AFTER Orange Emus’ 2013 season many could be forgiven for questioning head coach Andrew Logan’s influence on the club.
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However, those people have since had to break out the fine china and serve themselves a slice of humble pie just about every Sunday since April.
Logan has taken Emus from the outhouse to the penthouse in the space of 12 months - in 2013 the greens finished last, now, with one game left in the 2014 Blowes Clothing Cup regular season, Logan’s side is equal first.
As a result, Logan has been nominated for the inaugural Asteron Life Community Coach of the Year award - a nationwide award to recognise coaches across the country at the grassroots level.
“I can’t believe I’ve been nominated. This is a real honour,” Logan said.
“[After 2013], there was definitely a show of faith. In a way I’m seeing the benefit of a lot of people’s hard work.
“I’ve always said any success we have as a club is the result of an ensemble effort. Guys like Paul Ringland (Emus’ forwards coach), Graydon Staniforth (backs coach), Jeremy Wallace (strength and conditioning) and Mitch Dansey (reserve grade) all put in a lot of effort, and deserve recognition too.
“I don’t know who nominated me, but it’s very gratifying that people have noticed what we’ve done as a club.”
Emus’ turnaround has been nothing short of remarkable. The greens won just five of 18 games in 2013, in 2014 they have lost just two.
“We always thought we were on the right track, “ Logan, a former Sydney University second XV coach, said.
“But it doesn’t mean much if you aren’t winning football games. We’d like to think this season has justified the decisions we’ve made [throughout the last two seasons], but no one will remember it if we don’t take it all the way [this year].”
Emus skipper Nigel Staniforth said the nomination was just reward for Logan, who “puts everything into it”.
“He has turned a lot around at the club, he’s very passionate and behind the scenes he does a lot of work people don’t see,” Staniforth explained.
“He often does too much in fact, which is a good thing. He definitely deserves it.”
The award will be presented at the John Eales Medal ceremony at Randwick Racecourse on Thursday, October 23.
