West Coast’s coach, MICHAEL PRIOR, has resigned, the club has revealed.
Since Prior took command at the start of the sixth season, the Eagles have won only five of 28 games.
The team is now third from the bottom, with only two wins this season.
West Coast announced Prior’s departure from the coaching position in a statement on Wednesday, with assistant coach Rohan McHugh taking over for the next two games of the season.
Prior will remain in West Coast’s community and game development department, and he stated that the 2023 season was always going to be his final as head coach.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the role as senior coach of this amazing group,” Prior said in a statement.
“These players have exciting potential in the future, but after three seasons, I believe it is time for a new voice.”
“I decided earlier in the season that this would be my final season as senior coach, and I believe the time has come to step down.” After being a part of a thrilling win at Windy Hill on Sunday, I’ll leave on a high note.
“I would like to thank the players and staff for their support over the last three seasons and I look forward to seeing their continued growth.”
Prior’s departure comes less than a fortnight after he made “unacceptable” statements following his team’s devastating defeat to Narrm, in which he bemoaned being drawn against the reigning premiers.
Players with one year remaining on two-year contracts must decide whether to honor the second year of their contracts in the coming days, and Prior’s abrupt departure is expected to provide them with clarity on the club’s future.
On Saturday, the Eagles will face the Western Bulldogs, who are currently in last position.
Prior had previously come under fire in early 2022 for remarking “I think we’ve done the pride stuff to death to be honest” when asked about West Coast’s absence of a specifically tailored Pride Round guernsey. He later explained his stance, claiming that his remarks were to his desire to talk about football rather than the lack of a guernsey, and that “footy is a game for everyone, and the West Coast Eagles welcome everyone as part of the footy family.”
Prior took over as coach of the Eagles’ AFLW team in September 2021, succeeding Daniel Pratt. He was previously the head coach of West Coast’s high performance academy and is a former West Coast and Essendon AFL player.
Eagles CEO Trevor Nisbett stated that the search for Prior’s replacement would begin at the end of the season.
“Michael assumed the role in difficult circumstances where our AFLW team played two seasons in the same year,” Nisbett told reporters.
“I’d like to thank him for his dedication to the program and for his role in shaping what we believe is a squad capable of developing into a formidable team.”
“We will play out the season and then navigate our way forward as we search for a senior coach.”
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