Injuries will prevent James Condos from remaining in his role of senior coach at Deer Park next season. 70291_05 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By LIAM TWOMEY
James Condos will not coach Deer Park in 2013.
Both parties agreed on the decision after it became clear injuries would prevent Condos from continuing in his role as a playing coach.
Deer Park Lions president Mark McGoldrick was disappointed to lose Condos who he said had done a great job at the club.
“We mutually agreed that the club will try and find a playing coach,” McGoldrick said.
“We wanted James to do the job. We have been in consultation all year about his body and we both knew where he stood. We hoped we wouldn’t have to part ways.”
Condos too said he was disappointed his time at the club had to come to an end sooner than expected.
“They have great people at the club and a great president who is running the joint,” he said.
“Obviously they had a plan in place when they signed me a couple of years ago to try and get four or five years out of me but that wasn’t the case being a playing coach.
“I understand where the club is heading and what they want.”
Deer Park will now begin the search for a replacement to lead the club for its second season in the Western Region Football League’s top division.
McGoldrick said he would again target a playing coach.
“It’s really because of that immediate on-field leadership,” he said.
“Players can’t really find excuses not to train or not to do the things that the coach wants them to on the ground.
“I think it is great for our kids as well. Our 18s and 16s who are coming through the system can actually see the coach wearing the jumper out on the ground and have that aspiration to want to get out there and play with him and progress to senior footy.”
“They are the main reasons we are going down that path.”
After just missing out on finals this year, McGoldrick said the club would be looking to make a few adjustments to its playing list in the off-season as well getting some injured players back on the park.
“I’m not sure how many second division clubs have come up and won nine games, missed the five by percentage and beat the premier team and the team that ran third in their first year,” he said.
“I said at the start of the year if we didn’t get a lot of injuries I thought we were good enough to finish anywhere from fourth to sixth.
“We got those injuries but they were still good enough to finish sixth and beat those teams above us.
“We expect to make our list stronger and… hope to see finals action next year.”
