Rick Munn has bought into St Albans’ bold ambition to return to finals action within three years after being appointed as coach of the GFNL battler.
Munn, an assistant coach to Garry Hocking at premiership contenders Leopold, has accepted a three-year deal with the Supersaints, who last finished the season in the top five in 2003.
He’ll replace Alex Tortora, who will step down following next week’s Round 18 clash with Lara despite having a year to run on his contract.
Munn, whose football background lies in the western suburbs of Melbourne, says he spoke with “a few clubs” before accepting the St Albans role.
“I always wanted to go to the highest level; GFL footy is where I wanted to be,” he said.
“I came down, presented, met the committee, met Craig (Osborne – president), met Sam (Wolfenden – football director).
“I think the aspiration to play finals within three years sends a message to say, “Hey. We’re not happy with being a bottom-four club. We’ve got some aspirations”.
“It’s a strong committee off the field. I watched a game when we (Leopold) had the bye. It’s a great atmosphere; good people around.
“I brought my kids here, and it felt like a great family club to be a part of it.”
A Hoppers Crossing junior who played in a premiership with North Footscray, Munn turned to coaching after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in 2008 while playing with Sunshine.
When Munn returned to the field, he joined the recently formed senior section of Point Cook in the VAFA after receiving a phone call from coach Daniel Fraser, who would later coach GFNL club Grovedale.
“I helped as a playing assistant and was there for four years with ‘Frase’,” he said.
“That was my entry into coaching, and I followed Frase to Werribee when he went there as a development coach.
“I had a year off and joined the board at Werribee.
“During the (Covid-19) pandemic, I went up to Cairns and did two years at Cairns Saints.”
Munn, who has guided Leopold’s under-14 team to this year’s Division 4 grand final, returned to Victoria in the wake of Covid and linked up again with Fraser as an assistant coach at Grovedale before getting a call in the off-season from Leopold.
Osborne says St Albans “had some really good enquiries” about the role.
“During that time, we’ve had a number of conversations with Rick, and he stood out,” he said. “It was an easy decision.
“The day he presented, after he walked out, we said, “He’s the man.”
Since winning five games in the 2019 season, St Albans has won just three of its 63 matches following the year off for Covid, with two of those victories coming last year.
So how does Munn, who will finish up with Leopold’s senior program following Saturday’s clash with North Shore, hope to lift the Supersaints off the bottom of the ladder?
“First of all, we’ve got to attract some talent – we’ve got some points to be able to do that,” he said.
“There’s some ability here. Every GFL club has really good players. I feel like we can get the most out of the current crop while also attracting some talent.
“I think some structure I’ve learnt from my days at Werribee and also now with ‘Buddha’ (Hocking), there’s a gameplan and a program we can look to implement here.
“It’ll be largely focused around defence – really trying to improve that area of the game first.
“And a really strong, bulletproof strength and conditioning program.
“We’ve got the biggest ground in the region. We need to be able to use it.”
Munn’s appointment leaves five clubs actively searching for coaches for 2025.
After Damien McMahon announced earlier this week that he will depart his role at Newtown & Chilwell, the Eagles joined Colac, Lara, and Leopold in looking for replacements.
With the blessing of incumbent Darren Winter, North Shore is also in the market.
X: @krockfootball
