ALAN Ezard is the latest casualty of the Essendon District Football League’s branch into a three-tier competition with the former Essendon footballer and Hillside parting ways.
Ezard joined the Sharks as head coach at the beginning of the season in a bid to help the club avoid relegation.
However, after 13 rounds of football, Hillside found itself 10th on the EDFL Division One ladder and forced to form part of the six team Division Two competition.
Sharks’ president Scott Absolum said the decision was made last Monday night.
“It is pretty simple, we appointed Alan to keep us in the B-Grade competition. We paid pretty big money to have him as a high profile coach and it just hasn’t worked out,” he said.
“We are a club moving forward and we have a lot of young developing players coming forward and we just need to make sure we have got the right fit up there and we just didn’t feel that he was it.”
Ezard is now the second coach of a relegated team not to finish the season with East Keilor’s Steve Kolyniuk replaced by Bill Asani earlier this month.
Ray Stevens will take over as Hillside coach for the remainder of the season having previously been an assistant to Ezard.
Absolum said the club may take a different path in the selection of its next coach.
“I guess we looked for a profile coach but maybe now we will look for more of a playing type coach or maybe a younger coach with different ideas. We do have a very young playing group,” he said,
Despite replacing Ezard, Hillside is in the unique position of being able to challenge for a premiership in the final month of the Division Two season.
The Sharks sit second on the ladder behind East Keilor.
But the long term goal is already for the club to fight its way into A Grade.
“We spoke to the players and just basically told them what our decision was.
“We have moved on real quick. The players have been receptive to it and I guess they have to put their faith in our hands, just like we put our faith in them when they are on the field.
“With the calibre of juniors we have coming through over the next three to four years, we believe we will be an A grade club. We need to get out of C grade in the next 12 months. That is the most important thing for our football club.”
