Cogger steps down after driving Demons’ rise

OUTGOING Portarlington Football Club president Steve Cogger has reflected on his time at the helm after confirming he will step down this month.

The move ends a tenure that reshaped the club both on and off the field.

Cogger initially took on the role in 2022 following the resignation of David Silke, expecting a short stint. Instead, it grew into five years of sustained growth across football performance, membership and finances.

In a statement, the club noted the Demons’ rise up the Bellarine Football Netball League (BFNL) ladder during that period, alongside significant increases in participation and revenue.

Looking back, Cogger said the scale of the task quickly became clear.

“When I decided to take on the role, I felt as though to do it justice, it’d be more than one year, but not five,” he said.

“When you looked at the position of the club, there was plenty to do to develop and improve its situation. In hindsight, I am glad I accepted the challenge.”

He credited a committed group behind the scenes for driving that progress.

“I’m extremely proud of the way our team has worked to improve and grow the club. Many highly qualified and quality people got involved,” Cogger said.

“It became our responsibility to provide sporting and social outlets for the community of the North Bellarine.

“The work is certainly not complete either, but the base is there now and [Portarlington] will continue to become a very meaningful member of the BFNL or any league that it chooses to compete in.”

A key factor in the growth of the club, Cogger said, was a deliberate push to better connect with the broader Bellarine community.

“Our board decided that our key partners were the community, whether it was local businesses, organisations or local residents – we had to appeal to them all,” he said.

 

 

“It was a matter of perseverance and communication, selling the club for its values.

“We branded ourselves as a club you wanted to be involved with and this gave us the opportunity to commence attracting quality young players. We were very focused on presenting ourselves as a club that cared for its members.”

Among his proudest achievements was the introduction of a senior women’s football program, which entered the top division this season – a year ahead of schedule.

“The introduction of senior women’s football into the club completed our structure as a community sporting club,” Cogger said.

“It has been hard work with costs, but so beneficial and rewarding. We put effort into sustainability, the selection of quality leadership and we recruited locals back to the club.

“Our intention is to become a leader in this field also.”

Cogger paid tribute to the volunteers, supporters and local businesses who backed the club.

Cogger was proud to reflect on how far the club had come in his time and thanked the North Bellarine community for their contributions.

“The North Bellarine community has been and continues to be amazing – they give, volunteer, support, offer constructive criticism and always offer to assist in any way they can,” he said.

Cogger will remain involved with the club as an advisor to vice-presidents Emily Hoare and Adam Kiss, who will lead the club through to its annual general meeting in October.

He said it was the relationships he would miss most.