Jack Cole (footballer) explained

Jack Cole
Fullname:Bryan Cole
Birth Date:17 August 1956
Originalteam:Montmorency
Height:178 cm
Weight:81 kg
Statsend:1978
Years1:1977–78
Games Goals1:2 (0)

Bryan "Jack" Cole (born 17 August 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[1]

Playing career

Originally from Montmorency, part of Collingwood's recruiting zone, Cole played two senior games for the Magpies – one in each of the 1977 and 1978 seasons – before returning back to his home club midway through the latter.[2]

Cole's nickname of "Jack" was a shortening of "Jumping Jack", which was bestowed upon him unknowingly by Montmorency coach Shane Molloy during the club's premiership season of 1979.

Coaching career

Cole was appointed senior coach of Montmorency in 2005 in his first coaching role, at age 48. He remained at the club for six seasons before transferring to coach rival Greensborough for two years in 2011–12. Cole then returned for another two-year stint at Montmorency in 2013.

By 2015, Cole had shifted out of the Northern Football League and took the reins at Healesville, guiding the side to a runners-up performance in his first season. This was Cole's third losing grand final in his coaching career to that point. He broke the duck the following season, when Healesville snapped a 28-year premiership drought to win the 2016 premiership.[3]

After two more seasons at Healesville, Cole joined Woori Yallock in 2018, taking the team as far as a grand final in 2022 before departing at the end of the 2023 season. Cole was signed by Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) club Kew in October 2023 to lead the club for the 2024 season and beyond.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Holmesby, Russell. The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 . Main. Jim . 2014 . 10th . 978-1-921496-32-5 . BAS Publishing . Seaford, Victoria . 163.
  2. News: Amy . Paul . 2023-11-29 . Jack Cole, new coach of VAFA club Kew at age 67, isn’t ready to be a footy relic just yet . subscription . 2024-04-23 . Code Sports.
  3. News: Hustwaite . Megan . 2016-09-25 . After three grand final losses, Bryan Cole is finally a premiership coach . 2024-04-23 . Lilydale & Yarra Valley Leader.
  4. Web site: Cook . Kate . 2023-10-20 . Kew FC finds it's man in Bryan 'Jack' Cole . 2024-04-23 . Kew Football Club . en . https://web.archive.org/web/20240521010831/https://www.kewfc.com/2023/10/20/kew-fc-finds-its-man/ . 21 May 2024.