By Marcus Uhe
Officer Football Club has settled on its replacement for Daniel Charles as senior coach, and has taken an alternative approach to filling the void.
The club announced last week that Nathan Allen had signed as a playing coach at Starling Road, concluding his two-year tenure at Meeniyan Dumbalk United (MDU) Football Netball Club in the Mid Gippsland Football Netball League, where he also was an on-field coach.
Both seasons saw the Demons qualify for finals with an overall record of 22 wins and 13 losses under Allen’s reign, bowing out in close losses in both years.
A local product, having spent his teenage years in Pakenham and playing junior football at Narre Warren North, the appointment is somewhat of a homecoming for Allen, keen to join the Officer journey.
“Knowing the young talent coming through, and I’ve seen a few experienced guys that have headed that way as well, I thought, ‘what a challenge,’” Allen said.
“The team is really striving forward and I wouldn’t mind being a part of that.”
Allen inherits a young list that just fell shy of a remarkable finals birth in 2024 and ultimately only has itself to blame for doing so, having lost critical games to Gembrook Cockatoo and Mt Evelyn in the back half of the year that saw them fall out of the top six in the Outer East Football Netball Premier Division football competition in the season’s final weeks.
Team of the Year fullback Joshua Westra has already put pen to paper for 2024, along with Antonio Quach, Sam Hoghton and Ryan Hutton, while prized recruits Jake Gains and Brenton Hillard will form one of the strongest midfields in the competition once again in their second seasons in blue and white.
Allen, a midfielder by trade, believes playing in the midfield is the best use for his coaching knowledge, with the ability to influence stoppages part of his key coaching philosophy.
Taking the leap into coaching further fuelled Allen’s love for the game and allowed him to showcase his knowledge and understanding further than simply kicking and chasing the Sherrin.
Having experienced the growing pains associated with finding the balance between coaching and playing, a number of mentors including newly appointed Nar Nar Goon coach Matt Shorey helped him strike what he feels is the right formula.
“I spoke to them a lot about it and obviously you need someone you trust on the bench – that was the number one thing – but basically, once the siren goes, you’re a player out there between the sirens,” he said.
“You obviously lead and you’re thinking while you’re out there, but if you’re not getting a kick, you lose all respect.
“They said ‘once the siren goes, you play footy, and once the end siren of the quarter goes, you worry about coaching again,’ – that held me in good stead.”
While still getting up to speed with the assets at his disposal, he wants to bring some older heads to the club to help steady the young list and offer further stability across the ground, to help the players grow and develop on the fly.
Dealing with players in their early stages of adulthood, however, will require a simplified message and calm approach.
“There’ll be certain starting positions and structures and things like that but you don’t want to go too overboard because they’ll get into their own heads,” he said.
“Especially early, I think it will be a lot about letting them play, not over-complicating it and making it fun and more skill-based at training.
“You don’t want to jump the gun too early and confuse them a little bit, I want to see what their natural talent can do.
“It will be interesting to see how it looks when it all comes together.
“I can’t wait to get started.”
