Brendan McCartney (born 23 October 1960) is the former senior coach of the
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition.
Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...
football club in the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
(AFL). He coached 66 games in 3 seasons before he resigned from the job.
He has served as the development and strategy coach of the
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...
since 2015.
Playing career
In his playing days, Brendan McCartney played in the
Geelong Football League
The Geelong Football Netball League is an Australian rules football and netball league in Victoria, Australia. It is widely regarded as the highest standard Australian rules football league in regional Victoria, with several former AFL players n ...
for the
Newtown & Chilwell Football Club
Newtown & Chilwell Sporting Club, nicknamed the ''Eagles'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the inner western suburb of Newtown, Victoria.
The club teams currently compete in the regional Geelong Football Netball Lea ...
. He is one of the few AFL coaches who never played at the highest level. His father,
Graeme McCartney, played one senior game with
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
in 1957.
Coaching career
After persistent injury curtailed his local playing career and premature retirement at 27, he first began coaching Newtown & Chilwell's reserves. Soon after, McCartney was appointed the head coach of the
Ocean Grove Football Club
The Ocean Grove Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Grubbers'', is an Australian rules football and netball club that plays in the Bellarine Football League (BFL) and situated in the town of Ocean Grove, Victoria.
History
The club started ...
. He guided the football club to four consecutive
Bellarine Football League
The Bellarine Football Netball League (BFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in the Bellarine Peninsula region of Victoria, Australia. Established in 1971 as the Bellarine & District Football League, the competition ...
premierships from 1994 until 1997.
Richmond Football Club assistant coach
In 1998, he took a role with AFL club
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
as assistant and development coach.
Geelong Football Club assistant coach
From 2000 to 2010, McCartney was an assistant coach with
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 ...
.
In 2010, McCartney was voted the AFL's assistant coach of the year by the
AFL Coaches Association awards.
Essendon Football Club assistant coach
McCartney moved to be the assistant coach in the position of forward line coach at
Essendon Essendon may refer to:
Australia
*Electoral district of Essendon
*Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington
*Essendon, Victoria
**Essendon railway station
**Essendon Airport
*Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League
United King ...
in 2011.
Western Bulldogs senior coach
Shortly after the conclusion of the
2011 AFL season
The 2011 AFL season was the 115th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989.
The season featured s ...
, McCartney was appointed as the senior coach of the
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition.
Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...
under a three-year contract, replacing the outgoing caretaker senior coach
Paul Williams, who replaced
Rodney Eade
Rodney Eade (born 4 April 1958) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach in the Australian Football League. He is a former coach of the Sydney Swans, the Western Bulldogs and the Gold Coast Football Club. He has, to date, coached 37 ...
, after Eade stepped down during the
2011 season with three games left to go in the season after Eade was told he would not receive a contract extension for the Bulldogs. When McCartney was appointed as the Bulldogs senior coach, he edged out favourite and former Bulldog
Leon Cameron
Leon Cameron (born 2 September 1972) is a former Australian rules footballer who is the former senior coach of the Greater Western Sydney Giants (GWS) in the Australian Football League (AFL). His AFL playing career lasted from 1990 to 2003 an ...
who was well regarded as a "high quality field".
He took the Western Bulldogs for their training session for the first time on 7 November 2011.
In McCartney's first season as Bulldogs senior coach in the
2012 season, McCartney guided the Bulldogs to finish fifteenth on the ladder with five wins and seventeen losses. McCartney came under heavy criticism after the Bulldogs lost to expansion team
Gold Coast Suns
The Gold Coast Suns is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast in the suburb of Carrara.
The club has been playing in the AFL since th ...
in Round 8 during the
2013 season, but the team had a better second half to the season, which included promising performances against top 8 teams Essendon, Hawthorn and Sydney, as well as wins against Carlton, West Coast and Adelaide. McCartney guided Bulldogs to finish fifteenth on the ladder again for the second straight year in a row at the end of the 2013 season, this time with eight wins and fourteen losses. As a result of the encouraging performances in the second half, McCartney received a two-year contract extension on 26 November 2013 and he was to be contracted to the end of the 2016 season.
In the
2014 season, McCartney guided Bulldogs to finish fourteenth on the ladder with seven wins and fifteen losses. Following speculation after the
2014 AFL season
The 2014 AFL season was the 118th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured ei ...
, which concluded with the Bulldogs losing to in the final match of the regular season in Round 23, 2014, McCartney resigned as senior coach of the Western Bulldogs on 10 October 2014, at the conclusion of the 2014 season. When captain Ryan Griffen announced he wanted to leave the club the day before McCartney's resignation, it was reported that McCartney's relationship with Griffen caused him to want to leave the club. McCartney coached Western Bulldogs Football Club to a total of 66 games with 20 wins and 46 losses to a winning percentage of 30 percent. McCartney was then replaced by
Luke Beveridge
Luke Beveridge (born 23 August 1970) is an Australian rules football coach and former player who played for Melbourne, Footscray and St Kilda in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1990s. He is head coach of the Western Bulldogs.< ...
as the Western Bulldogs senior coach.
Melbourne Football Club assistant coach
McCartney joined the
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...
coaching staff in an assistant coaching role as a development and strategy coach under senior coach
Paul Roos from the 2015 season. McCartney left the Melbourne Football Club at the end of the 2019 season.
In October 2019, McCartney stated that he left the Melbourne Football Club after he "started losing the drive and motivation that came with preparing the team both during the weekend and on game day" and "I just felt myself losing a love of the element to the week, I stepped forward and said to the coaches in a bit of mid-season review that it was time to step back".
Coaching statistics
:
Brendan McCartney's coaching profile at AFL Tables
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! colspan=2, Career totals
! 66
! 20
! 46
! 0
! 30.3%
! colspan=2,
References
External links
Western Bulldogs Football Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCartney, Brendan
1960 births
Living people
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia)
Western Bulldogs coaches
Newtown & Chilwell Football Club players
People from Swan Hill