by Ben Martin, Colac Herald
Otway Districts football officials are confident that new senior football coach Shane Boyington is the right man to lead the club in its pursuit of finals next year.
Club president Dean Mahoney announced the former Demon would take the reins for the 2025 season over the weekend.
Boyington played with Otway Districts from 2017 until 2019, and was assistant coach in the final two years under Tom Mullane-Grant and then Zach Hickleton.
Boyington, whose career started in the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League, has spent recent years coaching Barwon Heads’ reserves in the Bellarine league and working with the Seagulls’ senior coaching staff.
He was part of the Barwon Heads coaching panel when it won its senior premiership in 2022, and he led the club’s reserves to a grand final last year.
Mahoney said Boyington was the right man for the Demons’ top job, replacing interim coaches Stewart Sutherland and Jackson Paatsch.
“Boyo had a keen interest in the role from the moment we started searching for a new coach,” he said.
“It’s generally hard to find someone that wants the role without too much persuasion, so we knew we had someone there that was in it for the right reasons.
“He’s been involved in the club as a player and leader before so he knows the club intimately and the type of club we are.
“He’s got existing relationships within the club so he won’t be starting from scratch trying to build these, which can add a level of complexity to a foreign coach’s workload.
“He can hit the ground running, knowing he has the support behind him.”
Boyington and his family are currently on the Gold Coast during a trip around Australia.
While they won’t return until October, the new coach has already begun reaching out to the current playing group to work towards next year.
“Someone said the other day that it shows how much belief he has in the club when he can commit to us while travelling around Australia,” Mahoney said.
“Boyo could have chosen any club anywhere in Australia if he wanted to, but was very keen to return to Otway.
“He is currently on holidays in Queensland but has already got on the front foot and begun work in his role contacting the current list to ensure they’re on board for a big 2025 season.”
The Demons finished the home-and-away season on the bottom of the ladder, but finished the season strongly under Sutherland and Paatsch, winning two of their final three games.
Mahoney said Boyington understood the task ahead.
“He clearly understands what is required to get the senior team to where it deserves to be and is not shying away from the fact that it takes a huge investment in time, resources and commitment levels to achieve this,” he said.
“The experience he’s gained from involvement down at Barwon Heads will bear fruit I’m sure.
“Boyo loves his football and the team environment that it brings, when he applies himself to something he is 100 per cent all in which is what we need at this point in time to get to where we want to be.”
