KERANG Football Netball Club will be on the lookout to replace long-time senior coach Troy Coates, who will depart the club after this season.
The veteran coach’s departure, confirmed this week, will end the most successful coaching reign in Central Murray history.
Coates has delivered six premierships over eight seasons in two stints in charge of the club.
His current run as coach included back-to-back premierships in 2022 and 2023, backing up his first stint as coach between 2013 and 2016, which delivered four consecutive premierships amid the Blues’ run of six in a row.
He also played his 200th senior game for the club last season, in a playing career spanning 16 seasons, dating back to 2004.
Coates informed the club recently of his desire to step aside at the end of the current season, citing family and travel as the key reasons for his decision.
“I told Kerang about three weeks ago that this would be my last year with the club,” Coates told The Guardian this week.
“It was a tough decision and was a family-based decision. I have two little kids and my wife plays netball now, and I had to make a choice that was best for our family.
“In those 16 years of senior footy at Kerang, only two of them I have actually lived in Kerang. It’s a long time driving up and down the highway (from Bendigo).
“It was a tough decision without doubt, and was a really hard thing to tell the group.
“We weighed up which way would be best to do it and we felt like just being upfront and honest was best.
“I just wanted to be upfront and honest with our playing group and it will be old news in two or three weeks.
“But as I said to the group, it’s just driven me more to finish on a high note with the footy club.”
Having retired as a player following last year’s premiership triumph over Balranald, Coates stayed on with the club as a non-playing coach, before coming out of retirement before the Blues’ 37-point win over Cohuna in round 9.
Coates is set to play out the rest of the season, having also featured in wins over Lake Boga and Tyntynder.
The decision to move on from the club where he has spent the best part of two decades weighed heavily on the nine-time senior premiership Blue.
“I was quite emotional telling the group to be honest,” Coates said.
“I’ve played 16 senior years at Kerang, I played in a senior premiership in my first year in 2004, and now I’m trying to achieve one 20 years later,” Coates said.
“Unfortunately, everything has to come to an end, and it was quite emotional telling the group.
“A lot of them are my really close mates which was really hard, but even telling committee men and presidents and club people that I’ve worked really closely with was extremely difficult.
“I was upfront with the club when I signed on for one more year that this would most likely be it.
“I made a big emphasis on getting some of my really close mates like (Ryan) Gillingham and ‘Clarkey’ (Jesse Clark) on board, all the guys that I’ve been through the journey with, even getting my brother-in-law ‘Skinny’ (Adam) Baird to the club, knowing that this would most likely be it.
“Hopefully in two weeks’ time we (Baird and Coates) get to play a game together, we haven’t done that for a long time.
“I just really want to finish on a high and leave the club in better position than when I arrived.”
Kerang are second on the ladder, just two points behind leaders Nyah-Nyah West United.
With an extra game in hand, the Blues are perfectly placed to finish top on the Central Murray ladder.
Although the focus is on the 2024 campaign, the attention of the Kerang hierarchy will quickly move to finding a senior coach for next season.
“It wasn’t a shock to the club, we’ve been in these conversations for a while,” Coates said.
“Out of respect to the club I wanted to make this decision early and not be selfish and wait to see if we won it again.
“I wanted to make a decision early so they could get on the front foot and start searching for a new coach and put the right processes in place.”
