Not often do you get someone at a young age to be thrust into a such a demanding position within a sporting organization at a professional level. In this case, that’s the way it’s been for the past half-decade at least at the Coburg Football Club.
Over the past six seasons, Alex Morella has been the ‘pillar’ of the Coburg Football Club, especially the past five as the clubs Football Administration Manager. The well documented instability the club had in the years leading into the stand-alone return saw the club have six different General Managers and Senior Coaches in as many seasons. The maturity, dedication, commitment and professionalism shown by Morella has seen him as a vital asset to the club, from the days of the struggling Coburg Tigers in the alignment’s latter years to the club being rebranded as the stand alone Lions, what it originally was in the beginning.
However, his time in the role has come to an end. Two weeks ago, Morella accepted a position as the Administration Officer for Table Tennis Victoria, having completed his University Degree a few months ago. While this position he has held at Piranha Park for quite a few years will be relinquished, he still intends to still remain with the club in a reduced capacity- especially given the lack of weekend work required in his new position, and the need for extra assistance around the club- yet to be determined.
It all began in for 2011 Morella, who had just recently undertaken his first year of university studies, was also an avid sports fan. A Richmond supporter, and with an eye to the future he decided to enquire at Coburg about a voluntary position with the aim of working in the Sporting Industry, perhaps one day working for the club he still supports. As a result, Craig Byron the clubs Football Manager at the time, decided to take him on board. “I was 18 and out of school, and always loved statistics growing up, and I loved Richmond and AFL, so I saw Coburg as a great way to gain some experience and maybe meet some of my favourite Richmond players at the same time!”
He’d begin by doing numerous tasks in the office and around the club at least one day a week, and statistician work on match day. “I really enjoyed my first year! It was fun being involved on game days and feeling like part of the team! As the year went on I got more confident with more roles that I could fill, and I started to really want to get involved in this side of sport one day!”
After just 12 months at the club, with a restructure in the management, he was thrust into the role of Football Administration Manager, being responsible for the co-ordination of the club’s football operations and administration, supporting the General Manager. “I was shocked at first to be honest, I’d been there for a year, but I’d probably only been in the offices 4 or 5 times! I was very excited to work with Adam Potter and the coaching staff and get to know the players better. I wasn’t really sure what I was signing up for I guess, I just wanted to be more involved!”
And it just wasn’t any ordinary role. While he would still continue in his match day role of statistician, he would have an extra responsibility to manage the majority of the football operations. The 2012 season was one to remember for many reasons, right and wrong for the Coburg Football Club. The highlight was undoubtedly the 2012 Development League premiership, but even that was overshadowed by the on field happenings. “There was a lot of tension at the time between Richmond and Coburg and a lot of decisions and issues were hard to navigate around to start with. But I found if I just focused on helping the Coburg players and coaches, then it was able to be really enjoyable for me!”
The announcement of the Richmond alignment coming to an end earlier than first thought created much uncertainty for Coburg and what the club’s future held. As a result, the 2013 season would see the club’s operations controlled by Richmond. It saw many experienced players leave the club, and the club had gone without a General Manager throughout the Preseason period which was to follow- a massive concern, especially with the alignment ending and with no preparations being made for it.
While it was considered a gap year for Coburg, what kept Alex motivated was the fact that going stand-alone was becoming a reality. despite initially coming across with the intentions of gaining a position at Punt Road, he already had attained his aim at Piranha Park. Although at times throughout 2013 he questioned his purpose as to his why he was at the club for, Alex would stay true to the cause and went beyond heaven and earth to ensure that Coburg’s first season stand-alone since 2000 was one that would run as smoothly as possible, even with the clubs lack of resources and the lack of planning from other staff members. “I had originally wanted to be involved with Richmond, but I guess getting to know all the Coburg boys made me want to stick around with them! All the players were so nice and hard-working that it felt wrong that they just couldn’t get the opportunities they deserved! 2013 was challenging because we all knew the alignment was ending and Richmond players were clearly the priority, but everyone stuck it out knowing it was only one year before we could go stand-alone!”
Although thirteen seasons of the Coburg Tigers aligned side was one that caused much conflict upon both parties, Alex regardless still enjoyed most aspects of the job. “Just getting to know all the ins and outs of Richmond and Coburg and seeing so many faces that I knew and wanted to see succeed was something that was always exciting to me! I still loved being able to see players emerge from being Development youngsters to Senior Footballers and that hasn’t changed!”
Regardless, Alex was nevertheless excited for what 2014 would bring for the Lions, despite the pundits’ estimation of both sides failing to win a game in 2014, and perhaps folding. “I liked being able to have control over everything, we all did at the club! There was no more compromising for positions in the Seniors, no more players missing out because of AFL club rules, and no more following orders that didn’t benefit our playing group! Being able to build a list from scratch and see that talent that emerged was so much more exciting, and seeing 23 of them each week playing Senior Football instead of 5 or 6 made the club so much more motivated and positive!”
