By Marcus Uhe
Three key pillars in Emerald’s 2023 Outer East Football Netball premiership success have confirmed that they will step down from their current positions at the conclusion of the 2024 season.
Premiership coach Sein Clearihan, president Mark Pedder and football manager John Rich’s departures will clear the slate for a new era at the Bombers and a series of fresh voices at the helm.
In Clearihan’s three years as senior coach, he lifted the playing group to Premier Division football following the club’s 10th senior flag in Division One last year.
He said he feels it is the right time step away from his current role.
“We’ve been challenged and I’ve got the club to a good spot, and (you shouldn’t) overstay your mark,” Clearihan said.
“I want new challenges and I so bad want coach next year.
“I went to Emerald and it’s been absolutely massive for me.
“We won the grand final last year with three knee reconstructions during the year, my dad passed away just before the finals started.
“There’s a heap of positives to come out of it and everyone wants to better themselves, so hopefully something comes along.”
The vastly experienced football brain won his first flag as senior coach last season after guiding the Bombers to a minor premiership in the home-and-away season.
When he began his tenure, he had a simple aim of making the club a better place, and he feels he has achieved that, along with reaching the pinnacle.
“I think I got the best out of them, they’d never won a first division senior flag and they got that,” he said.
“I think it’s best for the footy club too.
“Coaching now, is really three-four years; there’s a lot of kids that have had their first taste of senior footy in the last three or four years and they’ve only heard my voice.”
Pedder paid tribute to Clearihan’s acheivements, crediting him with making players “fall back in love with footy” after the turbulent Covid-19 period.
“Sein came in at a really interesting time for the club, we were just coming out of Covid-19 and it was tough,” the outgoing president said.
“He really brought excitement back to footy for the guys, he was really the right guy for the right time.
“Game plans and all that sort of stuff he’s great with, but he really built that bound throughout the group.
“He always says to the guys, ‘family is number one, work is number two and footy is number three’. It’s a really good way to go about it.”
Rich, meanwhile is considered the architect behind the club’s recent success, in the eyes of Pedder.
“John put the list together that got us to the grand final in both netball and football,” he added.
“His work behind the scenes is fantastic.
“The mount of people he knows, the contacts he’s got, the way he conducts himself and goes about what he does, has been first class.”
For Pedder, it will bring a six-year presidency stint to an end, having seen the highs and lows of sporting administration during his tenure.
He steered the club through the hardships of Covid-19 and an $8000 fine saw a salary cap breach this year, but saw an A-Grade netball premiership and his son Jake lift the trophy with Clearihan and Nic Jansen as Division One football premiership co-captains in 2023.
He said that moment was “hard to beat” in terms of highlights, along with the friendships built along the way.
“Being able to go down there and spend time with your friends, where your son plays and your wife is involved, is the best part of it,” he said.
“You get to hang out with some great people and build your relationship with players.
“It’s the same with business, you’ve got to have a different voice and someone come in with fresh ideas and can do some stuff better than what I’ve been doing it, which is what every club does.
“I think it’s just time.”
Acknowledging the risk in having too many key figures depart the club all at once, Pedder feels that the clean slate could be beneficial for the club as it embarks on a new era.
“There certainly is (a risk) but really when you look at it, if you get a good senior coach, potentially they’ll want to bring their own team with them, as far as footy manager and assistant coaches, and that might be a positive for us, to have those two positions opened at the same time.”
The challenge for the Bombers in the remainder of the season is to stay in Premier Division, but that became a little harder on Saturday as the result of an 82-point loss to Narre Warren.
The Magpies kicked five of the first goals of the afternoon and kicked at least four in each period, to win 21.13 139 to 8.9 57 at home.
Sam Toner, Will Howe and Riley Siwes each kicked four goals the Magpies, who reinforced the gap between the top of Premier Division and Division One.
“They’re a very quality unit that have played a lot of footy together, and they hurt you,” Clearihan said.
“Us last year, we brought the pressure and when we brought the pressure, sides fumbled and we executed off their mistakes.
“That’s what they do but it’s at a different level. “
Jack McGough, Isaac Seskis and Joshua Webb were among Emerald’s best.
