Joel Mackie announces this will be his last season as Osborne coach

He boasts the most lethal strike rate in Hume league history after so far leading the league powerhouse to 46 wins from 47 matches.

Apart from a final quarter fadeout in the decider against Holbrook last year and Covid the previous two seasons before that, Mackie could quite easily be a triple premiership coach and striving for a fourth consecutive flag in September.

However, history says Mackie is yet to get his hands on the premiership cup at Osborne with the playing group hungry to send out the popular mentor on the ultimate high.

A club policy where a coach has a maximum tenure of four years has signalled the end of Mackie's time at Osborne.

Mackie said he had mixed feelings about departing the Hume league heavyweight.

"My time at Osborne is nearly up," Mackie said.

"The realisation does leave me with some mixed emotions.

"When you are vested into a group for a sustained period and you are really enjoying what's happening and watching certain players grow... it will be sad not to be able to continue that.

"But at the same time I have the utmost respect for Osborne and how they approach appointing a new coach.

"I've been fully aware since I first arrived at the club that it wouldn't be any more than four years.

"So I've really enjoyed my time immensely but the focus remains hopefully to finish the season with a flag."

Mackie joined Osborne at the end of 2019 after he called it quits on his stellar O&M career.

He is regarded as one of the finest players of his era.

The 36-year-old played in seven flags at Albury, is a dual Morris medallist, dual best and fairest winner and Did Simpson medallist after playing more than 200-matches at the Sportsground.

Mackie conceded it was hard to walk away from Osborne with the club well poised for yet another golden era in its remarkable history.

"If you had asked me at the start of the year whether I was happy to step down, I would have said yes," he said.

"But now being more than half-way through the season and being in the position we are in, possibly another year would have been nice.

"The group is going really well, the club is going really well and it would be easy to stay on.

"But at the end of the day, the timing is right I guess."

Mackie downplayed his coaching record at Osborne despite boasting a strike rate that history says may never be equalled.

"It's something that I don't get caught up too much in," Mackie said.

"As coach I just focus on what we have to do to get the win each week.

"As far as personnel, each year has been different.

"The first three years we had a fair turnover of players at the end of each season and we just kept going with youth and playing the kids.

"This year we lost a few more but were able to land a few recruits to complement the existing playing group.

"From my perspective it's been enjoyable bringing the kids into the side.

"The results take care of themselves.

"Yes, it's nice winning but I don't get caught up in looking at how many matches we have won in a row.

"Once you start doing that you lose focus on what we are trying to achieve, which is obviously to make amends for last year and win the flag."

Osborne won its most recent flag in 2019 under coach Matt Rava.

The following year Mackie joined the club as coach but spent the first season playing in the Riverina league with the Hume league abandoned due to Covid.

The following season in 2021 the Tigers were 16-0 when the season was once again abandoned.

Mackie didn't subscribe to the theory that Covid had robbed the club of winning two flags.

"I wouldn't say Covid robbed the club of a couple of flags," he said.

"I would say it robbed me of two proper seasons of coaching but you couldn't say two flags.

"Covid has just been a killer for football in general and robbed everybody in the district of doing what they love.

"Covid just proved what football means to the community and how much the players love competing and playing sport.

"So it was disappointing we had to go through that."

Mackie's departure from Osborne is set to spark a recruiting frenzy amongst district league clubs clamouring for his services.

More than 10 clubs in the Hume and Tallangatta leagues are on the lookout for a new coach.

Mackie hinted he could find himself coaching again as soon as next season.

"I'm not too sure yet about coaching next year but I won't muck around with my decision," he said.

"I might have a few things on the go and I hate not knowing what's going on and I like to be organised.

"That's how I coached and it's going to be no different going forward next season.

"Whether I'm coaching or just playing somewhere, I'll work that out sooner rather than later and it won't take too long."

ALSO IN SPORT

Mackie felt his playing days weren't numbered quite yet.

"Obviously when you get to my age you are a year to year proposition," he said.

"Everyone seems to say to me, 'you mustn't have long to go.'

"But I really still enjoy playing, I enjoy the playing side and the coaching side as well.

"I'm fully aware the playing side won't be there for much longer but I just want to make the most of the time that I have left.

"If that's one or maybe two more years, I'll let my body tell me that."

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