Port Melbourne coach Gary Ayres will join vice-captain Chris Cain in celebrating 150 games with the Borough this weekend.
Joining the club in 2008, Ayres has made a long lasting impression at the club in his eight seasons at the helm. He is the longest serving coach in Port Melbourne’s long and storied history, which is a fair achievement for a club in its 141st year.
While the playing list has undergone a complete overhaul barring Cain and Toby Pinwill since he arrived at the club, Ayres realises changes happen quite quickly at this level now.
This fact is highlighted by the 2011 undefeated premiership year for Port, with only Pinwill, Cain, Hugh Sandilands, Josh Purcell and Jake Dermott remaining in 2015.
While he has enjoyed the ride – leading Port Melbourne to seven straight finals campaigns – it is the players that have made his time at North Port Oval most enjoyable.
“Obviously the players are what have made the journey so much more enjoyable, their loyalty and qualities of those guys that have made such an impact of the Port Melbourne football club,” Ayres said.
“It has been enormously satisfying to see the players achieve what they wanted to with the premiership and have players drafted as well.”
Ayres has seen the likes of Robin Nahas (Richmond 2008), Malcolm Lynch (North Melbourne 2011) and Sam Dwyer (Collingwood 2012) drafted to the AFL in his time at the club, but still believes Cain should have also been a name added to that list.
“I thought he was really unlucky,” he said.
“I thought someone should have taken a punt on him – in relation to what he could offer was something that they have really missed out on.”
Ayres boasts an amazing record at VFL level which is unmatched - 108 wins, 40 losses, 1 draw -with a winning percentage of 73%.
Last Modified on 07/05/2015 16:01
