JAMIE Skelly has been appointed for a fourth straight season as head coach of VPL1 outfit Langwarrin.
While Skelly and Langy president Rob Vickery were fine-tuning an agreement last week, Scott Morrison and Stuart Johnson surprisingly resigned as head coaches of Peninsula Strikers and Rosebud respectively.
Skelly and Vickery held informal discussions about the coaching role for the past couple of months and the outcome had been anticipated.
Skelly took over as senior coach at Lawton Park at the end of the 2022 season and under him the side’s highest finish has been ninth last year. It finished 10th this year.
At the halfway mark of the season Langy was flirting with relegation and hit a low point with a 5-1 away loss to George Cross.
“You can look back at that game and say it was a pivotal moment in our season,” Skelly said. “The coaching staff sat down and made some difficult decisions about where we were at and how it could be turned around. “We worked hard with the players not just changing some of the way we played but mentally too.
“By refining our style we conceded less goals and we won more games. “We stopped pushing high to win the ball back preferring to set up in a mid-block as we did in that second half and it had excellent results. “In a 10-game period we lost only once and took the team well above any relegation possibilities.”
Success for Langwarrin in the first instance means maintaining its league status. That’s a perennial priority target. “Being a stable VPL1 club is a measure of success and anything on top of that is a massive bonus,” Skelly added.
“In terms of budgets there is large divide within the league. “There are probably a handful of clubs each year that you can say are pushing for promotion and their budgets reflect that, then there are clubs who struggle to stay in the league and their budgets also reflect that.
“We’re probably somewhere in the middle.
“When you add in academy teams their budgets don’t come into it as they have wonderful player resources at their disposal. “The academy teams are a complex factor when weighing up possibilities for the upcoming season.
“For Langwarrin we have to try and ensure that we are in the league for the following year. “We need to have a culture and an environment that is positive and having set an initial target we’d love to be in the play-offs even in the top two.”
Langwarrin life member and primary sponsor Greg Kilner of Premier Building Group plays a crucial role in the club’s ability to compete on the player market and his philanthropy is widely acknowledged.
“He’s been a massive influence on our club and a massive supporter,” Skelly said. “Not just for his support for the senior program but through business contacts and helping the club sign sponsors.
“Greg has no interest in being on the committee but he works really hard in the background to give the club the ability to compete at this level and to compete for players.”
While there will be movement in the senior squad during the off-season, Skelly doesn’t anticipate numbers to soar. There is a decided steady-as-you-go message here. “The one thing about Langwarrin is that we have players who love being at the club and who want to stay.
“Every year we want to improve the squad to get a little bit closer to where we want to be but that doesn’t mean a lot of players leaving. “There’s often a natural attrition anyway throughout the season.
“We probably had four leave last season so we’ve got four spots open right now to bring in players. “It’s really important to bring in players whose personalities complement the squad rather than change it drastically.
“Discussions already have taken place with our current list and where they see themselves and we see them over the next 12 months and we’ve also contacted prospective players to see if they can come in and help.” We’ll know more in coming weeks.
As for Skelly’s support staff, Simon Storey has stepped down as a senior assistant due to work commitments and Skelly is mulling over a possible replacement. Adam Poole will remain in a senior assistant’s role, Lou Kastner is goalkeeping coach, Roddy Strachan is team manager and Peter Tuckett strength and conditioning coach.
Down the road at Centenary Park, Strikers are sorting out their senior coaching situation and expect to make an announcement in the next fortnight. As we went to press, six candidates had thrown their hat into the ring and more are expected to emerge from the club’s expressions-of-interest post on social media this week.
Morrison joined Strikers for the start of the 2022 season having built an impressive CV at Rosebud Heart, Somerville Eagles and Mornington. He helped guide Heart to the championship in 2016 by winning all 18 games in State 5 South.
But for the past two seasons, Strikers have finished a point behind the second-placed promoted team in State 2 South-East with a lingering feeling of what could have been. “Last year we missed out to teams who were a little bit better but this year I’d put it down to bad luck pure and simple,” Morrison said.
“We went to Mooroolbark in round two and hit the post six times only to lose 1-0, then there was Skye a few weeks ago when we could have been four or five up at half-time and lost, then the Berwick game … there are others. “We lacked a little bit in front of goal at crucial times and that cost us. “Around the halfway mark we felt we needed to change the way we were playing and we did that.
“We also finally got the back four that we’d planned with Kyron (Kerr), Jamie (Davidson), Stevie (Elliott) and ‘Daffers’ (Jaiden Madafferi) playing together which we didn’t have in the first 10 games and that really helped. “The change in shape sparked us and we went on a run that we weren’t capable of in the first half of the season.”
There’s been talk of a player exodus sparked by Morrison’s departure but Morrison sees important factors that will shape the outcome there. “It’s going to depend on who takes over,” he said. “But a key factor is that a lot of the boys love each other and have known each other for a long time. “If they decide to stay together that’s great. “I’ve encouraged them all to stay but every year there is some turnover.”
A prime target for other clubs is the brilliant Cooper Andrews, who displayed his loyalty during the previous pre-season by knocking back a number of offers, principally a huge one from Bayside Argonauts.
As for Morrison, he hopes to return to coaching some time down the track but he’s in no rush. His decision to quit was done so for family reasons. His sons Archie (12 years old) and Olly (6) both play sport and the older sibling is already at an elite junior level.
“Archie goes to Melbourne City next year and that’s five days a week so it’s a big commitment and Olly’s obviously playing as well. “I tossed and turned over my decision for around six weeks. “Coaching is a huge commitment and if I can’t give 100 percent to Strikers it’s not fair on them.
“If I can’t maintain my own standards I can’t be there.
“Right now I’m left with an overwhelming feeling of letting people down – the players and Adrian especially – that’s the hard part especially what we went through a couple of weeks ago. “But we have really special connections and I have never enjoyed coaching as much as I have in the last three years.
“Although stepping away from them really hurts, the main thing is that I don’t want to regret not being the dad I should have been. “I’m just making sure I’m there for my boys and putting them first.”
Similarly with Johnson, it was the need to focus on family responsibilities that drove his decision. His two-year tenure as senior coach ends on a high, having won promotion from State 5 South in his first season and navigated the tricky promotion and relegation rules implemented this year as Football Victoria expands from five to seven State League tiers next season and standardises each tier’s regionalised component.
“When I took on the coaching position with Rosebud I stressed the need for a two-year appointment to bring stability and continuity to the role,” Johnson said. “I won’t be involved in selecting the new coach but I have stressed to the club how important continuity should play in their decision.”
Former senior coach Jason Symonds, who assisted Johnson this year, is believed to be a leading contender for the position.
First published in the Frankston Times – 23 September 2025
