New Point Cook coach Saade Ghazi was itching to get back to coaching after a year off from football.
Still a keen follower of local football, Ghazi jumped at the from opportunity at the Bulldogs to lead them into the next two Western Football League division seasons.
Ghazi said it was an exciting opportunity.
“I had a year off for the first time in 40 years as a player and coach,” he said. “It was good to have a year off.
“I’m pretty excited to control the footy part of the Point Cook club. They said to me what they were looking for in a coach and I told them what I thought I could deliver.”
Ghazi brings an extensive resume to the club.
He played more than 200 games with Williamstown and won the J.J Liston Medal for the now Victorian Football League competition.
He has coached at two VFL clubs before coaching at a number of clubs including Altona between 2016-19 and taking it to the grand final in 2019.
Ghazi said living and working the western suburbs, it made sense for him to look at roles locally.
“We’re already on our third meeting tonight [Thursday],” he said. “Í’m 100 per cent committed after a year off. It has helped.”
Ghazi said while he had kept an eye on the Western league he hadn’t looked too closely at Point Cook.
He said the club’s culture was something that really attracted him to the role.
“The group has a lot of young talent that got a lot of opportunities this year,” he said. “There’s a bit of work to do to get back up the ladder
“It’s a bit of a reset and what the club wants and what is needed. We won’t throw everything out the door and hopefully we have some more luck with injuries.”
The Bulldogs finished last this year with just three wins for the season after making the grand final last year.
With changes to the competition, no team is relegated. Three teams will be promoted and there will be no relegation again next year.
Ghazi said he believes they had the base of the side for next year at the club and the growth will come from within.
“We can take heart from Hoppers Crossing which was bottom last year and now playing in a preliminary final,”he said.
“We want to keep developing the group and add a couple more players. With three new teams it will be an even competition and early wins will be important.
“We haven’t set expectations, but we know success won’t come overnight, it could take a couple of years.
“We have to do it right and have sustained success. We want to be playing finals regularly.”
Tara Murray
