North Melbourne and senior coach Rhyce Shaw have parted ways effective immediately.
Shaw took leave from the club following the end of the 2020 season to deal with personal issues.
He took over the reins following Brad Scott’s departure in 2019, and was named senior coach later that year.
Read the full statement released by the Kangaroos below.
The North Melbourne Football Club and senior coach, Rhyce Shaw, have come to a mutual decision to part ways, effective immediately.
We fully support him and have been in constant contact since the conclusion of the season. At all times, our focus has been on the health of wellbeing of Rhyce and providing adequate care for him and his family.
Since taking on the role as caretaker coach in the middle of the season in 2019 and then senior coach for 2020, Rhyce has given his all to the club.
He has been an exceptional leader and is a man of the highest integrity. His work ethic is unparalleled, and we are truly grateful for the time, effort and energy he’s put into the role.
We will continue to work with Rhyce to ensure he has all the support he needs.
I’d like to thank you, our members, for your patience and understanding as we’ve worked through this delicate issue.
I’d also like to thank the media again, for the care and sensitivity they’ve shown. I hope this becomes a new benchmark for the way we deal with similar issues in the future, should they arise. We continue to ask that Rhyce’s privacy and that of his family, continue to be respected.
As for the next steps, over the past few weeks we have had to plan for several contingencies. One of those was to prepare to be on the hunt for a new coach and that search begins immediately.
We will establish a coaching panel setup and its aim will be simple: to identify and appoint the best coach available.
The successful candidate will have the opportunity to continue to build towards the next era of success at Arden St and work with one of the most talented groups of young players in the league.
We will head to the draft with two first-round picks (currently 2 & 9) and will look to add more young talent through the trade and free agency periods.
"I have great faith in those leading the football department in Brady Rawlings, Scott Clayton, Mark Finnigan and Glenn Luff, to create something special and believe there’s a great nucleus of youth to build around and add to including the likes of Jy Simpkin, Tarryn Thomas, Nick Larkey, Curtis Taylor, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Bailey Scott, Cameron Zurhaar, Aiden Bonar, Ben McKay, Kyron Hayden, Flynn Perez, Jack Mahony, Tristan Xerri and Charlie Comben."
"Mix in some seasoned players in Todd Goldstein, Jack Ziebell, Robbie Tarrant, Ben Cunnington, Josh Walker, Jared Polec, Aaron Hall, Kayne Turner, Taylor Garner, Luke McDonald, Jed Anderson and Trent Dumont, and we have a great list full of flexibility and a lot of excitement."