PAUL Hood says he is “fortunate” to remain as coach of Geelong’s AFLW team as the industry deals with widespread job losses due to the impact of COVID-19.
The Cats have confirmed the re-appointment of Hood for a third season.
“It’s nice to be able to continue in the program and with the team,” he said. “But, front of mind is the difficult time it’s been around the footy club and for the footy club itself.
“And also (I’m) really grateful to the players and staff up in the hub that are keeping the game going.
“The club’s doing a really good job on that front, making sure those of us back home can stay afloat in the game.”
Geelong hasn’t been immune to staff cuts, with around 15 staff out of a job.
Among them are Head of Women’s Football Simone Bellears and AFLW assistant coach and VFLW coach Natalie Wood.
“It’s extremely tough for the program to lose people of the calibre of Simone and Natalie,” Hood said.
“They were outstanding from the inception of the women’s program; both of them worked so hard and had a huge influence in supporting and developing our players, and they will leave a huge legacy.
“We’re really grateful for the work that they’ve done.
“I’m certainly going to miss them. They’re great colleagues and of course great friends. It’s going to be difficult to go to work without them.
“I wish them the best in their futures – they’re both really talented people, and no doubt that the next organisations they work for will benefit from their talents and experience.
Hood concedes he feared for his position following North Melbourne’s decision to part company with AFLW coach Scott Gowans in early June.
However, he says a call from Cats football boss Simon Lloyd put his mind at ease.
“You consider that’s a possibility when you see things happening at other clubs; you start to wonder whether those same things can happen at the club your at,” he said.
“But, I’ve got to be honest, Simon Lloyd was fantastic from that point-of-view. He was on the phone within minutes of that news coming about to reassure me that he wasn’t thinking along those lines.
“He couldn’t guarantee what the future would look like, but he did say that he thought I had a role to play, which was quite reassuring.”
Despite the departure of Bellears and Wood, Hood doesn’t expect to have to take on any greater off-field responsibility than what he already has.
“My primary role will be to coach the team,” he said. “I’m fortunate that Ben Waller’s remained in his position as list manager and operations manager.
“Simon Lloyd will continue to roll out the rest of the staffing model for the women’s program. But that will come in due course.
“My main focus will be to coach the team, and I’m fortunate that’s the role I’ve done before and will be able to maintain.”
Hood said he expects Geelong to maintain its VFLW team and has welcomed discussion around the season running concurrently with the AFLW.
“The exact complexion of it is still being worked out by a VFLW working party at the moment,” he said.
“They probably can’t finalise what that looks like until they know what the competition looks like.
“Geelong wants to have a VFLW team; we need a pathway for young women to come through and develop their skills.
“And it’s really important for us to have our AFLW players playing and developing if they’re not getting a game in the AFLW team.”
