GREATER Western Sydney has looked internally to finalise its coaching structure ahead of the 2020 season in the wake of Matthew Nicks' appointment as senior coach of Adelaide.
Nicks, who spent just one season at the Giants as senior assistant to Leon Cameron after multiple years at Port Adelaide, was named to replace Don Pyke at the Crows earlier this month.
Matthew Nicks was appointed Crows coach after Don Pyke stepped down. Picture: AFL Photos
While it has decided against directly replacing the highly-rated Nicks with another experienced coach to help Cameron, GWS has elevated Adam Schneider, the club's NEAFL coach of the past two seasons, to the senior panel as an assistant.
Schneider retired at the end of 2015 after 228 games with Sydney – where he was part of the Swans' drought-breaking premiership team in 2005 – and St Kilda, before beginning his coaching career in Victoria.
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Schneider is highly regarded at the Giants, especially by the club's band of youngsters, and has negotiated two tough seasons at reserves level thanks to a host of worries to senior players.
GWS football boss Wayne Campbell said the appointment was a popular one.
"Adam has done a great job in the NEAFL coaching role over the past two season and was key in guiding the side to finals this year," he said.
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"Part of the role is developing our players, particularly our first-year players, and under his guidance we saw six players make their AFL debuts after performing strongly in the NEAFL.
"Adam sees the game very well and that, along with his ability to form strong relationships with his players, makes him a very good coach."
The shuffle means that the Giants' Academy coach Jason Saddington (pictured below) will replace his former Sydney teammate in charge of the reserves.
Saddington has played a significant role in the development of a number of emerging Giants to have come through the Academy system, including Jacob Hopper, Harry Himmelberg, Harry Perryman and Nic Shipley.
Tom Green, a potential top-five selection at this year's NAB AFL Draft, has also shone under Saddington.
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"Jason has grown our Academy significantly since he joined the club in October 2014 and he has established strong relationships across our Academy regions in that time," Campbell said.
"He has been very successful in developing a whole generation of footballers, some of who are now on our list, some who are on other AFL lists and others who have gone back to community football."
