Former St Kilda star David Armitage has moved into coaching, taking over at local club Palm Beach Currumbin on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Armitage, who hails from Queensland, played for the club on three occasions in 2023 and has now signed on to coach in 2024 and 2025.
Palm Beach Currumbin is one of the region’s best clubs and they produced three first-round draft picks in 2023, with Jed Walter, Ethan Read and Will Graham all moving from the local club to Gold Coast via their Academy.
In the seniors, Armitage has already made a signing with recently retired AFL ruckman Tom Hickey joining the QAFL side.
Armitage is looking forward to coaching a player that could have potentially played at the top level in 2024.
“It’s going pretty good, we got big Tom Hickey,” Armitage told SEN Breakfast.
“Big Tommy just finished up at the Swans, he was really good with them.
“He probably could have gone on again with the Swans to be honest, but he’s got three beautiful young kids and his wife Chloe.
“They wanted to get up (to Queensland) they have a house in Bonogin which is actually about 500m from the ‘Big Bud, Lance Frankin in Reedy Creek.”
Speaking of Franklin, Armitage is even holding out hope that the 36-year-old could make an appearance for the club in 2024 now that he resides on the Gold Coast.
Armitage believes Franklin playing local QAFL footy could be as big of an event as Wayne Carey’s cameo with Maribyrnong Park in the Essendon District Football League.
“Hopefully we can get him to play a game,” Armitage laughed.
“I think the big Duck (Wayne Carey) played a quarter (of local footy for Maribyrnong Park) and did his hammy. It was a big event.
“If we can get the Buddy Show happening, that'd be huge.
“He’s 15 minutes (from the club) if that. It’s in the pipeline (laughs)!”
After still averaging 1.5 goals a game in his last season of AFL football, there’s no doubt that Franklin could do some serious damage if he ever wanted to suit up for the Palm Beach Currumbin Lions next season.