Morgan takes the reins


Published on Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Author : Josh Ward

2019 VU Western Spurs premiership skipper and former Collingwood AFLW player Tara Morgan says she is looking forward to embarking on her new coaching journey.

Morgan was last week announced as coach of the Spurs’ first side – where she will work alongside former coaches Christina Polatajko and Ian Denny.

Polatajko, an assistant coach of Hawthorn’s VFLW team, will serve as the Spurs’ Head of Coaches, while Denny has signed on as the club’s Coaching Development Manager.

Morgan moves into coaching following a decorated career as a player.

She played 11 AFLW games for Collingwood during the 2017 and 2018 campaigns, and also represented Carlton and Western Bulldogs in the VFLW and South Fremantle in the WAWFL.

Morgan was co-captain of the VU Western Spurs side that claimed the 2019 NFNL Division 1 Women’s premiership, going through the campaign undefeated.

Unfortunately, her 2021 campaign was limited to just one game due to an ACL injury, but Morgan told NFNL.org.au her experiences this season became the main factor for pursuing the Spurs’ coaching job.

“I’ve been pretty lucky to have some great coaches over the years. They’ve really made a big impact on my life,” Morgan said.

“I’ve done a bit of playing footy, and I think I have a lot to offer girls and women to help develop their football, at the same time as learning myself.:

“(I’m) definitely excited to coach back at a club I had played for so long with and really enjoy.”

Morgan said the opportunity to work alongside the likes of Polatajko and Denny would be beneficial in her first foray into coaching.

“They’re going to make coaching a lot easier with having the knowledge the both of them have,” Morgan said.

“Ian having extreme knowledge in football and then ‘Taco’ in women’s Division 1.

“All the coaches across the board are very lucky to have those two.”

Due to Covid restrictions, Morgan hasn’t yet been able to meet with the playing group, but she was confident everyone would be ready to commence training once the green light was given.

“I think the girls are ready to come back. I know a few of them are doing a pre pre-season,” she said.

“Once we get that official date of pre-season beginning, I think we’ll find there’ll be a lot of people there at training.”

Morgan said the while she hoped to keep the club’s core group of players, the Spurs would always welcome new players wishing to join the club.

“Always easy to work with a core group, but at the Spurs we love having new players and inviting them in. We always look for that,” she said.

“We had a few injuries last year and couldn’t always play with a full bench.

“There’s room for people to come across and we might find that given lockdown, people that retired might come out of the woodworks too and enjoy their footy again.”

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