Waite, following his retirement from a 244-game AFL career with the Carlton and North Melbourne football clubs, returned home to play for his hometown Saints in 2023.
Waite then took on the role of senior coach heading into the current 2024 season, a role he doesn’t take lightly.
“I moved to Benalla when I was 15 or 16 (years old), I’d lost my way with footy, I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I had,” Waite said.
“We moved to Benalla and I really found that passion again for football. I owe a lot to the Benalla Football Club, I always kept an eye on the Saints.”
Finishing the year with three losses and 15 wins in the 2023 GVL season, Waite and the Saints can see the improvements within, looking at a late-season push to prove that to themselves and the rest of the league.
“I’ve been really happy with the effort and the want to improve,” Waite said.
“Results aren’t everything, we see the determination and them wanting to get better, it’s exciting.”
That same sentiment is shared by the Saints’ football director Terry Blackburn.
“It’s about the improvement of the individuals and as a unit, we’re putting our eggs in that basket,” Blackburn said.
“There can only be one premier and we know we’re a little bit of a way off that. It’s a longer plan, we know we have to get games into the younger kids.”
Currently sitting 10th on the ladder with two wins, the Saints have some really winnable games ahead of them.
Waite and the club see the opportunity to create some further momentum, with the ultimate footy dream still on the mind in the years to come.
“The club’s in a position we don’t want to be in at the moment. We need to come together with that common goal, to play some finals footy, and the ultimate dream of winning a flag,” Waite said.
“We’re a long way off, but we’re heading in the right direction.”
