Senior Coach Greg McLoughlin announced on Thursday night that he would not be applying to coach the team next year. Greg is one the best people you are ever likely to meet, in or outside of football. Sadly his three years at the helm have been dogged with bad luck. Greg would never use injury as an excuse but in 2011 and 2013 (both fifth place finishes) we used the most players of any Premier division club. In 2011 we had racked up 49 senior players by round 11 and a tick over 50 overall. This year it looks like 49 players will have run out for the seniors, including 14 debutants.
While we pride ourself on our depth no can seriously sustain much beyond 30 senior quality players. To have that sort of turnover and still be in finals contention up until round 17 is testament to the work done by Greg to keep the team competitive.
Greg’s planning is meticulous with President Richard Williams saying he knew of no other coach who put as much effort into pre-match preparations. His time at De La has been invaluable in the development of this young group as both players and people. With his son Jack a student at the college and now playing with our U19s we will hopefully still see a lot of Greg around the club. We thank him sincerely for his efforts and wish him well in any future coaching endeavours he might undertake.
The search for new coach will begin in earnest almost immediately. Stay tuned for developments.
Last Modified on 30/08/2013 20:54
