Mark Neeld has an awesome record leading teams and developing culture at sporting clubs.

Mark Neeld former head coach of the AFL's Melbourne Demons?

A good man driven from the game he loves by a toxic culture, this is a tragic outcome.

It is the same Mark Neeld that coached the Melbourne demons

Mark Neeld has done a sensational job helping to progress a decision made by two associations with the sole aim of the betterment of basketball in Geelong. Some positive outcomes will be better VJBL representation from Geelong teams, better pathways available for Geelong players and a stronger representation when presenting to state gov for funding for facilities. The work has been done with the full backing and advice from all governing bodies. This has required change to which several individuals have not responded positively. People with the best interest of the game at heart will be backing this change to the hilt. Those unable to adapt will attack those they see as the driver of that change. I will go to the old cliche, the game will always be bigger than the individual. The Geelong Addy will try to sensationalise and cause controversy to sell newspapers. Basketball Geelong was not in great financial shape and Herbie was a part of that having been on board for 6 years. CBBA while not being in financial difficulties were not in an ideal situation either being tied to a privately run stadium. The two associations took that opportunity to get together to help each other out for the betterment of basketball in Geelong. Mark Neeld deserves a pat on the back for allowing this to happen in the face of opposition from the old school who got Geelong Basketball into this predicament in the first place. Give him a break.

I'm not Mark. Let’s just say I’m someone that knows what’s going on in this situation unlike a few others on here.

Fantastic. Great move. Well done Mark Neeld.

Not sure how many ignorant, uninformed anonymous posters we have on this thread, but to the others who have chimed in with their lack lustre and accusing comments, you are incorrect and obviously don't know anything!

Anon #151, almost all of that is relevant and correct.

Almost all of the rest of the posts here are utter rubbish!

The newspaper article is missing the key elements, as it always does, to as correctly stated, sell more papers...

The one thing I will say is that Mark Neeld coming into a very difficult position has done an excellent job in almost everything he has done so far. Those dealing with him first hand who know what he has had to do behind the scenes and the tough decisions which had to be made understand. The rhetoric of any clubs he has been with in the past means nothing to what he is accomplishing now!

We all wish Herbie well in all that he will do moving forward and he will always be a championship winning SEABL coach with the Supercats.

Well anon, never have I implied that the previous SEABL/NBL1 coaches are not quality people, I have known them for some time and respect everything they have done and wish them both the very best in what they do moving forward.

I am not going to get into the debate as to why and how they are no longer in their position as I don't believe this is the place to do so, accurately that is...

Whether I agree with one poster or 100 posters is irrelevant if I know more than you and you are full of rubbish I will call it out, but of course since you are just posting random anons, who knows to what level you have contributed and what you may actually know!

I stand by my reference to falsehoods mentioned here, so if you want to present some facts, go ahead, but the rubbish in most of these posts are not facts, just hype and rhetoric...

The OP made it about a coach leaving, which is fine but others have started pointing fingers and making accusations without any facts or reasonable knowledge. Like I said, I wish Dave and his family nothing but the best, don't need to listen to a majority when the majority is only a few unidentified and likely uninformed anons do I??

LOL @ someone posting under the name 'Bear' and then patting themselves on the back for not being anonymous. Nobody cares about your dumb rant bro.

@Eagle, other than proving the Dunning-Kruger syndrome is alive and well, do you actually have anything to contribute?

I suspect not, bro...

he may go back to the Valley, La Trobe need a good leader right now , or maybe pick up the womens NBL1 coaching gig at Dandenong, that wouold be good for that club, their current one is terrible. But reading that article , it sounds more like hes jaded with the sport in general, Country Vic would would sure love to have him in some capacity no doubt,it will be interesting to see which players they retain should he move to another club, as his players loved having him as a coach. Big loss to Geelong but they will survive, so too Herbie.

^Anon, it's a complex situation at Geelong with all the changes at the moment for sure, reading the public information does suggest there is an element of 'it's all a bit too much here at the moment' and he may need to step back from doing too much for his own health.

Many of us get to that point at times!

I am sure Dave will get a gig doing what he loves.

The previous women's team however will not be anywhere near the same I'd imagine, with some key players moving onto other and bigger things. Also with the money vested into the men's Supercats program (look at their latest signings), maybe the women's team won't have the financial backing it had previously, who knows...

One thing is certain, it isn't as simple as pointing the finger at one person either way. I expect more facts to come out soon and I know I along with most everyone down Geelong way wishes Dave and Leon all the best...

Reading between the lines only, but as time goes on the facts will become more evident, they always do...

I dont think you need to read between the lines to know the women's program will go to pot now, as is always the way with basketball, the men take the lions share, yet just look at how successful the women's group have been, and they wonder why women's basketball cant get off the ground, every time you see a successful women's team at club level, the powers that be come along and chop the legs off them and try to stick them onto the men.

Herbert recruited well, that did not come cheap, though it didnt invest the money the Knox program did, it was still more than many, but it got them a chamionship.

#369 - That's a whole different thread. I will only say that as far as I am concerned the new CEO entered a position where he needed to make very tough decisions and he did so to stabilise the future of the sport in Geelong.

Some of your other comments are a little subjective, which is fine, but my experience is that leaders often have to make tough decisions for the overall best result, it doesn't win you friends all the time...

Remember that the previous two CEO's had experience in the cricket and baseball sectors, not basketball!