We are pleased to announce that Scott Parsonage has accepted the position as COMAG Matamata Swifts coach on a permanent basis for the 2018 football season.

Scott has made more than 200 appearances for the club over three spells since making his debut in 1999 and has been looking after the side in a caretaker role for the last few weeks.

Parsonage is looking forward to the challenge. “I had planned to have another season as a player only, but the opportunity came up and I’m more than happy to step in,” said Parsonage. “We’ve been reasonably successful in the WaiBOP Premiership over the last two seasons, so the challenge is to continue at that level while also implementing a few of my own ideas.”

Swifts President, Dwayne Barlow, is delighted with Parsonage’s appointment. “It’s great to have a locally based coach in charge for the first time in 15 years, particularly someone as qualified and as identified with the club as Scott is,” said Barlow. “We have a good group of players who have performed well over the last couple of seasons and we’re hoping that will continue. There’s also a group of younger players in the senior quad, as well as more coming through in the next couple of seasons, who will benefit greatly from working with Scott.”

The club will soon announce a new team manager as well as coaching support for Scott so he can continue to play. These appointments are important as we look to maintain the smooth running of the team as well as keep training sessions at a consistently high standard throughout the season.

Jeremy Pope will continue as coach of the Richardson Racing Stables Swifts Reserves, a role he maintained in 2017. Scott and Jeremy have already formed a strong coaching relationship, which is vital for the successful running of the senior playing squad.

Parsonage’s appointment comes after Paul Richardson, coach for the last two seasons, resigned recently.