Western Bulldogs premiership coach Paul Groves is on the verge of returning to his old job at Whitten Oval as Hawthorn considers whether to hand Daniel Harford a second go at the helm of an AFLW side.
Groves, who led the Bulldogs to their only AFLW flag in 2018, is the leading contender for their senior coaching position as the club conducts its final round of interviews this week.
It’s understood a handful of candidates remain in contention to replace Nathan Burke after he was sacked in November with a year remaining on his contract as the Bulldogs slumped to the wooden spoon with a 1-9 record, including former North Melbourne coach Dani Laidley, who also applied for the West Coast job.
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Melbourne assistant coach and Sandringham Dragons under-18 girls’ head coach Tamara Hyett is also among the final names under consideration.
Groves could return to Whitten Oval after ending his inaugural three-year stint ahead of the 2020 season due to increasing family commitments.
He took up a position running the sports department at Parade College before becoming director of sport at St Bernard’s College, while he also coached St Bernard’s senior men in the VAFA between 2020 and 2022.
Last year, he was handed the reins of the VAFA’s representative women’s side in its annual interstate match.
He declined to comment when contacted by this masthead about the position.
It comes as Hawthorn strongly considers former player and Carlton AFLW coach Daniel Harford to replace Bec Goddard after parting ways with the inaugural coach at the end of the 2023 season.
It’s understood Harford and Daniel Webster, an assistant coach at reigning premier Brisbane, are the leading candidates as the Hawks prepare to announce their decision as early as this week.
Carlton sacked Harford last January after five seasons at the helm in the aftermath of an internal club review that also led to the departure of women’s football boss Brett Munro.
The review called for the Blues’ coaching position to be made full-time and said there was “at times confusion with the game plan and lack of alignment and consistency with its implementation”.
Harford led Carlton to the 2019 grand final and a semi-final win in the Covid-ruined 2020 season, but the Blues only managed two wins in his final campaign.
At the end of last season, with four AFLW coaching vacancies, including now-filled positions at Collingwood (Sam Wright) and West Coast (Daisy Pearce), Harford said he was “keen to have a crack” at coaching a new side.
“Sitting there this season and watching from afar, you sit back and learn and you think about things you’ve done and what you might do differently next time,” he told Fox Footy in November.
“I remember talking with (former Western Bulldogs and Richmond coach) Terry Wallace, who’s had plenty of games coached in the AFL in the men’s system, he reckons your ‘second tour of duty is always better than your first’.
“There’s plenty of examples of that in all levels of footy in the last 20 years, so I’d be keen to have a crack.”
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