East Gambier re-signs Willson on eve of finals

AT THE HELM: East Gambier A Grade playing coach Matt Willson will return to the head role for the Bulldogs in the 2019 Western Border football season. Picture: ASHLEY EARL

EAST Gambier Football Club A Grade playing coach Matt Willson will return to the head role for the 2019 Western Border Football League season.

Willson, who started with East last season as co-coach and player alongside Matt Scanlon, took the Bulldogs to their first premiership in 29 years.

And this season the side looks to be in a good position to defend its title, but with all four teams in contention worthy of their position it will be a tough battle to the end.

With Willson stepping up to take on the coaching role by himself this year, he said he was far from alone at the helm.

“We are pretty lucky at the footy club, we have some really strong senior leaders within the playing group,” he said.

“Even last year it wasn’t just myself and Matt Scanlon taking the reins, we had these guys who really stood up and drove the standards of the playing group.

“Again this year I have a lot of those senior guys to really bounce ideas off and as a result the playing group really drives itself.”

And as a playing coach, Willson said to be surrounded by these people who he can trust is something which eases the burden.

“I think as a playing coach you just need to have the right people around you,” he said.

“I am very lucky at the moment, I have a really good support staff that runs the bench for me.

“On a Saturday one of my assets is to go out and play football, so to have guys on the sidelines who I really trust, I think that goes a long way to releasing a bit of stress on me and the other senior guys out there.”

When asked about the success in his debut year with the Bulldogs and how he hopes to build on it, Willson said to achieve that goal in his first season was something special.

“We had a bit of a vision in mind when I first came in of what we wanted to achieve and to have that happen in the first year was really pleasing,” he said.

“Any coach or footballer will tell you it is twice as hard to go back and defend that title, so this year it has been a matter of staying on the right track and trying to do what we can to maintain that culture of winning.”

East – like most teams this year – has suffered at the hands of injury, but with numbers returning to its ranks each week, the side will be a hot contender in finals.

At this stage Willson has been re-signed for just the 2019 season, but he said the club is taking it “one year at a time”.

He said to have all the formalities cleared up nice and early relieves any stress and allows the club to turn all its attention to this year’s finals.

“We have been in talk and trying to make it all happen over the last couple of weeks, so to have it done and out there now is really good,” Willson said.

“First and foremost – which is the reason we have it all done and out of the way now – we have a finals campaign to focus on.

“That takes front seat at the moment, but obviously in the background you are always planning forward as a club.”

When he first came to East, Willson said one of the main aims for the club was to bring a bit more professionalism, by raising the standards of things like training, rehab and recovery.

“They are little things you can do at country level that give you a little bit of an advantage,” he said.

“That side of it we have taken some big steps over the last 18 months.”

However, Willson said one of the most important things for him is to ensure the playing group is committed and remain happy in their roles.

“It is about getting players to buy in and that’s what we have worked really hard on, is making sure we have happy footballers,” he said.

“For me happy footballers play good footy.”

Willson thanked the East Gambier Football Club for its support both on and off the ground and looks forward to what the future holds with the Bulldogs.

“East Gambier is a really tight-knit club,” he said.

“Myself, my wife and our kids have all been welcomed in really well.

“For me to have somewhere where I can go and play football and coach, but also bring my family and have my kids running around there and making a lot of friends, it is something that is very special.

“To be able to have the top job again for another year is something I find very special and I am honoured to be able to do.”