‘No animosity’: Brown departs Lakers with head held high

ROHAN Brown is confident Lake Wendouree is in better shape than when he started as coach, after leading the Lakers for the last time against Melton last Saturday.

While disappointed to be told late last week that the club would not be extending his contract into the 2027 season, Brown – who made the decision to part ways sooner – said there was no animosity with anyone at the Lakers and that he fully respected the club’s decision.

“Whilst I don’t necessarily agree with it, I respect it and I wish them all the best moving forward,” he said.

“That’s okay, my contract was up anyway. Both parties had to be really clear about what things looked like moving forward.

“I’m not naive, I know I’ve won…not even a handful of games in the three years I’ve been here.

“From their position, I understand a few things.

“But the connections I have with people at the club is something I am really going to miss.”

As the club embarks on a new direction, Brown shied away from calling the Lake Wendouree coaching gig the toughest in Ballarat league football.

“They are all pretty tough. But we have been dealt a few cruel blows with injuries and unavailabilities,” he said.

“We have recruited well, but these recruits haven’t really had a crack at it yet through injuries. That’s no fault of anyone’s and that’s footy.

“It is a tough gig, but I think coaching in general is pretty tough.”

A 107-point defeat on Saturday against the Bloods left the Lakers without a win through the first 12 rounds of the season, following a winless 2025 campaign.

Lake Wendouree won three games in Brown’s first season at the helm in 2024, with the last of those wins coming in the final game of the season against Redan.

The Lakers also beat Melton South and Bacchus Marsh.

Despite the lack of on-field success in recent times, Brown is adamant the Lakers’ future is bright.

“That’s probably the most disappointing thing about not being there, I think it’s going to change pretty quickly,” he said.

“And if we can get a full list on the park, things will change quickly.

“It’s probably more my selfishness that I am not going to be there to see that, but the kids who are coming through and the exposure they have had has set them up well for the future.

“We are playing a lot of under-19s kids at the moment and a lot of kids are starting to come through the Lakers system.

“They are not far away.”

Brown joined the Lakers after three seasons as coach of his home club Donald in the North Central league.

He previously led Central Highlands club Beaufort to a flag in 2018, with the Crows’ 38-point victory over Buninyong breaking a 22-year premiership drought.

Despite the club’s call, Brown will always look back on his time at C.E. Brown Reserve with fondness.

“I will always be grateful for what the Lake Wendouree footy-netball club has done for myself, my wife Lisa and my two boys,” he said.

 

“There are more important things than wins and losses.

“The connections I have made with people I see as friends and family is something I will forever be grateful for.

“People will make their own judgements about the decision, but I walk away with no animosity at all.

“There’s no bitterness. I walk away with my head held high and feel I’ve made the club a better place.

“It’s been handled really respectfully by the club and I do sincerely wish them all the best going forward.”

The Lakers publicly thanked Brown for his contribution in a statement on their Facebook page.

“The Lake Wendouree FNC wishes to announce that senior football coach Rohan Brown will step down from his coaching role after our game against Melton (last) weekend,” the statement read.

“Rohan’s contract finishes up at the end of this season, and the club has made the difficult decision to look at other options to carry us forward in 2027.

“Over the past three seasons, Rohan has been an outstanding servant of our club during what has been a challenging period on the field.

“Despite this, Rohan has been totally dedicated across the club and has built strong connections with his integrity, resilience and genuine care for our players, staff and supporters.

“On behalf of everyone at the Lake Wendouree Football Netball Club, we thank Rohan for his tireless contributions and the positive impact he has made at our club.

“He will leave with our respect for the work he has done and the impact he has had, and with many lifelong friends he has made during his three years.

“We sincerely send our thanks and best wishes to Lisa, Jack and Beau, who have been wonderful supporters of the club throughout Rohan’s time as coach.”

The Ballarat coaching landscape is shaping to be much different next season, with Ballarat’s Ash Baker and East Point’s Joe Carmody having already announced their intentions to step aside at the end of this season.

Brown, who will still have plenty on his plate in his roles as the Ballarat Turf Club’s operations manager and with his family’s horse agistment business, insisted he was keen to coach elsewhere.

“I love the footy landscape. Being part of a community and a club is something I really enjoy,” he said.

“I have to go away and find myself as a coach again and work on the little things I need to get better at.

“Definitely, I want to keep coaching and become the best coach I can.

“Lisa and the two boys want me to keep going to the footy each week, so we’ll crack in somewhere, hopefully.

“But I’m in no hurry to make any decisions like that. We’ll give it a few weeks and see what the future holds.”