Image: AFLNT/Celina Whan
Shannon Motlop was sacked by PINT Football Club earlier this week.
The 1996 North Melbourne premiership player, who also spent time with Melbourne, was removed from his role as head coach at PINT despite reaching the NTFL Premier League finals last season.
What was significant was that it was PINT’s inaugural finals appearance in just their second season in the NTFL’s premier competition.
Motlop left his home club Wanderers with brother Steven, who played 217 games for Geelong and Port Adelaide, in an attempt to guide PINT forward.
However, he was axed after two seasons and the 45-year-old clearly did not agree with the decision to part ways, taking to Facebook to express his disappointment.
Read Motlop’s post below:
“I just wanna thank everyone for the kind messages and support. It's not easy to have all your hard work ripped out from underneath and my heart was fully in it.
“The PINT FC have made the best decision for me and the people I've taken to the club, and in the end I welcome it with open arms and feel the relief.
“They believed I underachieve(d) which is a load of crap and everyone knows we were tracking pretty well by playing finals in only our second season in the comp.
“They told me I underachieved and should have won a grand final. They didn’t see me winning one for them.
“They had me long gone well before they conducted a player review and used the player review in a way that best suited their delivery of the bad news.
“Yes I did upset someone! But…they deflected and argued with me every time I asked them to follow my direction and that was mostly based around getting locals and adding more speed into our team. Strong disagreements developed and now they can fall on their sword because they chose to take their own path.
“I didn’t make everyone happy including the players but it was my job to decide what was best for the team and I back my knowledge over most people at that club who have zero Premier League experience.
“While I loved the people that I met it’s very hard for me to say this was a good experience. They begged me to coach and then they made me chase the shit out of my brother and used me in the process. Everyone would have known how hard it was for us to leave Wanderers to go there but with the runs on the board they suddenly have a crystal ball that tells them I can’t win a Premiership.
“I’m sorry if this upsets some people but I’m sick of being nice! I give people a lot in the footy world and don’t get much respect back!”
Motlop had previously taken Wanderers from second last on the NTFL ladder to a Preliminary Final before moving to the Greenants.
Former Carlton midfielder Lochie O’Brien spent part of the 2023/24 NTFL season with PINT, playing six games, while former West Coast player Luke Partington was also a key contributor there.
SEN Top End’s Jackson Clark, Nic O’Riley and Raph Clarke discussed the Motlop sacking and the lack of communication from PINT regarding the significant decision.
Listen on Fridays In The Top End below:
