Tate Kaesler

Tate Kaesler
Kaesler with Gold Coast in 2026
Personal information
Full name Tate Scott Kaesler
Nickname Piglet
Born (1979-11-11) 11 November 1979 (age 46)
Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)
2001–2002 Sturt
2003–2007 North Adelaide 31 (25)
Coaching career
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
2021; 2024–26 Gold Coast (VFL) 65 (24–38–3)
Career highlights

Tate Scott Kaesler (born 11 November 1979) is an Australian rules football coach and former player who currently serves as a development coach at the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously worked at the Gold Coast Suns as an assistant coach for eight years and served as the club's reserves coach in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for four non-consecutive seasons.

Kaesler played for Sturt and North Adelaide during a seven-year career in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), which included playing in three reserves premierships.

Career

Playing career

Kaesler captained the Sturt Football Club's under-19s team in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) for the 1998 season, finishing second in the team's best-and-fairest count. In 1999, he played for Sturt in the club's reserves premiership victory. Kaesler made his senior SANFL debut in round 19 of the 2001 season against Glenelg at Unley Oval. He won Sturt's reserves best-and-fairest award in 2001 and 2002 SANFL season.

In 2003, Kaesler moved to the North Adelaide Football Club, making his senior debut for the club in round 1 against Central District at Prospect Oval; he played seven senior matches and six reserves matches for the season. After not playing any senior matches in 2004, Kaesler played the majority of the 2005 season in the reserves. In the absence of appointed captain Ben Walton, he captained North Adelaide's reserves team in the 2005 grand final, which the club won by one point over Glenelg. Kaesler also served as vice-captain in the 2006 reserves grand final, which saw North Adealide defeat Norwood by 97 points. He retired as a player at the end of the 2007 season, finishing his career with a total of 180 senior and reserves matches, including 31 senior matches at North Adelaide.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Kaesler moved into a coaching career. He was an assistant coach for the SANFL under-20s representative team in a match against the SANFL under-18s, which the SANFL under-20s won by 79 points at Adelaide Oval. In 2009, he joined the Adelaide Football Club as a development coach. During his ten seasons at the club, his roles included developing the forward line and later focusing on team defence.

On 29 August 2018, the Gold Coast Suns announced Kaesler had joined the club as a development coach in a role assisting the midfield coaching group. He worked with Gold Coast's reserves team in the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) under head coach Nick Malceski during the 2019 season. Following the disbandment of the NEAFL, Kaesler was appointed as Gold Coast's reserves coach in the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 2021, coaching the Suns to four wins in ten matches before the season was curtailed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kaesler was succeeded as VFL head coach by Jackson Kornberg at the end of the year and moved into a new role as Gold Coast's team defence and strategy coach.

In 2024, Kaesler returned to the role of Gold Coast's VFL head coach to take over from Josh Drummond, who had led the team to a premiership victory in the previous season. The Suns finished seventh on the ladder with ten wins and two draws, but were eliminated from the finals series after a three-point loss to Frankston in the wildcard final at People First Stadium. Under Kaesler as head coach, Gold Coast missed the VFL finals in 2025 and 2026. On 6 November 2026, the Hawthorn Football Club announced it had appointed Kaesler as a development coach for the 2027 season.

Statistics

Coaching statistics

Legend
 W  Wins  L  Losses  D  Draws  W%  Winning percentage  LP  Ladder position  LT  League teams
Season Team League Games W L D W % Ladder
2021 Gold Coast VFL 1046040.0%14 / 22
2024 19107252.6%7 / 21
2025 18710138.9%14 / 21
2026 18315016.7%22 / 22

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 This does not include the match between Gold Coast and Southport in round 16 of the 2021 VFL season, which was abandoned for no result after ten minutes of play because of the announcement of a snap COVID-19 lockdown.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Kaesler, Tate Scott". North Adelaide Football Club. Archived from the original on 6 November 2026. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Coaches". Adelaide Football Club. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2026.
  3. ↑ Morris, Tom (31 July 2021). "VFL game cancelled after NINE minutes as Covid-19 mayhem hits Queensland". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 16 June 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  4. ↑ "Round 16 Postponed Game". Southport Sharks. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  5. ↑ "The Players". Sturt Football Club. Archived from the original on 6 November 2026. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  6. ↑ "2008 SANFL Annual Report" (PDF). SANFL. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Tate Kaesler joins SUNS". Gold Coast Suns. 29 August 2018. Archived from the original on 6 November 2026. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  8. ↑ McGowan, Marc (16 October 2018). "Suns add former Roos skipper, Power star as assistants". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 20 January 2026. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  9. ↑ Cheadle, Josh (23 January 2019). "Relationships the key for Kaesler". Gold Coast Suns. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  10. ↑ "NEAFL Coaches Comments: Round 15". Gold Coast Suns. 16 July 2019. Archived from the original on 6 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  11. ↑ "VFL SUNS v Southport: Practice Match Report". Gold Coast Suns. 27 March 2021. Archived from the original on 18 February 2026. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  12. ↑ Rhodes, Brendan (30 August 2021). "VFL season review: Gold Coast". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 November 2026. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  13. ↑ "Jackson Kornberg appointed VFL Head Coach". Gold Coast Suns. 1 November 2021. Archived from the original on 17 August 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  14. 1 2 "SUNS thank Kaesler". Gold Coast Suns. 6 November 2026. Archived from the original on 7 November 2026. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  15. ↑ "SUNS appoint Richard Douglas". Gold Coast Suns. 2 November 2023. Archived from the original on 10 March 2026. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  16. ↑ Rhodes, Brendan (10 December 2024). "2024 Smithy's VFL Season Review – Gold Coast Suns". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 March 2026. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  17. ↑ "Kaesler appointed Hawks Development Coach". Hawthorn Football Club. 6 November 2026. Archived from the original on 6 November 2026. Retrieved 7 November 2026.
  18. ↑ Cellini, Aidan (6 November 2026). "Hawthorn steal AFL rival's coach for 2027". Zero Hanger. Archived from the original on 7 November 2026. Retrieved 7 November 2026.