Senior and Reserve pre-season training to commence 16th November @ Thomas Carr 6.00pm
Shane Buckingham proudly announced on 24/10 that Alan Ezard will lead the club into a 2010 and 2011 seasons as senior coach of the Warriors.
Alan has a decorated history both as player and coach with VFL premierships with Essendon and then in 2001 for StAlbans defeating the Warriors.
We welcome Alan to Warriors and anticipate another strong showing of the Warriors for 2010.
Ezard made his debut with the Essendon in 1983 and made a name for himself as a very strong mark for a 168 cm man, playing mostly in the back pocket or as a rover. He played numerous state of origin games for Victoria, winning an EJ Whitten Medal. Ezard was Essendon's leading goalkicker in 1986 and won the clubs best and fairest in 1991. He also played in 4 grand finals (1983, 1984, 1985, 1990), the second and third of which were premiership wins.
He played 184 games for 200 goals, retiring in 1993 ,was North Ballarat’s inaugural VFL coach, in 1996, and steered Coburg in 1997-98.
The 46yearold replaces Michael Frost who was coach for the past 4 seasons at the Warriors, who finished third this year.
He coached St Albans for six years, which included a premiership and finals in every season, and was last year in charge of Noble Park in the Eastern Football League, while he has also had stints with Coburg and North Ballarat in the VFL.
Ezard said he was looking forward to taking the Warriors to the next level.
"We've got an exciting list," he said.
"Our seconds and under-18s were both grand finalists, and we've got a great nucleus of young talent."
However, Ezard said despite the side finish in 2009, there was still room for improvement.
"The backline is strong and our midfield is in the top two in the league, but our forward line could get better and I'll be looking at making it more creative," he said. "We were a fair way behind Port Colts and Spotswood in our fitness, so we've got a pretty torrid three months of preseason ahead of us.
"We've probably underachieved over the last eight years, because we've always been up there in the top three or so. We'll have 12 under-18s
coming through next year, so I'll be giving them a chance, while the improvement from our reserves will put more pressure on the seniors, and hopefully allow the club to be strong across the board."
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