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RELATED – COMER REPLACES DILLON AS NEWBRIDGE COACH
RELATED – NORTH BENDIGO COACH STEPS DOWN
THE saying “when one door closes another one opens” applies to Matt Dillon’s coaching career.
After he wasn’t reappointed as coach at Newbridge, Dillon hasn’t had to wait long for his next opportunity.
Dillon has been appointed the new coach of North Bendigo in the Heathcote District league, taking over from Rob Bennett.
“It has all happened in a bit of a whirlwind… I definitely wanted to keep coaching, but it wasn’t just a case of taking any job that was thrown up, it was to take one with a bit of purpose,” Dillon said on Wednesday.
“Looking at the job ahead at North, it fits the bill in terms of being a quality club with what it has done over the past few years and being very professional in how they go about it.
“With the success they’ve had over the past few years, that doesn’t come without a lot of hard work and good people involved, so that was really appealing. I’m really fortunate the opportunity has come up,”
Dillon spent the previous four seasons coaching Newbridge in the Loddon Valley league for a 35-32-1 record.
The Maroons this year had their best finish under Dillon when they reached the preliminary final.
Dillon takes over at North Bendigo on the back of the Bulldogs having played in the past four grand finals, winning premierships in 2015 and 2016.
At this stage the Bulldogs have lost Brady Herdman and Brett Strange (retired), Sam Barnes and Jaran McKay (Wedderburn) and Joel Helman (Cohuna).
“There’s obviously going to be some change in personnel and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of keeping the club up around the top,” Dillon said.
“In the past it was about building up a club and getting them in a position to challenge for success.
“Now it’s a challenge of a group that has had success, but was disappointed with how it finished this year (grand final loss to Leitchville-Gunbower).
“I’m aware Rob Bennett and the committee have done a massive amount of work and you have to respect that and not come in and completely change things.
“What they have done has been successful and it’s about bringing a few new ideas and building on what has already been put in place.”
As well as Dillon’s senior role, the Bulldogs have also announced Cam Lomas, who coached this year’s reserves premiership, would continue in the role.