Western Bulldogs legend Chris Grant makes shock exit

WESTERN Bulldogs legend Chris Grant has left the AFL club, saying it wasn’t an easy decision to quit his post but the time was right to step aside.

Grant has spent more than 30 years at the Bulldogs as a player, board member and more recently as the club’s executive director of football.

The 51-year-old has led the club’s football department since 2016, overseeing that year’s drought-breaking flag and also the Bulldogs’ grand final return in 2021.

There were reports that Grant’s relationship with Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge had soured over the past 18 months.

Earlier this year, Bulldogs chief executive Ameet Bains denied there had been an unworkable breakdown in the relationship between Grant and Beveridge.

Grant, who played 341 games for the Bulldogs between 1990 and 2007, felt the time was right to move on.

“I’ve spent over half of my life with the club as a player and administrator and will cherish the many memories we have created together at the Western Bulldogs,” Grant said in a statement.

“While the decision to pause and map out the next stage of my professional career has not been an easy one, I leave knowing the club is in a great position to succeed and write the next chapter in the amazing history of the red, white and blue.”

During his decorated playing career, Grant won three All-Australian blazers, two Charles Sutton Medals as the club’s best-and-fairest, and was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

“Chris has been an outstanding Bulldogs person for more than three decades, characterised by great integrity, care and compassion for the club and our people,” Bains said.

JUSTIN CHADWICK/AAP