THE Port Adelaide Football Club is delighted to announce the appointments of Daniel Healy and Matthew Nicks to its development coaching panel and the elevation of Garry Hocking as a senior assistant coach.
Daniel Healy returns to the Club as development manager after spending the last two seasons as senior coach of North Adelaide in the SANFL. He was previously a development coach at the Power in 2008.
Port Adelaide football operations manager Peter Rohde says that Healy, a former St Kilda player in the AFL and five-time premiership player and captain with Central District in the SANFL, was very impressive in his role at the Club during that one season and that the Power is delighted to regain his services.
“Daniel did an outstanding job when he was here in 2008 so we’re delighted to have him back,” Rohde said.
“He comes from a teaching and development background and his experience as a multiple premiership player at Central District, his coaching at North Adelaide and his profession as a school teacher all adds up to him being a great fit within our coaching structure.”
The Power has also secured former Sydney Swans utility Matthew Nicks as a development coach.
Rohde says that Nicks, who played 175 games for the Swans from 1996 to 2005 after being recruited from West Adelaide, will bring great leadership skills from his time at Sydney.
“Matthew was part of the highly respected leadership group at Sydney and we think his vast experience within that culture will be a great asset for our young, developing group,” Rohde said.
“He has also worked as a stockbroker away from footy and we think that provides some real diversity within the dynamic of our group.
“Matthew’s got a proven passion for coaching and developing young players and the people we spoke to at Sydney couldn’t have spoken more highly of him.”
Hocking, who filled the role as development coach in 2010, has now been elevated into a new role as a senior assistant joining fellow assistant Jason Cripps and senior coach Matthew Primus on the senior coaching panel.
Primus says that Hocking was outstanding in his role as development coach last year and richly deserves his opportunity as an assistant coach.
“Garry’s positive attitude and passion this season resonated with all our staff across the entire football club and he was great for our younger players in his role as development coach,” Primus said.
“And given that we’re still a very young, developing team we see his role as an assistant coach a perfect fit as he has already developed great relationships with our core group of younger players.
“We all know what Garry achieved as a player and his knowledge of the game is second to none so we’re delighted to have him on board in a senior role.”
The Power expects to finalise its coaching panel next week with the announcement of another assistant to join Cripps and Hocking.
