From the Armidale Express, 23/12/2011
New England Nomads’ AFL coach Brendan Meehan’s four year reign is over after he confirmed he would not lead the club into 2012.

Citing a need for a fresh direction at the club and wanting to put more time into his plumbing business on weekends, Meehan said the time is right for a new mentor. “I’ve had a wonderful four years with the Nomads and thoroughly enjoyed my time coaching the side,” he said. “I’m just at the stage now where I want to put more time into my family and business which would leave me less time to be able to be committed to the coaching side of things. I’m still really passionate about the future of the Nomads and I’m sure I’ll attend a few games next year through out the season.”

Meehan’s side had a promising start to its season highlighted by a tight first round home win against premier, Tamworth Kangaroos. However, consistent injuries and a drop in playing numbers towards the end of the season saw the Nomads beaten in the preliminary final against Inverell. “During the year we had seven broken bones by players within the club ranging from legs, fingers, and collarbones, which made it that little bit harder as the year went on,” he said of the mounting injury toll. “It’s a shame we couldn’t put the same side on the park each week but that’s footy.”

Meehan said the stage of AFL participation in Armidale is healthy and with a regular bunch of players the Nomads should again be strong next year. “We’ve gone from having three or four regular player some years back to around 15 core players who are local and play each week so that is tremendous for the growth of the club and sport in town,” he said.

Despite not claiming a premiership during his time as coach Meehan said a match last year [2010] remains his highlight. “We played Tamworth Kangaroos in driving rain over there during the preliminary final and we eventually got beaten by around seven points,” he said recalling the encounter. “Despite the result the guys left everything on the field and just tried so hard to get the win and I couldn’t have asked for anymore from them. I was so proud of them after that match.”

Meehan said he would look back with fondness following his four years at the club. “I’ve made some great friendships since I first played with the club in 2006 and that’s something I really treasure,” he said. “It’s been a wonderful time in my life and I thank the club for the past few years.”

Meehan’s legacy will be strongly felt at the club following his development work with rising Botswanian ruckman Omphile Temoso who has been a revelation since he joined the Nomads.

The Nomads have now started a search for a new coach.

Not for reproduction except by permission of the Armidale Express

This entry was posted on Monday, January 2nd, 2012 at 3:33 pm and is filed under In the press. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.