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Lachlan Geleit • April 25th, 2025 3:11 pm
Melbourne assistant coach Nathan Jones was heading toward a career in property development and footy media until an opportunity presented itself last off-season.
Having had a taste for coaching at Peninsula Grammar in 2024, Jones couldn’t pass up the offer to become the midfield coach at his former AFL club in 2025.
While former club captain Jones was enjoying his work in other fields, his enthusiasm to make a difference at the Demons and the burning desire to return to clubland were ultimately too strong to ignore.
“I thought it was an opportunity at the right time,” Jones told SEN Sportsday.
“A lot of things in life come down to timing, I was working towards a career in property development and in the media.
“But if I was really honest with myself, I had a burning desire to head back to clubland in a sport that I’ve spent 16-17 years of my life doing.
“I had a lot of experiences good, bad and indifferent and I felt like I could make a difference.
“I thought I could contribute to straightening out the ship and sending them (the midfield) back on the right path.”
Jones led Peninsula Grammar’s Boys First team as head coach last season, and his ultimate desire now is to one day lead an AFL club as their senior coach.
While the 302-gamer knows he has to get plenty of experience first as an assistant, he’s not shying away from his dream.
“I think that's probably the burning ambition to be honest (being a head coach),” Jones said.
“Part of the reason why I came back was because I, in some respect, could see myself in that position and it’s something that I’m aspiring to do.
“Obviously, I've got to get some runs on the board and some experience on the board, but I think, once I have spent a little bit of time (as an assistant), that'll be a position that I'll be striving to achieve one day, whether that's here or at another club.
“Certainly that was a motivation when I made the decision to come back into this role.”
While he’s only ever spent time inside the four walls at Melbourne, Jones says he’d do anything to further his career, including moving interstate.
“I'd do anything,” Jones said.
“That (coaching interstate) is a discussion I'd need to have with my wife to ensure the family's comfortable, particularly with our four kids.
“But going back into it, we were always aware that may eventuate in the short, medium or long term.
“At the minute, I'll just enjoy the role that I've got here at the Dees and try and make a real significant difference to the group that we've got here and get back to our winning ways.
“Hopefully then I can ultimately develop my own skills and I guess foundations as a coach and hopefully one day put myself in a position to be a senior coach at a particular club.”
Jones still coaches Peninsula Grammar while undertaking his duties as an assistant with Melbourne.
