FORMER North Melbourne star Scott Thompson and local football great Josh Finch have been added to Geelong’s AFLW coaching staff.
Despite making his name in defence across 241 matches for the Kangaroos, Thompson will take charge of the Cats’ forward line.
Finch, who has won a record four Ash Medals in more than 250 games for Bellarine Football League club Modewarre, will take on a development role alongside backline assistant Tom Stewart.
Thompson is no stranger to GMHBA Stadium having played in a VFL premiership with Geelong in 2007 before being drafted later that year to North Melbourne.
He has moved back to the region to begin the next phase of his life.
“I wanted to stay in footy, and I thought this was a great fit; not a full-time job but a part-time job and with a young family it just fits in really well,” Thompson said.
“(The forward line is) a bit of a change-up from my footy career but hopefully I can teach them a few things that defenders like to do to forwards.
“I’ve got other ambitions outside of footy, but footy has been with me my whole life, and I want to stay in the game.”
Finch is no stranger to coaching having guided Modewarre to its drought-breaking first BFL premiership in 2018 alongside good mate John Meesen.
“To be involved in an elite environment that is AFL standard with AFL coaches it’s going to be unbelievable to see who I am as a person and what I can reach as a coach,” he said.
“Being involved in local footy, the next phase for me was coaching.
“The opportunity to work alongside (Stewart) is going to be great for my coaching.”
Geelong coach Paul Hood says AFLW operations manager Ben Waller’s relationship with Thompson from his VFL stint helped get him to the Cats.
“Benny was able to contact him and gauge his interest in doing some work with us,” Hood said.
“I was really excited to hear that there was the opportunity to get Scott on board.
“We had a couple of chats and spoke about what the AFLW could do to provide a great launchpad into a coaching career, if that’s what he wants.”
Finch, who stood down as coach of Modewarre following its flag success last year, was involved with Geelong’s NextGen Academy during 2019.
“Josh has shown, even though he’s a decorated player, he’s keen to learn on the coaching pathway, and we’re delighted to have him on board,” Hood said.
Twitter: @tom_king79
