Rodney Eade

Last updated

Rodney Eade
Rodney Eade 2017.jpg
Eade in June 2017
Personal information
Full name Rodney Eade
Nickname(s) Speed, Rocket
Date of birth (1958-04-04) 4 April 1958 (age 66)
Place of birth Tasmania
Original team(s) Glenorchy
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 84 kg (185 lb)
Position(s) Wingman
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
1976–1987 Hawthorn 229 (46)
1988–1990 Brisbane Bears 030 0(3)
Total259 (49)
Coaching career3
YearsClubGames (W–L–D)
1996–2002 Sydney 152 (81–69–2)
2005–2011 Western Bulldogs 162 (88–72–2)
2015–2017 Gold Coast 63 (16–46–1)
Club total
377 (185–187–5)

2011
Representative
Australia

2 (0–2–0)
Total379 (185–189–5)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1990.
3 Coaching statistics correct as of the end of 2016 [1] .
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

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 377 games of AFL football, placing him first on the all-time AFL/VFL list of most games coached without a premiership.

Contents

Playing career

Hawthorn

Recruited from Glenorchy, while still a schoolboy, young Rodney Eade made his VFL debut for the Hawthorn Football Club as an 18-year-old. Playing with a lot of dash and blistering speed, Eade capped off his debut season by playing in the 1976 premiership team. He went on to play in the Hawks' 1978, 1983, and 1986 premierships sides. In all, the winger played 229 games and kicked 46 goals for Hawthorn between 1976 and 1987. [2] [3] [4]

Brisbane Bears

His time at the Hawks finished when he moved to the Brisbane Bears in 1988. Suffering injuries later on as he got older, Eade managed to play 30 games and kicked three goals until his retirement in 1990. [5] [6]

Coaching career

Immediately following his retirement from his playing career at the end of 1990, Eade took up coaching. In 1991 he was the reserves coach of the Brisbane Bears and led the Bears to the reserves' premiership in that season. [7] He later coached the North Melbourne reserves, and led it to the premiership in 1995. These successes at reserves level gave Eade a strong case for a senior coaching job in 1996. [8] [9]

Sydney Swans

Eade was hired as senior coach of the Sydney Swans in the 1996 season, replacing Ron Barassi. In his first year, he took the Swans to the 1996 AFL Grand Final, but they lost to North Melbourne by 43 points. [10] [11] [12] In his second year, in the 1997 season, Sydney finished sixth but were eliminated in the qualifying finals by the Western Bulldogs. [13] In the 1998 season, Sydney improved to third on the ladder and defeated St Kilda in the qualifying finals, before losing to eventual premiers Adelaide in the semi-finals. In the 1999 season, Sydney finished in eighth spot on the ladder, and were eliminated in the qualifying finals after losing to Essendon by 69 points. [14] In the 2000 season, Sydney finished eleventh and missed the finals. In the 2001 season, he took Sydney back to the finals, finishing in seventh spot on the ladder, but they lost to Hawthorn in the elimination final. In the 2002 season, with Sydney's record under Eade becoming worse week by week and being placed fourteenth on the ladder, Eade resigned following a narrow Round 12 loss to Geelong; he was replaced by assistant coach Paul Roos as caretaker senior coach for the rest of the 2002 season and Roos was eventually appointed full-time senior coach. [15] [16] [17]

Western Bulldogs

Eade was appointed senior coach of the Western Bulldogs for the 2005 season, replacing Peter Rohde who was sacked at the end of the 2004 season. [18] [19] [20] In his first season as Bulldogs senior coach, he took an under-achieving Bulldogs side to ninth spot on the ladder, barely missing out on finals after they had finished with less than five wins in the previous two years. In the 2006 season, he took the Bulldogs to the finals for the first time since 2000, when they were coached by Terry Wallace. In the finals, the Bulldogs defeated Collingwood in the elimination finals but lost to eventual premiers West Coast in the semi-finals. Following a sudden downturn during the 2007 season in which the team finished thirteenth, Eade's job was in jeopardy; the club ultimately chose not to fire him, but limited his expansive duties. [21] [22]

