WESTERNS has locked in one of the biggest names in local coaching for the 2023 South West District Football League campaign, signing Winis Imbi as their senior football coach.

After a tumultuous year for the football ranks at Westerns, with the club struggling to field two sides during 2022, Imbi is a sign of hope for a football rebuild.

A strong resume is behind Imbi who has coached a number of senior sides throughout the region including North Gambier and Portland to premierships in the Western Border league, Heywood in the South West league and most recently Port Fairy in the Hampden league.

His resume as a player is just as impressive, being picked up by AFL club Essendon and winning their reserves best and fairest, as well as playing at North Melbourne.

While to an outsider looking in, signing with Westerns might seem left-of-field for Imbi, but his ties to the club have been present for years and played a big part in sealing the deal.

“When I reflected on it, Westerns have pretty much been talking to me for about 15 years, before I even really got into coaching,” Imbi said.

“Vicki (Clayton) and Clarkston (Ray) deserve a lot of the credit, but the seed was sown a long time ago and they’ve shown really genuine interest for a long period of time.

“There are some specific people that really put a lot of work in, Vicki, Clarkson, Adam Hawke, Keith Bourke and Greg Thompson were some of the key ones.

“There are a lot of sentimental reasons as well; my father played for Westerns when he came to the country and the players and the club were really good to him when he needed it. He made a lot of connections and friends and I’ve always probably had a soft spot for Westerns from a distance because of that.”

After a tough period with Port Fairy in the Hampden league where they were winless throughout 2021 and 2022, Imbi needed some time away from the game before committing to the Roos for 2023.

“They’ve been really respectful in everything they’ve done,” he said.

“They left me alone during the season and when things didn’t work out I was pretty certain I wasn’t going to coach again and they were respectful and accepted my no.

“But in doing due diligence they gave me some time to digest some feelings I had towards the game during that time and then came back and respectfully persisted – they were ahead of the game in a lot of ways so it may have seemed left-of-field to others, and even to me sometimes, but the connection and communication has always been there.”

Making the decision

When weighing up his options for the 2023 season, Imbi was close to calling time on coaching, but his natural drive to help people still felt connected to football.

His drive paired with some motivation from son, Noah, played a big part in signing with the Roos.

“One big part of it ultimately is my faith, I can’t sing and there’s a lot of things that I’m not good at, but part of my vocation in life is trying to help people and that’s just as important in football to try and do that,” he said.

“I love what’s going on at Portland with Holty (Jarrod Holt), he is doing a great job there and Heywood are looking set up and I felt like I could really offer something at Westerns and really help.

“Family was also a big part of it; Noah is nine now and he played a big part in this decision. He’ll play in under-11s next year and they train and play at Westerns and he wanted me to be closer because it’s a big step for him.

“It also gives me an opportunity, now working at Bayview College as well, to transition closer to home.”

After a tumultuous year with Port Fairy Imbi said he needed some time away from the game to digest the year and his next movements.

“At Port Fairy when things didn’t work out I really reflected on my own philosophy and your mind declutters a bit when you’re in a bit of a negative space, and I thought to myself that in the past I’ve been able to create some good environments but when you don’t win a game it takes a toll and you start to question yourself,” he said.

“Huge credit to Westerns’ administration, we had some conversations that were really open and honest and I had some questions about the direction they were heading in and there were things that they said they were going to do and they’ve actually done them which really leaves an impression.”

The work begins

Now that the deal is done, Imbi is getting to work in a bid to see some improvement in 2023.

His initial focus is on the current playing group and developing a vision for the players and the club.

“Right now I’ve been investing primarily in the playing list, sometimes you can lose focus on looking to get players in but I’ve wanted to have good honest conversations with the boys that are there,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of struggle that they’ve gone through and the motivation is definitely there; they’ve formed really strong relationships, the kind that only really happen when you’ve shared struggles.

“I want to invest in the boys that are there and we want to hold each other accountable.”

Imbi says they want to build but they don’t expect big change overnight.

“Starting from so far back can sometimes be a good thing and gives you a chance to create something new,” he said.

“Getting the footy side of this club right is much bigger than myself. I will just be a part along with the committee, the playing group, and the coaching group who will try and make the club a place where lads want to play and belong to.

“Winning games of footy will hopefully be a by-product of the fun and challenging environment we create.”