Yallop quits for uni place

By Marc McGowan
FORMER Australian Test captain Graham Yallop has resigned as Casey-South Melbourne president to take up the role of director of cricket at Monash University.
Yallop’s new position will see him involved with rival Victorian Premier Cricket club Hawthorn-Monash University, leaving him with little choice but to relinquish his post.
“This is purely a business decision and nothing else,” he said.
“I had to make this decision to further my career and it was a situation where it was going to be a problem in regards to a conflict of interest if I stayed at Casey-South Melbourne.”
Yallop spent 26 years at the club as a player, captain/coach, committee member, administration manager and president.
“It’s disappointing leaving the club, but I’m certainly looking forward to my new role,” he said.
“When you’ve been with a club for such a long time, you have ties with it, and I look forward to seeing how they progress.
“I wish the club all the best into the future.”
Former Victorian, Tasmanian and Swans player Mick Taylor will serve as the acting president until the role is officially voted on at the club’s AGM in August.
“One of the club’s main goals is to really embrace the local area, and all the way through Gippsland, to give local boys the chance to play Premier Cricket and beyond, without having to travel all the way into Melbourne to train,” he said.
“I really look forward to the day when the first Casey-South Melbourne player pulls on his Bushrangers cap and then perhaps in the not-too-distant future, the baggy green.”
Yallop’s exit continues the off-season shake-up at the club following Mark Ridgway’s appointment as head coach, replacing John Hayes, and Michael Hansen’s decision to step down as captain.