He's south-west through and through and about to take on one of the most important sports roles in the region.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Meet Matt Ross, AFL Western District's new commercial and operations manager.
Ross, an accountant with commerce and law degrees, is thrilled to be taking on the role.
"It's a great region to be involved in sport and I love footy," he said.
"I'm really excited to get my teeth stuck into it."
Ross, originally from Woorndoo, moved to Warrnambool at a young age.
He went to school in the area and studied at Warrnambool's Deakin University.
Ross, full-forward for Warrnambool's reserves side in the Hampden league, also knows his way around the goal square.
READ MORE:
He said he was looking forward to leading a team at Deakin University - AFL Western District's base.
"It's about providing support to the leagues and clubs in terms of sustainability, sponsorship and all round professionalism," he said of the full-time role he starts on October 15.
"We've got a lot of potential in this area."
Ross, who has been a Hampden league board member, applied for the role because he enjoys sport and believes it's crucial to the region.
"It's the social fabric, a lot of towns don't have a pub or a milk bar but they have a footy club," he said.
"So I can see its importance to the area."
The 30-year-old said he wanted build strong relationships with the leagues and clubs.
"I like listening to people, I have no preconceived ideas," he said.
"I have got a little bit of local knowledge here having been involved with the Hampden league.
"I really want to get around to every league president and club president and I've been on the phone to a few league presidents already and had a few chats.
"Just to get one-on-one with them and find out what they want to achieve going forward and try and work that in with what we've got at our disposal to help them achieve those goals."
Ross first became involved with the Hampden league board in 2011.
"Since then I've been involved in establishing our social media and, at the moment, heavily involved in the finance side to try and drive that side of the business as well," he said.
Ross said he would step away from his Hampden league role to be independent.
"It's been a really good grounding for me to go into this position," he said.
Ross said part of his vision was to look at umpiring and the sustainability of some of the clubs struggling for numbers.
AFL Western District Commission chair Gerard Lucas said it was great to have a south-west person in the position.
"The commission and I are thrilled to have such a quality young man fill that role," he said.
Lucas said he felt Ross would build great relationships with the leagues and clubs.
The chair also acknowledged the service of temporary part-time regional general manager Rod Ward.
"His knowledge and understanding of regional country football, netball and umpiring has helped us build good relationships with our stakeholders, leading us towards a sustainable future for football and netball in the region," he said.
"The Commissioners and RAC staff greatly appreciate Rod's professional contribution and great work ethic and we wish him success and happiness in his new role as the CEO of Ballarat Greyhound Racing Club."
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.
