WODONGA coach Ben Hollands isn’t reconsidering retirement, despite his outstanding form.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Hollands will pull up stumps after 99 matches for the Bulldogs following Saturday’s crucial clash against finals aspirant Wangaratta Rovers at John Flower Oval.
“I might have thought about it briefly (playing on), but you have to be able to do the work,” Hollands, 36, said yesterday.
“My time is compromised with everything else.
“If I didn’t do the work I think my form would suffer and that’s not how I want to finish up.
“It would have been nice to get 100 for Wodonga but it’s not to be.
“Unless someone got the numbers wrong that is ... I should have put my name on a teamsheet somewhere.”
Hollands has defied his age and opposition taggers to star for Wodonga since returning from South Australia in 2011.
He is the hot favourite to win the Bulldogs’ best and fairest for a second season in a row.
Hollands said keeping Wangaratta Rovers out of the top five wasn’t a motivating factor ahead of Saturday’s final round at John Flower Oval.
The Hawks trail fifth-placed Wangaratta by two premiership points, but the Magpies face the daunting task of bringing down ladder leader Albury.
“We have a lot of other reasons why we want to win,” Hollands said.
“The main thing is we just want to the finish the year on a good note.
“If you are playing out of spite for the opposition then it’s probably the wrong motivation.
“To be honest we just want to win for our own sake.”
Hollands has played over 300 senior matches since debuting for North Albury as a youngster, with the midfielder producing some of his best football during 120 games for West Adelaide in the SANFL.