The Casey Scorpions have entrusted former Melbourne caretaker coach Greg Hutchison with leading them through their next era.Picture: Stewart Chambers.By Marc McGowan
JUST over a month after Peter Banfield’s controversial departure, the Casey Scorpions have announced former Melbourne utility Greg Hutchison as their new senior head coach.
The appointment was confirmed on Tuesday after a procession of coaches had been interviewed.
Former St Kilda star and two-time Narre Warren premiership coach Austinn Jones was notified on Monday that he had not been offered the job.
Jones is now a prime candidate for the vacant Gippsland Power TAC Cup coaching post.
Hutchison, 50, played 96 games and kicked 21 goals for the Demons from 1975-84, and also had a 13-game stint as caretaker coach of the club in 1997 after Neil Balme was sacked.
He has been involved in a variety of roles as an assistant coach at Australian Football League (AFL) level with Richmond and the Kangaroos since 1999.
Hutchison also coached Prahran in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) between 1986 and 1989 and was keen to return to the head coaching ranks.
“I just thought it was a really good opportunity to coach my own team again and a great challenge,” he said yesterday (Wednesday) morning.
“The opportunity presented itself with the Casey Scorpions and I view it as a very strong region that will present a really good opportunity to get back and develop good young players in the local area.”
Hutchison has come to terms on a two-year deal with the Scorpions’ AFL affiliate St Kilda, but Casey will reassess the position at the end of next season, according to general manager Brian Woodman.
“We are pretty pleased after all that’s occurred. Greg’s a very good appointment,” Woodman said.
“Along with Gary Ayres (who will coach Port Melbourne next season), you could not get a better appointment for the twos.
“We were always looking for someone of the calibre of Greg Hutchison and knew that’s what we wanted in a full-time senior coach.”
Hutchison’s role involves coaching the Scorpions and also working as an assistant/development coach with the Saints, alongside St Kilda development coach Danny Sexton.
“Both Casey and St Kilda have been around for a long time and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of working with the two clubs,” Hutchison said.
“The alignment is always going to have its highs and lows, but both clubs are very positive about the alignment.
“I’m sure having a full-time coach will definitely help.
“There are lots of different issues – none more so than having groups of players segmented – but, providing there is good communication, no problem is insurmountable.”
After the rapid nature of his appointment, Hutchison said he was unaware of the circumstances surrounding the exits of champion midfielders Steven Harrison and Nigel Carmody.
“This (the appointment) has fair dinkum happened in the last 24 hours and I don’t even know what the list looks like,” he said.
“Players come and go in footy clubs. It’s disappointing if that’s what they’ve chosen to do, but if they don’t want to be involved, that’s life, and we’ll get ones who want to be involved.”
Casey will aim to replicate a similar playing style to that of the Saints to aid the transition between AFL and Victorian Football League (VFL) level for St Kilda-listed players.
The Scorpions have no recruits at this stage after failing to entice 2007 AFL delistees Matthew Robbins and Patrick Bowden and retiree Brett Voss.
But Hutchison is looking positively towards next season.
“I know they were a very proud and successful club in their VFA days, but the VFL has been a bit hard for them,” he said.
“More important than where they’ve come from is where we’re going, and we’re going to make sure we are a strong, successful club for the next five, 10, 20 years.”
