Options on table to fill void left by AFL Barwon region general manager Bruce Harwood

It is all hands on deck at AFL Barwon as a meeting looms this week to begin plans to replace ex-boss Bruce Harwood.

Volunteers are helping to fill the gaps at AFL Barwon ahead of a commission meeting, likely either Friday or Saturday, that will decide how to deal with the sudden resignation of region general manager Bruce Harwood.

Harwood cited family reasons when parting ways with the local football governing body on Monday, seven months after taking up the general manager role.

Bruce Harwood departed AFL Barwon this week. Picture: Mark Wilson

Chairman Craig Keating said the AFL Barwon commission would meet either on Friday or Saturday to talk through filling Harwood’s position.

Options on the table include finding a short-term contract worker to fill the position or beginning another hunt for a general manager.

AFL Barwon also recently lost long-time staffer and commercial partnerships manager Georgia Hillman to the TAC, while netball and events manager Sarah Allen will leave her post next week.

The AFL Barwon Facebook page posted job advertisements for both positions on Tuesday and Keating said he had received several applications.

Keating and fellow commissioner Michelle Gerdtz have taken up extra workload to cover for the departures, while other volunteers have also stepped in to help.

“The immediate short term is Michelle and myself will be dealing with all the inquiries that require a governance response or a management response; and we have put in place some things that are short-term fixes to get some extra resources that will enable (the staff) to do the day-to-day stuff,” he said.

“We are pretty much comfortable with where it sits right now but the longer term will be a matter of what we see that is out there and we will plan accordingly. At the moment it is really just to make sure the operations are done properly and we don’t drop the ball for the clubs in the next couple of weeks.

AFL Barwon chairman Craig Keating.

“We are confident that won’t happen and then we will look at what option is best (for the future).

“There are lots of really experienced footy people who have offered their help to us in volunteer capacities and you can’t do that forever.”

Keating said AFL Victoria has also sent a staff member down to work out of AFL Barwon’s Highton office for two days a week.

He said members of the commission would be asked to take up portfolios to help out with day-to-day operations before deciding how to start the search for a new general manager.

A football presidents meeting is due to be held on Monday night, which could see clubs updated on the long-term plan for the role.

Keating said the staff at AFL Barwon had “responded as well as we could have asked for” after a tumultuous week.

“They have really stepped up, it has been really good they have answered whatever call we have made,” he said.

BRUCE HARWOOD RESIGNS FROM AFL BARWON POST

Bruce Harwood’s tenure at the head of AFL Barwon is over, just seven months into his reign as the Region General Manager.

The footy boss, in charge of the three major football and netball leagues across the Geelong and Bellarine regions, cited family reasons contributing to the decision to step away.

“It is with regret I tender my immediate resignation from the AFL Barwon Region Manager position,” Harwood said.

“This is due to personal family reasons.

“I want to thank AFL Barwon for the opportunity afforded me and wish them all the best for the remainder of the season.”

Outgoing general manager Bruce Harwood. Picture: Mark Wilson

Harwood was appointed to the role in October 2021, after it had been filled on an interim basis since Will McGregor vacated the position late in 2020.

AFL Barwon Commission chair Craig Keating confirmed Harwood’s immediate departure on Monday morning.

“It’s a shame it’s happened, but you’ve got to look forward and move on from it,” Keating said.

“There’s never a convenient time for something like this, but when it’s family circumstances like this there’s nothing you can do about it.

“We’re going to go about it in a methodical way, there’s a few options that we’re looking at for both the short term and medium term to support those still working in the office.

“We’ve got some opportunities within the office that we’ll look at, not only for the general manager role but other roles, but we want to spread our net wide, so there’s a lot to play out.”

Harwood is the next of multiple key resignations at AFL Barwon, after former operations manager Nathan Ervin, as well as Sean Atkinson and Georgia Hillman, who both acted as the interim region general manager after McGregor’s resignation at various stages, resigned from their roles in 2022.

AFL Barwon had a meeting on Monday morning to discuss Harwood’s departure, and will decide on an interim manager in the coming days.

Keating said keeping communications with the clubs open was the key in Harwood’s absence.

“We’re organising lines of communications with the clubs now,” he said.

“We’ll be in touch with the football and netball clubs every day and we’ll establish a point of contact so things can transition as smoothly as possible.”

Originally published as Options on table to fill void left by AFL Barwon region general manager Bruce Harwood