MPFNL 2023: Dromana coach Matt Price resigns after Division 1 grand final win

Win or lose, he was calling it quits.

The Dromana coach became a premiership coach, with his brilliant Tigers storming to a 54-point victory over Frankston YCW.

Price hoisted the cup alongside captain Billy Quigley and celebrated a brilliant 19-1 season.

But the following day, amid celebrations, he chose the moment to tell his players he was stepping down for family reasons.

“I told them the next day when we were celebrating, I got them all in and let them know that I wasn’t going to be coming back,” Price said.

“It was a bit of a shock to some of the players.

“I was a bit flat about it too knowing that it’s going to be wrapping up.

“But we move on and someone else will take over and those guys are pretty driven and they’ll be ready to go next year no matter what.”

Price, 42, is adamant “it’s the right time” to step away from coaching.

He lives in the north-east suburbs, more than 80km from Dromana, and has three young children.

“It’s just the travel with family,’’ Price said.

“The kids are growing up and I’m missing a lot of that time. Yeah, I just want to spend more time with them.

“They’re all at that age where they’re playing junior sport now.

“It would be different if I was 10 minutes down the road from footy but I’m an hour and a bit every time and it just started to get a bit long.

“Whether we won or lost I think I would have wrapped it up…but it was a good way to finish.”

Reflecting on his almost six years at Dromana, Price said he was incredibly fortunate to arrive when he did.

He joined the Tigers midway through 2017 as a player and played in the 2018 MPNFL Division 2 flag.

He was assistant coach in the ‘19 Division 1 flag and then coached the ‘23 premiership.

“I was talking to someone else about it the other day…it wasn’t just me but the time that I arrived at the club they went from strength to strength,’’ he said.

“I just got there at a good time and was rapt to be a part of it to be honest.

“I have lifetime friends there now.”

Price, a former Eastern league star player, has received offers to coach clubs next season but is adamant he will spend time with his family.

“I’ve had a few clubs ring me but I’m just going to have some time off and see what that looks like with the kids,’’ he said.

“If I want to get back into it I might have a look at it. But not this year, not just yet.’’

Price’s former club Coldstream phoned him.

“I have a lot of mates there. They did ask the question but it wasn’t the right time for me,’’ he said.

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“I spoke to another couple of clubs in the east but once again it just wasn’t the right time for me to jump straight back into it. I need some time to reflect.

“Even though I coached for the past four years I played continuously for the last 25 so I haven’t had a break from footy at all.

“It’s just a chance to have a bit of a breather…a chance to reflect on how good the past five years has been.”

Originally published as MPFNL 2023: Dromana coach Matt Price resigns after Division 1 grand final win