The Southport Sharks wish to announce that Steve Daniel will be stepping down as Southport’s VFL Head Coach at the end of the 2024 season, and current Senior Assistant Coach Matthew Primus will take on the role for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Daniel is a premiership coach at Southport, winning the 2018 NEAFL Premiership in his first year at the club.
He coached Southport to the 2019 NEAFL Grand Final and the 2022 VFL Grand Final after Covid interrupted the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
This year, he has the Sharks in the sixth spot, with two rounds left of the home and away season.
Daniel said, “As much as I have loved this role, I have been doing it for the last seven years, and I feel the time is right to have a break from it.”
“The club is in good hands though, with Matt Primus taking the reins, and I’m hopeful to remain at the Sharks in another role.”
Southport’s General Manager of Football Operations, Jarrod Field, said, “While we understand that the time is right for Steve to step down, we are excited to have someone of Matthew Primus’ calibre already in our club and eager to take on the role.”
Primus played 20 AFL games for Fitzroy and 137 games for Port Adelaide.
He captained Port Adelaide from 2001 to 2005 with the former Ruckman’s coaching career beginning in 2006 as an Assistant Coach at Port Adelaide.
In 2010, Primus became the Head Coach of Port Adelaide’s AFL team and remained the coach until the end of the 2012 season.
He then worked as an Assistant Coach at the Gold Coast Suns from 2013 to 2018 before becoming an Assistant Coach at the Southport Sharks in 2019.
Primus said, “Although we would all love Steve to remain as the Head Coach as he has done such a good job, I am looking forward to the opportunity of leading this proud football club.”
“At the moment, though, my focus is on being the best Assistant Coach I can be for the remainder of the 2024 season, and then, once the season is finished, we can focus on what next year looks like.”