Paul Barnard has resigned from the position as Tatura senior football coach effective immediately as of Sunday night.
The club released a statement confirming Barnard’s decision via its Facebook page after whispers emerged that the coach was contemplating hanging up the clipboard.
Tatura has had a tough 2025 season, losing all 11 games by an average margin of 104.8 points.
The Bulldogs’ last victory came in round one 2024 when they defeated Seymour in an after-the-siren thriller.
Since then, a lack of depth and a large injury toll has cruelled the Dogs and the club has struggled to remain competitive.
Tatura thanked Barnard for his commitment, time and efforts during his two-and-a-half-year stint at the Bulldogs.
The club said current assistant coaches Linc Wellington, Andrew Ciavarella and Jake Chessells would take the reins of the senior football program for the remainder of the season while the Bulldogs look to appoint a new senior coach for 2026.
Tatura Football Netball Club president Quinton Langlands said the club was entirely supportive and understanding of Barnard’s decision.
“We had recognised that Paul was struggling with the job — it’s a big job — and it had taken a pretty big toll on him personally and the time he would spend with his family each week,” Langlands said.
“It was a very large commitment and we knew it had been a challenge for him, but no real indication that (his resignation) was coming as quickly as it did.
“It is a very amicable split between the two parties, we did not expect it to come as it has, but we fully support his decision.
“He has decided that it is time to move on and we will support him to do that and he is welcome back at the club whenever he feels comfortable to come back in.
“He has a lot of lifelong friends (at the club) and he has been a very well-liked person around the club.
“It’s obviously been a tough gig for the last few years, wins have been hard to come by and that probably compounded the difficulty of spending so much time away from his family.”
Langlands added that while the club was only made aware of Barnard’s decision on Sunday, it would be in the best interests of the club to start searching for a new senior coach immediately.
Barnard, who played 151 games at Hawthorn and Essendon and was part of the Bombers’ 2000 premiership side, joined Tatura as senior coach in 2023.
The Bulldogs finished in eighth spot on the ladder with a record of 5-13 in 2023, followed by a last-placed finish in 2024 with a record of 1-17.
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