Bradley Gotch (born 23 June 1962) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for Fitzroy and St Kilda in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/AFL). He was most recently the head coach of

West Adelaide Football Club West Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Nicknamed the Bloods and commonly known as the Westies, the club's home base is Richmond Oval (currently known as Hisens ...

in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

. Gotch was one of smallest players of his era at 165 cm and possessed an accurate left foot pass. Debuting in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

for Fitzroy, Gotch played thirty games in his first three years. In

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

he played three games in the first six rounds before being delisted by Fitzroy and finishing the season with

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

(SANFL). After impressing at Port Adelaide, he returned to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

to play for the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club's name originates fro ...

. His best goal kicking feat was for St Kilda against his old side Fitzroy where he kicked seven goals in a game in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

. He finished his career playing for

Dandenong Football Club The Dandenong Football Club, nicknamed the Redlegs, was an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong, Victoria, Dandenong. The club competed in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) from 1958 until 1994. Histo ...

in the

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFA).

Coaching career

Gotch coached Williamstown in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL) from 2002 to 2009, becoming the second-longest serving coach in the club's history, coaching the club to finals in six of the eight years including the 2003 VFL premiership. He also worked in development coaching roles with both Collingwood and the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

alignments during those years. In 2010 Gotch was appointed senior coach of the Casey Scorpions, taking over from

Peter German Peter German (born 2 February 1965) is an Australian rules footballer coach and former player. Since retiring as a player at North Melbourne in the AFL, he has been an assistant coach at Hawthorn, West Coast, Fremantle and the Bulldogs. Ger ...

. He joined

as an assistant coach on 19 October 2011. In 2014, Gotch signed a two-year contract to coach South Adelaide in the SANFL. Gotch's sons also play high level sport. Xavier Gotch plays for South Adelaide under Gotch, and Seb Gotch played cricket for the

Melbourne Stars Melbourne Stars are an Australian Twenty20 franchise cricket team, based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in Australia's Twenty20 competition, the Big Bash League. The Stars wear a green uniform and play their home matches at the Melbou ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gotch, Brad 1962 births Living people Fitzroy Football Club players St Kilda Football Club players Williamstown Football Club coaches Casey Demons coaches Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) players Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions) South Adelaide Football Club coaches Dandenong Football Club players Dandenong Football Club coaches