Whittlesea Football Netball Club has announced Wayne Van Der Ross as its new senior coach ahead of its 2023 campaign.
Van Der Ross has been head coach of the Yarra Glen Football Netball Club in the Outer East Football Netball League for the past two seasons after spending one year as the senior coach at Knox Football Netball Club in the Eastern Football Netball League.
He replaces Eagles premiership coach Blair Harvey, who parted ways with the club earlier this year.
The Eagles shocked Northern Football Netball League onlookers when they announced the sacking of Harvey, the 2019 premiership coach, and assistant coach Matt Glenn also opted to resign.
Former AFL player Jarrad Waite joined Jimmy Robinson and Luke Russell as the club’s new senior coaching panel, but Waite later left the club to play for Benalla.
Whittlesea also announced the appointment of Adrian ‘AJ’ Stewart as its new president, with 2022 president Cameron Powell remaining on the committee as vice-president.
Also in the club’s executive are secretary Kylie Burns and treasurer Mandy Carter.
Whittlesea survived relegation in division one this season, finishing four points clear of the bottom of the ladder with a 4-13 record.
In a statement last week, the club said it was ‘delighted to announce’ the appointment of Van Der Ross.
“Wayne enjoyed a long and successful playing career, retiring in 2009. Since then he has coached in assistant roles in the EFNL at various clubs,” the statement read.
“After an extensive recruitment process, we are confident that Wayne is the right fit for our club as we strive for NFL Division 1 success.
“Wayne brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and professionalism to the role and is keen to get to work with the boys.
“We welcome Wayne, wife Sarah and daughters Evie, Mia and Layla to the nest and look forward to a long and successful relationship.”
