McCoombe resigns amid cancer battle
PETER McCoombe has stood down as president of Geelong Cricket Club, revealing he is battling cancer.
McCoombe resigned on Tuesday, just two weeks after informing the club he was scaling back his duties as president in the wake of a prostate cancer diagnosis.
Speaking to the Geelong Advertiser yesterday, McCoombe admitted he had thought “long and hard” about continuing in the role, but stepped aside to concentrate on his health.
“I love the club, so to step back is not something I wanted to do,” McCoombe said.
“Unfortunately it’s something I’d had to do. We’ve done a hell of a lot in the past two seasons with the inclusion of a women’s team and the junior development role.
“Financially, we’ve never been better placed. We’ve got a really good committee and it’s an exciting time at the club.
“The player list has never been healthier or stronger.”
McCoombe met with a urologist on Tuesday and was told he required immediate treatment.
“It was laid out in a sequence of events that I needed to undergo surgery – that I had to have surgery – and also the uncertainty of the recovery meant I could no longer continue,” McCoombe said.
“Prostate cancer is more frequent than breast cancer, so I had to act and I had to act in the best interest of the club. “I couldn’t focus on all things a president has to do, such as the Stage 5 development (of Simonds Stadium) and a whole host of other things. I have to focus on myself.”
The club has accepted McCoombe’s resignation, with acting president Michael Vines expected to be appointed as president at a committee meeting next week.
McCoombe stressed he was in “good spirits”, despite the setback, and would take a keen interest in the club’s progress.
The respected former principal and keen angler is also desperate to fulfil a promise to join boom recruit Tim Ludeman on the water.
“I had planned for Ludey and I to go fishing,” McCoombe revealed.
“We met at the beach at Bancoora, we’d been talking on the phone and emailing, but we’d never met until that day.
“So, I told him that we had to set up a day of fishing and we’ll do that sometime soon.”