Border Mail |
WANGARATTA Rovers coach Mick Caruso will step aside at the end of the season.
The Hawks coach for the past three years will bow out with the club unable to convince him to stay on.
Caruso told locally based players of his decision on Thursday night.
The rest will be told today before the club’s clash against reigning premier Yarrawonga at W.J. Findlay Oval.
He has harboured concerns about the job since early in the season, feeling he lacks the time for an increasingly demanding job.
The Hawks gut-wrenching exit from last year’s finals series has also been a factor.
They coughed up a 34-point lead in the final quarter of the second semi-final against the Pigeons.
Barry Hall missed a close range shot after the siren which would have put the Hawks into the grand final.
The Rovers lost to Albury in the preliminary a week later.
Hawks vice-president Barry Sullivan said last night Caruso could not be convinced to stay on, even with more support.
“We haven’t been able to talk him out of it,” Sullivan said. “We tried, but we’ve had to look at what our back-up plans are.”
Caruso played in four Hawks premierships including the most recent in 1994. He replaced another club great, Matt Allen, as coach.
The Hawks have appointed a sub-committee to conduct the search for Caruso’s replacement.
It is made up of Sullivan, club president Andrew Smith and recent inductee into the O and M Hall of Fame, Peter Tossol.
“We want the right man,” Sullivan said.
“We have had a fairly lengthy run of internals and we are certainly not adverse to bringing someone in from the outside.
“The most important thing is they have the right values and fit in with our philosophy.
“We don’t want someone who has an expectation we will go out and buy a premiership.
“We would rather take our time and develop our kids and have that 80 to 90 per cent home-grown talent supplemented by the best available talent to fill the gaps.”
The Hawks have a long history of growing their own coaches, dating back to club legend Neville Hogan’s appointment in 1970 to replace former Collingwood player, the late Ian Brewer.
