The Committee of the Old Xaverians Football has completed its annual end of season football performance review. The purpose of the review is to assess team performance by reviewing on and off-field factors that enable the club to effectively plan and respond to needs of our players for the upcoming season.

Following the review, the Committee has elected not to extend the appointment of Paul Satterley as senior coach. Paul joined our club this year and made a positive contribution to improving the on-field results for our senior team. We thank Paul for his hard work and his leading role in lifting the senior team back into finals this year. In his short time with us, he impressed everyone at the club with his friendly and approachable manner.

On behalf of our members, corporate partners and players,  we thank him and his family for their contribution and wish him continued success in his future football coaching endeavours. Paul will always be welcomed at our football club.

In positioning our club for further success in 2020 and beyond, we believe we are well placed to build upon our existing coaching foundations. Accordingly, we are delighted to announce the appointment of James Byrne as our senior coach.

As Assistant Coach of our senior team over the past two seasons, James has consistently demonstrated the leadership qualities, football knowledge and player engagement that will enable our senior team to achieve further on-field success.

Prior to joining Old Xaverians, James played with the Adelaide Crows in the AFL and then was captain of Geelong’s VFL side, which he led to a premiership in 2007. He was awarded the JJ Liston Medal as the best and fairest player in the VFL competition in that year. Following his playing career, James continued his involvement in the game as a development coach at Essendon Football Club and joined our club in 2018.

We are also delighted to confirm that James will be supported by Daniel Donati, who will continue as Assistant Coach. Further announcements regarding senior coaching support team members will be advised in the coming weeks.

2019 has been an important step forward for our club, as reflected by eight of our nine teams making finals, including three premierships from our Reserves, Thirds and Under 23 teams. Our goal is to deliver sustained on and off-field success for all our teams, players, corporate partners and members and we look forward to further success in 2020.

Matthew Cosgrave
President

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