Jamieson open to higher offers
OUTGOING St Joseph’s coach Heath Jamieson is open to offers from a higher level as he starts the final months of his decorated Joeys tenure.
The two-time premiership coach confirmed on Thursday he would be stepping down at season’s end after six years at the club.
Jamieson, who will depart as the club’s longest-serving senior coach, wants to stay involved in football next year but feels the time is right to hand over the reins at St Joseph’s.
“I think next year I’ll be involved in football, no doubt about that,” he said yesterday.
“I think I’ve always said six years is probably long enough to be coaching a local side and the six years have gone extremely fast and it’s something I’ve loved doing.
“I will be involved in football. I don’t know what life is like without it, to be honest, but how that looks right now, I would not have a clue.”
Jamieson is one of the most credentialed coaches in local footy, having taken Queenscliff to a drought-breaking BFL premiership in 2011 before ending Joeys’ 26-year hoodoo in 2015 and backing it up with another flag last year.
Asked if he would entertain offers from a higher level, he said: “Of course.
“You never know. I don’t think higher offers are something you sit by the phone waiting for, so it’s not something that is going to affect me in any way. But if offers do come from higher, I’ll definitely look at that.”
St Joseph’s president Todd Devine credited Jamieson for turning around the club after arriving for the 2013 season.
“(He) will leave the club in a much-improved state than when he arrived in 2013,” Devine said as part of a statement on Thursday night.
“The club thanks ‘Jamo’ for his enormous contribution to our club and its culture, and we look forward to working with him in the quest for continued success in 2018.”
Jamieson said Joeys was a significant part of his life.
“It has been a great part of my life,” he said. “One of my sons is seven now, so he’s been at Joeys all his life and my other son is four, so it’s been part of our family, I suppose, during that time. It’s all my kids have known.
“The time I’ve had there is amazing. The bonus of having some success is obviously why we’re involved in football, and I look forward to hopefully adding to that success again this year.”