AFTER taking the reins from Jade Rawlings mid-season, Casey Demons coach Sam Radford has announced that he will lead the club again in 2020.

The contract news was revealed at the Demons’ Best and Fairest ceremony on Thursday night, as the playing group was informed of Radford’s decision to extend his stay with the club for two more seasons.

General Manager of Football and Operations Josh Mahoney says this appointment is a great step forward for both Melbourne and Casey, as Radford takes up a full-time role with the club.

“We are extremely pleased that Sam has made the decision to accept the position as both the Casey Demons VFL senior coach and AFL development coach,” Mahoney told Melbourne Media.

“The VFL alignment with Casey Demons is critical to the development of our players, so to have him continue his tenure with the club is really positive.

“Sam took the opportunity this year to show that he has the required skills to coach his own team, so we’re very confident with this appointment and I know the players are extremely excited by the news.” 

Radford first joined the red and blue in 2016, becoming an assistant coach at both VFL and AFLW level.

In 2019, he was asked to be the caretaker coach of Casey for the final nine games of the season, and did a tremendous job guiding the Demons to six wins.

Radford’s success came while juggling his teaching job at St Bedes College, but he has since made the difficult decision to step away from the school and take up football full-time.

The new Casey coach will be heavily involved with Melbourne’s football department and will be a valuable addition to the club on a permanent basis.