Team GWS today announced that Graeme Allan, who has overseen four AFL premierships as a Football Manager, has been appointed to head up the Team GWS Football Department.
Allan will take on the role of Football Manager at Team GWS after the Brisbane Lions today released him from the last year of his contract with the club. It is expected that Allan will begin his role with Team GWS in the coming weeks.
Highly respected for his football administration and recruiting knowledge, Allan has been the Football Manager at Brisbane since 1998 and oversaw the Lions’ football department during Brisbane’s premiership hat-trick in 2001-03.
He had previously been Football Manager at Collingwood from 1986 to 1997 and was instrumental in Collingwood’s drought-breaking premiership win in 1990. Before that he played 141 VFL games with Fitzroy and Collingwood.
David Matthews, the AFL’s General Manager of Development who has been chairing the Football sub-committee for Team GWS, said Allan had the perfect mix of football administration and recruiting knowledge to lead the establishment of the Team GWS football department.
“Gubby Allan is an astute football administrator who has been involved in building four premiership sides with Collingwood and Brisbane and knows well the challenges of building support in a competitive market,” Mr Matthews said.
“This job requires someone who has those skills and knows how to put together a successful department. After being one of the senior football administrators who served on the list concessions committee for the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, he was attracted by the challenge of starting a new club.”
Allan said he was excited by the prospect of being part of the AFL’s 18th club.
“Brisbane is a fantastic club and both the playing list and the club is in a strong position and in good hands with Michael as coach and now is the right time to take on a new opportunity,” Mr Allan said.
“I have been fortunate to be involved in premierships with two great clubs in Brisbane and Collingwood but the chance to work with a start-up club and build a football team from scratch is a rare opportunity.
Allan said he was excited to start working with Team GWS coach Kevin Sheedy, Alan McConnell, Tom Harley and Paul Kelly.
“Team GWS has a strong core of people with good football knowledge and strong values which is a great foundation to build a strong culture that represents the people of Greater Western Sydney.”
Team GWS COACH Kevin Sheedy welcomed the appointment and said that Allan was an innovator and top football administrator who would be a great addition to Team GWS.
“The last time Gubby Allan and I put our heads together in 1995 we created the Anzac Day match to honour our servicemen and women,” Sheedy said,
“I am looking forward to working together to build a strong team that gels together and really brings together something special that represents the people of Greater Western Sydney.”
“We are building a great team of people in this organisation from Alan McConnell, Tom Harley and Paul Kelly to the guys like Grant Mayer and Andrew Hill who have had successful careers in the NRL and really know the sporting landscape across Greater Western Sydney. Gubby adds even more experience,” Sheedy said.