In the 2008 season, the Bulldogs finished third on the ladder and made their first preliminary final since 1998, but they were eliminated by eventual runners-up Geelong. In the 2009 season and the 2010 season, Eade took the Bulldogs to two more consecutive preliminary finals, falling to St Kilda on both occasions. [23] [24]

The Western Bulldogs under Eade did not perform well in the 2011 season, being placed twelfth on the ladder. Following a big loss to Essendon by 49 points in Round 21, 2011, it was announced on 17 August 2011 that Eade's contract would not be renewed at the conclusion of the 2011 season. [25] [26] [27] The following day, Eade stepped down as senior coach of the Bulldogs. [28] [29] He was replaced by assistant coach Paul Williams as caretaker senior coach for the remainder of the 2011 season. [30]

Collingwood

On 3 October 2011, Eade was appointed by Collingwood to the position of Football and Coaching Strategist, replacing outgoing coach Mick Malthouse, who had originally planned to step into that role after the 2011 season. [31] [32] [33] [34] In September 2013, Eade changed positions when he was appointed to the position of director of football at Collingwood Football Club. [35]

Gold Coast Suns

On 30 October 2014, Eade was appointed the Gold Coast Suns second senior coach, replacing Guy McKenna. [36] [37] [38] Eade's first year as senior coach, in the 2015 season, was largely unsuccessful as the Gold Coast Suns finished sixteenth on the ladder with four wins and seventeen losses. The Suns were only marginally better in the 2016 season, finishing fifteenth on the ladder with six wins and sixteen losses. After round 20 of the 2017 season, as the Suns sat in fifteenth place with three games remaining, Eade was told his contract would not be renewed. [39] [40] [41] [42] Eade departed immediately and was replaced by assistant coach Dean Solomon as caretaker senior coach for the rest of the 2017 season. [43] [44] [45]

Post-coaching career

On 18 January 2024, it was announced Eade returned to Hawthorn Football Club, the club he formerly played for, in the club's administration department as Capital Campaign Executive, helping elevate fundraising efforts for the Kennedy Community Centre. [46]

Media career

Eade spent 2003 and 2004 as a media writer and commentator. [47]

Cricketing career

Eade was a talented junior cricketer, making his senior cricketing debut for Glenorchy Cricket Club aged 14. On his debut Eade scored 31*, sharing a match saving partnership with future Australian Test cricketer Roger Woolley. [48]

Statistics

Playing statistics

[49]
Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals  
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds  
  H  
Handballs  
  M  
Marks
Led the league after season and finals
SeasonTeamNo.GamesTotalsAverages (per game) Votes
GBKHDMTGBKHDMT
1976 Hawthorn 2694313028158250.40.314.43.117.62.80
1977 Hawthorn 26226824876324450.30.411.33.514.72.00
1978 Hawthorn 26255736286448890.20.314.53.417.93.62
1979 Hawthorn 26219631770387480.40.315.13.318.42.32
1980 Hawthorn 26202130584389990.10.115.34.219.55.06
1981 Hawthorn 26145417061231450.40.312.14.416.53.20
1982 Hawthorn 262335311149460690.10.213.56.520.03.04
1983 Hawthorn 262213297132429720.00.113.56.019.53.33
1984 Hawthorn 262246260100360710.20.311.84.516.43.23
1985 Hawthorn 26215323388321760.20.111.14.215.33.63
1986 Hawthorn 26141217164235460.10.112.24.616.83.30
1987 Hawthorn 2616101887426239240.10.011.84.616.42.41.50
1988 Brisbane Bears 2613141785323162130.10.313.74.117.84.81.00
1989 Brisbane Bears 2612131293716639210.10.310.83.113.83.31.80
1990 Brisbane Bears 265106822901950.20.013.64.418.03.81.00
Career2594955336711244491844630.20.213.04.317.33.31.423

Coaching statistics

[50]
Legend
 W Wins L Losses D Draws W% Winning percentage LP Ladder position LT League teams
SeasonTeamGamesWLDW %LPLT
1996 Sydney 25186174.0%116
1997 Sydney 231211052.2%616
1998 Sydney 24159062.5%316
1999 Sydney 231112047.7%816
2000 Sydney 221012045.5%1016
2001 Sydney 231211052.2%716
2002 Sydney 1238129.2%14^16
2005 Western Bulldogs 221111050.0%916
2006 Western Bulldogs 241410058.3%816
2007 Western Bulldogs 22912143.2%1316
2008 Western Bulldogs 25168166.0%316
2009 Western Bulldogs 25169064.0%316
2010 Western Bulldogs 251510060.0%416
2011 Western Bulldogs 19712036.8%12^17
2015 Gold Coast 22417120.5%1618
2016 Gold Coast 22616027.3%1518
2017 Gold Coast 19613031.5%1518
Career totals377185187549.07%

^Eade resigned twice mid-season; in 2002, Sydney were fourteenth when he resigned and in 2011, the Western Bulldogs were twelfth when he resigned.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Swans</span> Australian rules football club

The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reserves men's team in the Victorian Football League (VFL). The Sydney Swans Academy, consisting of the club's best junior development signings, contests Division 2 of the men's and women's underage national championships and the Talent League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Wallace</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1958

Terry Wallace is a former professional Australian rules football player and coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leigh Matthews</span> Australian rules footballer (born 1952)

Leigh Raymond Matthews is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions in the VFL and renamed Australian Football League (AFL).

The 2002 AFL season was the 106th 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 sixteen clubs, ran from 28 March until 28 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy McKenna</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1969

Guy Lindsay McKenna is a retired Australian rules football player and the former senior coach of the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). McKenna played 267 games for the West Coast Eagles, including the 1992 and 1994 premiership wins. He captained the club between 1999 and 2000 AFL season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Roos (Australian rules footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1963

Paul Roos is a former Australian rules football coach who coached the Sydney Swans and Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). As a player, he represented Fitzroy and Sydney during the 1980s and 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Longmire</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1970

John Longmire is the current coach of the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 2010, and is the longest serving active AFL coach. As a player, he represented the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick Malthouse</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1953

Michael Raymond Malthouse is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, who played for the St Kilda Football Club and Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Paul Williams is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is also a former assistant coach in the AFL, which most notably included a brief period as caretaker coach of the Western Bulldogs towards the end of the 2011 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Solomon</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1980

Dean Solomon is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Solomon served as caretaker senior coach with the Gold Coast Football Club for the last 3 games of the 2017 season, following the departure of senior coach Rodney Eade on 7 August 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Boyd (Australian footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1982

Matthew Keith Boyd is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Before joining the Bulldogs, Boyd had played for Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup and Frankston in the VFL. Boyd is the grand nephew of Australian football vendor icon Johnny Boyd, known as the Peanut Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Dew</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1979

Stuart Dew is an Australian rules football coach and former head coach of the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). As a player, he played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League. Dew was acknowledged as being a long penetrating left foot kick of the football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Lyon</span> Australian rules footballer and coach

Ross Lyon is a former Australian rules football player and the current senior coach of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously coached St Kilda from 2007 to 2011 and the Fremantle Football Club from 2012 to 2019. He played for Fitzroy and the Brisbane Bears from 1985 to 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alastair Clarkson</span> Australian rules footballer and coach

Alastair Thomas Clarkson is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and was previously head coach of the Hawthorn Football Club from 2005 to 2021, where he won four premierships.

The 1995 AFL season was the 99th 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Coast Suns</span> Australian rules football club

The Gold Coast Suns, officially the Gold Coast Football Club, are 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendan McCartney</span> Australian rules football coach

Brendan McCartney is the former senior coach of the Western Bulldogs football club in the Australian Football League (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 since 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 AFL season</span> 117th season of the Australian Football League (AFL)

The 2013 AFL season was the 117th 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 eighteen clubs, ran from 22 March until 28 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.

The 2016 Melbourne Football Club season was the club's 117th year in the VFL/AFL since it began in 1897. In Paul Roos' final season as senior coach before succession coach, Simon Goodwin took over, the club won ten matches out of twenty-two to finish eleventh on the ladder out of eighteen teams and finished on 97.6 percent. It was the club's best season on the field since the 2011 season in which the club finished with eight wins, thirteen losses and a draw, to finish with a percentage of 85.3.

