and Ben Reid called.”
Ball and Hocking have remained in close contact with their clubs, but also their players.
“It’s been difficult for everyone (at AFL, VFL and community levels), but hopefully we can all stay connected and salvage as much as we can from this situation,” Ball said.