Show me the players! Keysborough Football Club president Clay Cullen says the club has more than $30,000 in the bank and is far from a spent force despite rumours of players departing.By Brad Kingsbury
KEYSBOROUGH Football Club’s 50year existence is under threat and many from its already thin player list are threatening to leave.
Despite having money in the bank, the club is without a coach and needs to attract goodquality recruits or its senior players will look to other clubs.
The issue came to a head at a players’ meeting called by president Clay Cullen three weeks ago after he heard of unrest at the time it was taking to appoint a successor to 2005 standin coach Adam Williams.
“I’m a bit disappointed in the players but I can see their frustration,” said Cullen.
“Playerwise we’re desperate. We need a coach and recruits to come in and help us build to the level required.
“We’re willing to pay for the right people but when you tell them you lost every game last year it’s hard to get them to commit,” he said.
The club started in the South West Gippsland League in 1956 and moved to the strong CaseyCardinia League last year, but failed to recruit players and went through the season without a senior win while suffering five losses of more than 30 goals.
Senior coach Bruce Mullen quit the club after round two and Williams was forced to step in and take charge of an undermanned list.
Former Carrum Downs coach Paul Jefferies joined Keysborough midway through the year as chairman of selectors with a view to coaching the club in 2006, but had not been appointed after failing to attract promised recruits.
Cullen said the club was stable offfield and in the hunt for the right coach and the position was advertised in the daily newspapers last week.
“Financially we’ve gone from being broke last year to having over $30,000 in the bank and we’ve worked hard to get things right offfield,” he said.
Cullen said talk of the club folding was wrong.
“That’s just not true, it’s rubbish,” he said.
“I’ll be honest, it is looking dire as far as players go and I’m worried, but we haven’t even thought about closing the doors. We have to exhaust every possible avenue to get a good coach and attract players to the club, it’s that simple.”
He said the club had unofficially investigated a move to the weaker Southern Football League last year but had committed to the CaseyCardinia League.
“This is where we believe we belong but it’s a battle when we’re competing for players with clubs like Noble Park, Dandy Demons, Dingley, Parkmore and Springvale Districts all within two kilometres of Keysborough,” he said.
Springvale Districts president Doug Pearce told the Star that he had heard the rumours of Keysborough’s imminent demise and confirmed that there had been interest in the Demons from Keysborough players.
Keysborough reserves coach David Paten was an unsuccessful candidate for the Springvale Districts senior coaching job.
“The quality of applicants for the coaching job would indicate that people are on the move,” Pearce said.
“If you believe everything you hear, then we’ll have a good year next year, there has been a lot of interest in the club.”