References

  1. "AFL Tables – Rodney Eade – Coaching Record".
  2. "RODNEY EADE" . Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  3. "Champion Tuesday: Rodney Eade". 5 March 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  4. "Sacked podcast 2022: The coaching offer that nobody could convince Rocket not to take". 7 May 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  5. "RODNEY EADE" . Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  6. "Sacked podcast 2022: The coaching offer that nobody could convince Rocket not to take". 7 May 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  7. Glenn McFarlane (29 September 1991). "Brisbane breaks the ice". The Sunday Herald-Sun. Melbourne, VIC. p. 72.
  8. "Roos' turn to celebrate". The Sunday Age (Sports Liftout). Melbourne, VIC. 1 October 1995. p. 13.
  9. "RODNEY EADE" . Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  10. "Timeline: Barassi and Eade deliver hope (1996 – 2005)" . Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  11. "RODNEY EADE" . Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  12. "Sacked podcast 2022: The coaching offer that nobody could convince Rocket not to take". 7 May 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  13. "Timeline: Barassi and Eade deliver hope (1996 – 2005)" . Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  14. "Timeline: Barassi and Eade deliver hope (1996 – 2005)" . Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  15. "Eade quits: Roos tip for job". 25 June 2002. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  16. "Paul Roos started his career at Fitzroy. He's set to end it as a Demon". 6 September 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  17. "RODNEY EADE" . Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  18. "2000s" . Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  19. "RODNEY EADE" . Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  20. "Bulldogs sack Newport". 9 September 2004. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  21. Smith, Patrick. "Eade Cops Rocket after Review." The Australian. 8 November 2007. EBSCOhost: Newspaper Source. Accessed 16 December 2007, http://web.ebscohost.com
  22. "RODNEY EADE" . Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  23. "RODNEY EADE" . Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  24. "Sacked podcast 2022: The coaching offer that nobody could convince Rocket not to take". 7 May 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  25. Wilson, Caroline; Brodie, Will (17 August 2011). "Eade to leave Bulldogs". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  26. "Eade to leave Bulldogs". 17 August 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  27. "Eade to leave Bulldogs". Australia: ABC News. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  28. Kogoy, Peter (18 August 2011). "Paul Williams take reins after Rodney Eade walks". The Australian. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  29. "Eade won't coach again in 2011". 18 August 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  30. "Eade won't coach again in 2011". 18 August 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  31. "Eade to join Collingwood coaching team". 3 October 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  32. "Eade's role questioned". 4 October 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  33. "Eade appointed as Football and Coaching Strategist". 2 October 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  34. "Eade joins Pies' coaching staff". Australia: ABC News. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  35. "Eade confirmed as new Director of Football". 1 September 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  36. "Rodney Eade confirmed as Gold Coast Suns coach". 28 October 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  37. "Gold Coast Suns reach agreement with Collingwood to sign Rodney Eade as new head coach". Australia: ABC News. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  38. "RODNEY EADE" . Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  39. Whiting, Michael (8 August 2017). "Eade out: 'Not even close' on win–loss ratio". BigPond. AFL.com.au. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  40. "Rodney Eade sacked by Gold Coast Suns as AFL coach". Australia: ABC News. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  41. "Gold Coast sack coach Rodney Eade after another disappointing AFL season". The Guardian . 7 August 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  42. "Sacked podcast 2022: The coaching offer that nobody could convince Rocket not to take". 7 May 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  43. Whiting, Michael (8 August 2017). "Eade out: 'Not even close' on win–loss ratio". BigPond. AFL.com.au. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  44. "Gold Coast Suns sack coach Rodney Eade, Dean Solomon steps in as interim coach". 8 August 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  45. "Gold Coast sack coach Rodney Eade, Dean Solomon steps in as interim coach". 8 August 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  46. "Rocket returns to Hawthorn". 18 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  47. "Create an experience with Rodney Eade" . Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  48. Gandy, M., "Tasmania", Australian Cricket, February 1973, Modern Magazines: Sydney, p. 65.
  49. "AFL Tables – Rodney Eade – Stats – Statistics". afltables.com.
  50. "Rodney Eade's coaching profile". AFL Tables.