Tigers lose a beloved son
Shattock to step down as head coach
FORMER Brisbane Lions premiership player Aaron Shattock has announced he will step down as head coach of the Labrador Tigers QAFL team at the end of the season.
Shattock informed the club of his decision last week and told the Bulletin he could no longer devote the time needed to ensure the club he loves has every opportunity to be successful again.
“I have three young kids and a building business that is getting bigger and I just can’t give it the time it deserves,” Shattock said.
“I still enjoy it and I still love it but it needs someone who is not as busy as me. It’s probably a 20-30 hour a week job.
“It was a pretty tough decision but I have been thinking about it for a while.”
Shattock has been at the heart and soul of Labrador over the past decade. He arrived in 2007 as a player and has been involved nearly every year since, becoming an assistant coach five years ago before taking on the head coaching position at the start of 2017.
Shattock is a Tigers life member and despite the club winning just three out of 15 QAFL games this year, president Nick McGuire said the job was his as long as he wanted it.
The 38-year-old said he believed his time constraints had influenced some of the performances from the team but would leave the position confident the club would bounce back to be among the strongest in the competition again.
“I’m a Labrador person, not a career coach,” Shattock said.
“I coached because it’s Labrador and I love Labrador. It’s a good time to step away while we have still got our core group of players who are at a good age. We have some good kids coming through and it’s important we get a coach who takes it to the next level again.
“Even though we have had a bad year, we are in a pretty strong position. I can sense (the players) need a bit of a change and fresh voice around the place.”
McGuire said Shattock left a massive hole to fill.
“Shatts has made an enormous contribution to our footy club for over 10 years, and in my view has given more to footy in Queensland than any other ex-AFL player in recent history,” McGuire said.
“He started with us as a player and soon became captain. After playing Shatts joined the committee, became an assistant coach and finally senior coach and he is a proud life member of our club. In reality there isn’t much he hasn’t done.
“We have been lucky to have a few high quality ex-AFL players through our club over the years but none have influenced and helped shape the culture of success our club has had in recent years as much as Shatts.”