Harper Sercombe
It’s been a wild ride for Altona and its coach Corey McCall in the Western Region Football League, but it’s all about to come to a close.
The premiership winning coach said he will be stepping down at season’s end, whenever that may be.
McCall started his journey with the Vikings at the end of 2019, with his first season at the helm set to be 2020. After that year and 2021 were impacted by COVID, McCall’s first full season in 2022 broke a 10 year premiership drought for the club.
Now the club sits in a great position, with a young list and its season still alive, sitting in third position on the eve of another finals series.
However, for McCall and the club, the time is right for a new voice and direction as both parties sit content with the decision.
“The club and myself have been really open and honest about transitioning,” McCall said.
“I always had on my mind that 2024 was probably the season where I stopped coaching.
“So we’ve planned and discussed the strategy for the football club going forward, and what’s in the best interest of Altona.
“It was a really good discussion and transition and even our recruiting strategy was based around what’s best for Altona in 2024 and beyond.
“It’s time for me to go back to my family.”
While the transition has been amicable, the playing group was kept out of the know, to keep them determined and focused on the potential of back-to-back premierships.
After the Vikings win against Spotswood in round 16, McCall said he thought the timing was right to let them know this year would be his last.
“They know how passionate I am, they know I love the Altona Football Club,” he said.
“I’m forever grateful for them giving me an opportunity to coach division 1 football.”
After winning the flag McCall said over half of the Vikings premiership winning side was turned over due to retirements or lures from rival clubs. This led to a new look for the 2023 season including a fresh leadership group, and a focus on playing and recruiting youth at the club.
“Every year provides different challenges with coaching and this one has been different… everything changed,” he said.
“I said to the club, maybe the time’s right for someone to come in here now and build on this.
“We’re all working together on one common goal, what’s best for Altona… leaving Altona in the best shape going forward.”
However, with one game remaining in the regular season before finals kicks off there is still plenty left to play and coach for.
“We’ve just got to keep that momentum that we’ve been building,” McCall said.
“We’ve had our ups and downs with injuries and availabilities, but we’ve been playing some really good footy.”
McCall said emotions may get the best of him when he knows it’s over, for now he is content and steadfast on delivering back to back premierships for the club he loves.
“It’s not something that I’ll just walk away from and you won’t see me again, throughout 2024 I’ll pop my head down to watch some games and have a beer where I can,” he said.
