Another AFL coach gone
Western Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney has resigned after losing the confidence of his players.
Club president Peter Gordon and chief executive Simon Garlick called a press conference this morning to confirm the decision after intense speculation in the last 24 hours, sparked by the walkout of Bulldogs captain Ryan Griffen.
Griffen’s shock trade request to Greater Western Sydney on Thursday put the club in a spin.
Gordon said Friday the issue of “coach communication with the players” had surfaced during post-season reviews of the club’s on-field performance where it won just seven matches in 2014.
“Macca acknowledged the communication issues,” Gordon said today.
“He promised to work on it and he has worked on it; really hard.
“We, and Macca were convinced that the situation was recoverable.”
You might like
Gordon said the situation changed when Griffen announced his trade request.
“Ryan’s change of heart had two effects.
“It took away the two central planks of confidence and it created a new impediment to our plans to recover the situation.
“So, last night we asked Brendan if he could deal with those impediments. He wasn’t sure.”
After a night of soul searching, McCartney pull the pin.
Gordon then moved to address the perception that the board had been pushed into action by disgruntled players.
“Our players do not run this club – we do. We run this club on evidence and some of that comes from players.
“The fact that the players had those concerns and have had for some time, and tried to address them reflects well on them.”
Stay informed, daily
Gordon offered an olive branch to Griffen, describing him as a “much loved player” and “we hope he’ll see his way clear to honour his contract.”
“We are distressed and concerned about how the situation has played out. It’s a matter of principle that a contract is a contract. Players have obligations.
“He’d never been comfortable being captain. The irony of the last few weeks in coming to see me and Simon…we think he showed a quality and degree of leadership that was of the highest standards.”
The club now joins the long list of clubs who have had to look for a new coach at the end of 2014.
Gold Coast Suns axed Guy McKenna, Adelaide dumped Brenton Sanderson and Essendon is grappling with James Hird’s position and the openly stated desire of stand-in coack Mark Thompson to stay with the Bombers.
Gordon signalled the process may take some time.
“We’ll now move forward with an extensive approach to find a new coach.
“We’ve got good assistants and high performance staff who can take control. Recruiting and list management are our main concerns now.”
McCartney, who was appointed coach in 2011, did not attend the press conference.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
