COACH HADN’T LOST FOR 20 GAMES
THE reason behind Grae Piddick’s removal as head coach of the Gold Coast Knights National Premier Leagues side remains a mystery after the respected and successful mentor was turfed within hours of fulltime on Sunday night.
A year after winning the 2019 NPL Queensland grand final, Piddick and the Knights looked on track for another finals berth and had won six games for the season until a shock 4-1 loss to the bottomranked Sunshine Coast Wanderers on Sunday. The Knights played with 10 men for nearly half the match after goalkeeper Joshua Langdon was sent off but club officials remained largely tight-lipped on Monday.
The club took to social media on Sunday night to advise fans Piddick had been “relieved of first team duties,” effective immediately and promised to release a statement on Monday.
“It was a difficult decision for the club to make but we wish Grae all the best moving forward,” Knights chairman Adrian Puljich told Newscorp.
“Grae is a fantastic coach and mentor to many at the club and we hope he can remain at the club in some capacity.”
It’s understood Piddick had not yet returned from the Sunshine Coast on Sunday when he was informed his Knights coaching tenure had ended.
Players are believed to have received a text message shortly after full-time informing them of the news.
Piddick made no comment to Newscorp, indicating he needed time to process the decision.
Before Sunday’s loss to the Wanderers, Piddick had coached 20 consecutive NPL games without defeat and hadn’t gone down since a 2-1 loss to Lions FC on July 13, 2019.
In the last 4½ years, the Knights have parted ways with three coaches – Oscar Langone, Alex Morrison and now Piddick.
The trio is believed to have combined for just seven losses between them in that time.
Gold Coast Knights fans were left dumbfounded by the decision, many taking to social media to express their disappointment.
“Not sure what else a coach has to do. Win an NPL championship in his first year and hasn’t lost in 25 games until now! Not sure who is in charge and making these questioning decisions. As a loyal fan I’m disappointed,” one fan wrote.
“Quality coach and a quality bloke, won’t be out of a job for too long,” another said.
Another wrote: “Who knows, it looks crazy but maybe good decision.”
It is unclear who will take over coaching reins for the rest of the NPL season.
In Piddick’s first year as head coach, the club reached the round of 32 in the FFA Cup, narrowly losing to 2017-18 A-League runners-up Newcastle Jets 1-0 at Robina.
The Knights also took out the Gold Coast Premier League championship with two rounds to spare to remain undefeated throughout the entire regular season’s fixtures.
The Knights went on to defeat Broadbeach in the 2019 grand final before stepping up into the National Premier Leagues and going on to win the Queensland grand final in their inaugural season.