THE Northern Bullants are searching for their third senior coach in as many seasons, after Darren Harris stepped aside to take on a full-time development role with AFL affiliate Carlton.
Harris combined Bullants duties with the Blues' development coaching position this season, but was told he had to cut his workload to maximise results with Carlton's young academy for the 2012 season.
He steered the Bullants to a preliminary final against Port Melbourne this season, after replacing now West Coast assistant coach David Teague.
"I thought the way we finished off the year was outstanding," Harris said.
The former West Perth premiership star said Carlton fans could get excited about the promise shown by first-year players Andy McInnes and Pat McCarthy and with a full pre-season under his belt injury-plagued key forward Luke Mitchell could be a player to watch next season.
"I think Rohan Kerr is also starting to push up now and he's got to start putting pressure on those small forwards at Carlton, so there's some excitement to come," Harris said.
"Coaching is about relationships with people and you've got to really like the people you work with and be passionate about it, and I really did."
Carlton is expected to run the interview process to find Harris's replacement, with the Northern Bullants administration to tick off the preferred candidate.
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Last Modified on 06/10/2011 09:26