Portarlington has won the race for the signature of the highly sought-after Michael Herlihy.
The 30-year-old, who spent the past two seasons as coach of Central Murray club Swan Hill, will also join the Demons as an assistant coach, looking after the club’s forward line.
Herlihy, who has moved to the Bellarine Peninsula, has told K rock Football he walked away from a meeting with new Portarlington coach Sam Scott and head of coaching Reece Holwell, impressed with their plans for the club.
“With Port, it started with a phone call with Sammy, and he’s just a genuinely good fella,” Herlihy said.
“So it made me feel really comfortable right away, and I went down and met with him and Reece over the past couple of weeks, and the direction that they’ve put forward to me, I’ve just believed everything that they’ve said.
“They’re such good people and calm, organised, but have a really good plan in place to take Port back to where they belong.
“And getting that bit of success is something I truly believed in, which was obviously a big factor to get me over the line.
“But also joining a community club like Port, and it’s not far from home too, which is nice; but having that community hometown feel as well was obviously a big factor in my decision.”
Herlihy, who started his football journey with Murray league club Numurkah before joining South Bendigo while studying at university, will make a delayed start to the 2026 season.
He is six months into his rehabilitation of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, and has set his sights on a return in early May.
“I’ve started ramping up the running, and the gym’s constant; you’ve constantly got to be onto it and building up that muscle that you lose when you do have the surgery,” Herlihy said
“Everything’s going really well, and it’s getting stronger and stronger, so (I’m) very confident that I can get back within that 12-month time frame and make an impact.
“I think there’s scope to come back a little bit earlier. But I thought, with my age, first ACL, I’m probably better to give it that 12 months and not rush back.
“The Bellarine play 18 games… so I’m only missing four, which shouldn’t be something I should rush back to do.
“I’d be kicking myself if something happened before then, so I think round five would take me to that 12-month mark in surgery.”
Herlihy has made a name for himself as a goalkicking midfielder.
He played 140 games and kicked 178 goals at Numurkah, 32 games for 36 goals at South Bendigo, and 20 games for 28 goals at Swan Hill.
“Coming off an ACL, (I’ll probably ease back into it through a forward line role,” he said.
“Covering less kilometres to start off with, and being a forward line coach, that’s somewhere I can have an immediate impact if I’m coming back from that knee.
“But I think my best footy’s played through the midfield, covering the ground fairly well, and being able to get back on defence, and then set the attacks up from there.
“I pride myself on being able to hit the scoreboard as well as a midfielder.
“So, I think midfield is probably where I want to end up settling down, but if I’m in the forward line, helping coach some of these young kids as well, that’s probably also a good thing for Port.”
Herlihy’s addition to the forward line will also help offset the departure of Connor Menadue.
The former Richmond and North Melbourne player will take the field elsewhere in 2026 after 57 goals in 22 games over the past two seasons at the Demons, including a team-high 34 goals from 13 games to finish ninth on the Bellarine goalkicking table.
“Connor’s made the decision to move on to pursue work opportunities,” Scott said in a statement.
“With where he’s based, it was becoming tough for him to fully commit to our program.
“He’s been terrific for us, and is a quality player and a great person. We wish him nothing but the best with what’s ahead.
“But, we are really excited about the opportunity it provides a few of our younger guys to step up and take on bigger roles.
“There’s a really strong energy around the group at the moment, especially with the talent coming through from our under-18s after their Division 2 preliminary final appearance.
“With these young players coming through and the recruits we have added, we feel really well placed for season 2026.
X: @krockfootball
