McCaughan to step down at season’s end

CRAIG McCaughan time was up.

He confided in wife Cazz, who gave him her blessing to continue as Grovedale coach.

But he knew in his heart of hearts it was over.

Wayne Amos, a close friend and coaching sidekick for the past five years, knew it was coming.

By Monday afternoon, McCaughan was at the house of president Wes Smith to break the news.

On Tuesday evening, McCaughan stood before the playing group and announced he would be standing down at season’s end. They were stunned, to put it mildly.

“Some were pretty shocked,” McCaughan revealed.

“They saw me as a longterm footy coach who would be there forever, so they were taken aback, maybe by the timing with it being so early in the year.”

Less than a week ago, McCaughan, who is in his third season at the helm of the Tigers, had flat-batted questions from the Addy over his future, declaring he would weigh it up at season’s end.

Yet just days after a breakthrough win that ended a seven-game losing streak, McCaughan called time.

“It was always in the back of my mind,” McCaughan said.

“I knew that it was just a matter of when to announce it.

“My wife and I sat down and worked out the pros and cons of it all. She would’ve loved for me to keep going, but the best thing for the club was me to step away.”

It had been weighing on his mind for a “couple of weeks”, with Amos acting as another sounding board through the process.

“It was about what is best for the club,” McCaughan said.

“It’s definitely not a reflection on where the group can felt his get to, but the honest truth is the boys need that fresh voice to come in and spark them up because the list we’ve got can certainly do some damage, soon.

“It’s just a matter of getting that right person in and I thought the best chance for the group to go forward was for me to step down.”

The light-bulb moment for McCaughan came amid a drastic two-month fall from grace, with the Tigers going from premiership contender to virtually making up the numbers.

“That rut that we went through opened my eyes to the fact I wasn’t the coach I thought I was,” a forthright McCaughan said.

“At times with the losses I probably wasn’t coaching the way I wanted to coach. In the last few weeks I’ve improved and rectified that in my own self, but I felt I wasn’t going down the line that I prided myself on . . . to keep calm and calculated. I think a fresh voice would be ideal for the boys going forward.”

A teacher and father, McCaughan admitted time constraints and the commitment of coaching a club at GFL level had also become a factor.

He is “open” to the possibility of remaining at Burdoo Reserve in some capacity next season, but could also seek a fresh start.

Luke Delaney, in his first season at Grovedale after departing St Kilda, remains under contract next season and will stay on board as co-coach.

That leaves a position vacant for a bench coach or an-