Former AFL and local football coach Brenton Sanderson said the reason he departed Eastern Football Netball League (EFNL) powerhouse club Balwyn Tigers was due to one of the coaching staff being moved on while he was away with his family.
Sanderson was in Indonesia in recent weeks, and learned a coach he worked closely with at the Tigers, had departed, leading to a conversation with the committee that didn't go to plan.
"I can talk openly about this," he said on SEN.
"One of the committee guys let go one of our coaches while I was away, and I wasn't told about it. He's a close friend, a school teacher at the school where I work at. So when I called up to question that decision and how I wasn't consulted, unfortunately, the conversation didn't go as I was hoping it would.
"A few things were said which made it really hard for me to come back. I'm devastated because I love the club and the memories I've got there, and the friendships I've developed with some amazing players.
"It's disappointing because I do really have high standards and high expectations around behaviours, and I've got some really strong values around footy as well, which a lot of that's around respect, and I'm just disappointed that it had to end this way, but there's definitely no bitterness.
"It happens at all levels of footy when you have disagreements with people on the committee, and you know differences of opinion. It was just hard for me to return. And as much as I would have loved to finish off the season and just see where it went after that, it's time for me to have a bit of a breather from coaching.
"It can be a little bit political, but people that obviously pay you, they can do whatever they want. My commitment to the club was challenged this week. And it couldn't be further from the truth.
"I'm grateful and privileged to coach a team like that, and to have that premiership success is memories I'll always have with that group."
Sanderson said he's reached out to the players via text.
Balwyn's last win was on June 6th against Noble Park. They sit seventh on the ladder with five victories and a draw.
Sanderson played 209 games for Adelaide, Collingwood and Geelong, and returned to the Crows ahead of 2012. He spent three seasons with Adelaide after stints at the Cats and Port Adelaide as an assistant.
He then headed the AFL National Academy in 2015 for two years before reuniting with the Pies in 2016.
