Sport
1 September, 2022
Talbot coach Daniel Romeo steps down, but says future is bright with replacement locked in
A decision six weeks in the making has become public knowledge this week, with Talbot coach Daniel Romeo stepping down, citing family and work commitments. Romeo steps down after three years in the role, which has seen him navigate the tricky return...
A decision six weeks in the making has become public knowledge this week, with Talbot coach Daniel Romeo stepping down, citing family and work commitments.
Romeo steps down after three years in the role, which has seen him navigate the tricky return to football in the backdrop of COVID, as well as trying to get the Hawks back into the finals race.
Talbot have also wasted no time in deciding their replacement for Romeo, announcing Phil Crouch as their senior coach for 2023 on their social media channels on Wednesday night.
Crouch arrives having previously been the football manager at the North Ballarat Football Club, while he has also had stints as a player and coach at Wickliffe/Lake Bolac, Hamilton and Beaufort, and has signed with the club for two years.
Although the Hawks ultimately missed the finals this season at Dunolly’s expense in the final round, the positives are clear to see at Talbot at the moment, as Romeo reflects on his role at the club, with the reserves team and under 14s progressing to a preliminary final, while the under 17s play in a semi final this week.
“The buy-in from the boys was what I enjoyed most about my time at Talbot. They embraced what I wanted to do, and we could see how quickly the young guys we had were able to develop through last year and this year. “We were able to get a lot of game time into those guys, and they’ve proven that they’ll be really good senior footballers at Talbot. They’ll be the two things I’ll take away from my time there,” he said.
“The 11s, 14s and 17s are all in great shape — to get the 17s back last year was huge for our club. The seniors are going to start to reap the rewards over the next few years — to play guys like Jude McGuire, Alex Marshall and Trent Severino in consistent games of football and being able to debut guys like Kade Hyde and Zach Douglas and those kinds this year is the next step.
“You can see it with some of the earlier results with the team becoming more competitive at reserves level with young guys competing for spots. We’ve probably taken a bit of pain playing younger guys this year, but that’s what I wanted to do by playing them so it can set up the club for years to come. It shows the depth of our club at the moment, which is really exciting.”
Romeo says he made his ultimate call following discussions about where he was at in regards to next year, thanks to the desire to progress his career outside of football, as well as looking after his family.
“I probably made the call six weeks ago. We started talking about next year and they wanted to gauge where I was at, and I just told them then that I would probably step away and focus more on family for the next couple of years,” he said.
“The travel wasn’t easy as well — I work in Bacchus Marsh, so being able to get to training when I’m trying to move up at work impacted how much I wanted to commit, and I didn’t want to do things in halves, so I felt like if I wanted to do what I want to do at work, I wouldn’t have been able to do the same kind of job at Talbot, as it’s so far away, so it made it hard unfortunately.”
However, while Romeo has stepped down from coaching for now, it won’t stop him from pursuing the career, saying his experience at Talbot will hold him in good stead for his future.
“Senior coaching is something I want to do — whether I take a year or two off, it’s something I want to do down the track. The other tough thing is once it becomes public, people start to reach out from other clubs and ask questions. But to me, it’s all about getting the balance right, which is what I have told other people, making sure I’ve stepped away for a reason. I wanted to make sure my family is all good, and work is a priority at the moment,” he said.
“Down the track, you never know what might happen, but I do want to continue my journey. Talbot have been brilliant for me over the last three years, but I want to take a break, fine-tune my craft while I’m away, and see what happens.”
The Hawks have been proactive in ensuring they could lock away their senior list, and Romeo says that the way they’ve gone about their list management strategy has been clever, while also praising the appointment of Crouch as coach.
“He (Crouch) will be sensational, I’ve already spoken to him a few times, and he’s going to be an impressive signing,” he said.
“If we’re able to continue to recruit and build upon what we’ve got, with some of our re-signings that have come through early, it shows the club has done well to keep the core for next year. It holds us in really good stead.
“Jayson Atkins, who won our best and fairest last year, and will go close again, has signed on, Sam Hitchings has also signed on, he’ll also go close to this year’s award, some of those key guys have been signed away already, and the club have also shown faith with the younger guys by signing them quickly, which was smart to make sure they stay around Talbot for a long time.”
Talbot, with Crouch now at the helm, will look to build upon a season that finished with a 7-9 win-loss record for their senior team in 2023.