And it got better with Peter German arriving as Senior Coach, and a few months later, Germans old ally from his Casey Scorpions days in Craig Lees would be appointed the clubs General Manager. Although Morella admits with German first coming on board, he was nervous. “I was massively scared of Germo at first! He’s an intense presence when you don’t really know him personally, and all you know is hearing him yell at his team from his times at Casey and Williamstown. I was worried he’d tell me to get out of the club! But it was a great relationship from the start! He was pleased with what I had been doing, and with him I was able to find a lot of support and ideas for ways to improve Coburg.”
While the appointment of German was a massive coup at the time, the appointment of Lees as General Manager saw him have authority to do more around the club. “Leesy has been massive for me! Bringing his experiences from Melbourne, and a really positive attitude has allowed me to develop myself and a lot of others at Coburg a lot further than we had ever imagined. Once Leesy came on board, we started believing Coburg could really become a strong force in the VFL over the next few years.”
Despite the disappointing 2014 season, Coburg returning as the Lions and as a stand-alone club provided much more opportunities for him going forward especially under the guidance of Lees’ as General Manager- Lees’ focus on developing the brand within the community saw him add to his ever growing list of roles and responsibilities, and would take on roles such as Auskick Co-Ordinator and was instrumental in the setup of the club’s juniors. He would also be handed the responsibility of Football Manager- while the club didn’t necessarily have one especially throughout the 2015 season, usually the duties were shared between both. “Building a club again! We got to make the Coburg Lions our own and not follow directions from other clubs! It made everything we did that much more important because we knew there weren’t others in charge of these jobs any more, it was on guys like Me, Leesy and Jason.”
With the clubs new found culture and professionalism also becoming implemented, managing the GPS tracking was another aspect of the Football Department Alex would take responsibility for. From being responsible for numerous game day tasks such as operating the old scoreboard, timekeeping, serving food and beverages in the tents, umpires escort, and statistician, to ensuring the football department was best resourced with tasks such as preparing footage for the coaches’ reviews and previews from and for the weekends matches, organizing endless amounts of magnets for the coaching staff, and organizing dinner for selection night.
Amongst his highlights, a few occasions come to mind for Alex- the Premiership in 2012 and seeing players achieve their goals. “The 2012 Development League Premiership was special! Seeing everything the club had gone through that year, to then win the Premiership from 6th was a brilliant effort! The other exciting parts have just been seeing not just guys like Adam Saad and Michael Hartley develop from youngsters into AFL Footballers, but seeing those guys who work so hard every week getting rewarded with Senior games and awards! Even this year’s Best and Fairest night, seeing guys like Tom Goodwin and Jesse Corigliano being rewarded for all their hard work is so satisfying!”
Last Friday’s Jim Sullivan Medal Night marked the last day for Alex in the position- and in a fitting way, he was awarded the Graham Douglas Award as the Best Club Person for the 2016 season. As the awards purpose is to be presented to an individual that has demonstrated the tireless dedication and commitment to the Lions on and off the field, Alex not only displayed that throughout the season just passed, but throughout the six seasons involved at the club. While most uni students in the years coming out of high school usually focus on getting their studies done as quick as possible, Alex was in no rush- Coburg was always his priority, not only to lay down the foundations for his career and his own benefit, but for the club itself. “The Coburg Football Club has been my home away from home the past 6 years! Everyone at the club is so wonderful and that’s been said by so many people involved at the club that keeps them coming back year after year! It’s hard to believe I won’t be there every week of the year now! I’ve loved being involved with everything the club does!”
Alex with GM Craig Lees, presented with his Graham Douglas Best Club Person Award & his six years of service to the club.
And while the curtain closes on an outstanding tenure at Piranha Park, he has this to say to all involved, players, staff and supporters. “Thank you for all the great support over the years! I’ve always enjoyed getting to know everyone and seeing how much Coburg means to them! That’s why I know I’ll still be around next year, even if it’s just as a volunteer on game days! There’s so many good people involved and I’d never want to miss out on what everyone is up to!”
Despite the adversity surrounding the club going into the 2014 season, Alex is content with where the club is at, compared to where it was when he found it. “It’s amazing to think how far we’ve come, especially in the past 3 years! There’s a great group of people there now who can take the club to the next level! I hope I’m definitely still involved to see it!”
General Manager Craig Lees was grateful for the contribution Alex had made to the club in six years, especially the past three since he signed on as General Manager. “Alex has been an outstanding contributor to the Coburg Football Club in the past six seasons. His dedication, hard work and enthusiasm for the club and his role has seen him being very successful during the club’s transition to the stand-alone era. I personally thank Alex for his support and wish him all the best for his role at Table Tennis Victoria. We still hope to see Alex around at the Coburg Football Club next season, as the Monday to Friday role means the Coburg Football Club will still play an important part in his life.”
As everyone involved at the club wishes Alex the best in his new endeavours upon beginning his full-time career, it is hoped regardless in whatever capacity he is in, he still will remain a vital asset to the club. However, no longer responsible for all Administration matters, Alex’s contribution and service to the club in the role cannot be questioned one bit. While his departure was imminent, it leaves huge shoes to be filled.
Thank you, Alex.
