PORT ADELAIDE is officially on the hunt for its inaugural AFLW Senior Coach, as revealed by Head of AFLW, Juliet Haslam at the club’s Annual General Meeting on Friday night.
Providing an update to members on the club’s AFLW program, Haslam revealed the recruitment process for the head coach role had begun.
“Yesterday we went out to market with our head coach role, we are expecting some high calibre candidates for that position.” Haslam said.
“That process will play out over the next 6-8 weeks and we will build the rest of our coaching team from there.”
Filling the head coach role is one of the many jobs on Haslam’s agenda, explaining that planning and recruitment has been the main focus since stepping into the role in late December.
“Planning and recruitment has been the key priority and we look to build a team that has great new staff, coaches, players…there’s been a lot to do but it’s been really exciting to be a part of so far,” Haslam explained.
So far that recruitment has included the appointments of Naomi Maidment as List Manager and Rachael Sporn as Operations Manager. Haslam expressed high praise for both individuals.
“Naomi has already been fantastic, she is the perfect person for this role,” Haslam said.
“She has a really great understanding of the talent pool here in South Australia…she knows exactly the type of player we are looking for, the type of character and specific traits and the kind of talent we would love to have playing here at Port Adelaide.
“Rachael brings a strong professional and business background which sets her up perfect for the role but of course brings so much more than the operations side, as an incredibly experienced elite athlete…she just knows what it takes to perform at the highest level and drive elite standards.
“She will be a great advisor for me and she will add significant value to the club in terms of culture and leadership. I’m really looking forward to getting Rachael on board in mid-March.”
Haslam also provided an update on the progress of the club’s AFLW facilities, expressing her excitement for the whole redevelopment and visualising the experience of AFLW games at Alberton Oval.
“It is fantastic to think that in mid-March we will have world class facilities for our AFLW team in the Williams Family stand,” said Haslam.
“Brand new changerooms, player lounge, kitchen area, meeting rooms, spa baths, it will be an area the athletes can really call their own and make their own home.
“Think about summer nights under lights, our team running out to Never Tear Us Apart in front of a passionate Port Adelaide crowd at Alberton and then back upstairs for presentations after the game. I couldn’t think of anything better.”
