Moama Football Netball Club welcomes new president

Following Moama’s executive reshuffle at the start of the 2024 season, Slater stepped up as a vice-president of the club, so was a natural pick to take the top job for the upcoming season.

A relatively new face to the club and area, Slater and his family moved from Melbourne three years ago after being heavily involved in coaching and talent pathways through Dandenong Stingrays and Vic Country.

“When my family and I moved up here, we wanted to meet people and I have found in my life the best way to meet people was to go down to your local footy club and get involved,” he said.

“Once I started getting to know people in the area and get more involved with the club, things flowed from there.”

Slater made it clear that he doesn’t envision his appointment as a long-term solution, as the club has begun developing pathway programs for future executive members of the club.

He also praised Lake’s work as president, particularly as the club received four successive champion club awards during Lake’s tenure, and that there would be an expectation to continue that trajectory.

“The big thing that we are trying to create at the club is succession planning, so my tenure will be fairly short, it won’t be a five- or 10-year thing,” he said.

“We are restructuring our executives to incorporate the junior footy club as well, so we are developing pathways for future executive members.

“Matt Lake has done a wonderful job over his time, and it’s a chance for him to step back a little bit, so I am filling a role for two or three years and then hand the reins over to our next president at some point.

“It’s a new challenge for me to not be in a coaching circle, I have big shoes to fill, we’ve won the last few champion club awards so that’s a big thing for us, we want to focus on success as a collective.”

Despite the expectation, Slater is excited to begin his new position as president and hinted at his belief that a premiership for Moama’s senior side was on the horizon.

Yet, above all else, Slater would like to continue the positive culture and growth of the club, regardless of winning or losing.

“I’m excited to be stepping into the role, our club is in an excellent position committee-wise, and financially we are stable so as a whole it is in a good spot,” he said.

“We want to make sure we are continuing the growth of the footy club and keep going in the direction we are heading. That illusive flag hasn’t quite come home with us yet in the seniors, but if we continue to build, I don’t think it is far away.

“We don’t want to value our club based on game results, it’s about making sure our community is good, and the foundations are solid.

“That’ll happen if we look after our people.”