By Jonty Ralphsmith
Dandenong Stingrays girls coach Josh Moore has resigned as head coach of the female program.
Moore has served as the Stingrays’ girls regional development coach for each of the past two seasons, the first two that the Coates League girls have had a full time coach, and left a profound impact on the program.
It follows five seasons as a senior assistant coach heading the midfield in the boys program, with Moore taking a role in Essendon’s AFLW recruiting department.
Moore will coach the first two games of the Stingrays season, and the Vic Country under-16s before transitioning into his new role, giving the AFL a month to find a replacement coach.
“The Stingrays and AFL are a good platform to develop coaches but the real grounding they gave me was to develop my leadership which will translate into my new role,” Moore said.
“There’s lots of great leaders within Stingrays, Vic Country and the AFL.
“I’ve learned the right way to do things so I’m very grateful to all three organisations.”
AFLW players Mikayla Williamson, Meg Robertson, Elli Symonds and Zoe Besanko are among the players Moore has mentored in their talent pathways career.
“I’m pretty proud of all the players that got drafted during my time, especially in the girls program, being head coach and seeing girls get onto AFLW lists,” the respected mentor said.
“They’re memories I’ll cherish, and the draft nights were special.
“I’ve coached hundreds of amazingly talented footballers, and I’d like to continue to watch their journey whether that’s at AFL, AFLW, VFL, VFLW or even local footy.
“All the players I have coached, I continue to follow their progress and the relationships you form with staff you love and is why you do it.”
Moore highlighted boys coach Nick Cox and long-time wellbeing co-ordinator Kellie Fallon as important pillars, with both serving in their roles across Moore’s entire tenure at the ‘Rays.
“I took lots of learnings from ‘Coxy’ and I was still working out what sort of coach I was (when I came in) but with his and many others’ help, I worked that out and my style and was able to grow from there,” Moore said.
“‘Coxy’ has a lot of strengths to his coaching, and I’ve been able to put that into my coaching and leadership style.
“I’ve always had him for support and mentorship and we’ve been able to bounce ideas off each other and help each other along the journey.
“Kellie Fallon has been an absolute rock for me: every program I’ve been in, she’s been there.
“We’ve got a really good working relationship built on trust and respect so those two people I’ll keep in my corner going forward.”
Dandenong Stingrays was contacted for comment.
