Greg Siwes has taken on the task of lifting Keysborough to the top three in the strong Casey Cardinia league this season.By Brad Kingsbury
NEW Keysborough coach Greg Siwes has been around football in the district for almost two decades and knows what is required for success.
The Burra rode a wave of emotion to the finals last season after failing to win a game in 2005.
However, there was unrest behind the scenes and the club needed a wise head to firstly keep the top-notch playing group together, and secondly build on the gains of last season and prove the unpredicted effort was no fluke.
Siwes was seen as the perfect person to do that job and after he was secured, there was an immediate air of confidence that the club could maintain its momentum and be a leader in the strong Casey Cardinia league.
The 36-year-old comes to Keysborough after five seasons as playing coach of Noble Park reserves in the strong Eastern Football League, snaring a premiership and two preliminary final appearances.
Before that, he spent seven seasons with Devon Meadows, including three as coach, after crossing from Narre Warren where he developed a reputation as a tough and uncompromising midfielder.
Siwes said he probably would not have left Noble Park had it not been for family commitments, but had kept a close eye on the Burra last year and was keen to put his stamp on the side.
“My son is playing AusKick at Fountain Gate and I wanted to do that with him,” he said.
“Because of the times it ruled out playing reserves footy (for Noble Park) so I looked for a job and put in for Keysborough’s position.
“I’ve got plenty of friends in the league and I kept an eye on what was going on through (former Noble Park star) Stuey Nagle and a few others,” he said.
Keysborough officials have always held Siwes in high regard and actually approached him to come over as an assistant coach last season.
When he accepted the coaching job in October, he brought his trusted deputies Rob Horne and Rod Nelson across, and the 2006 Burra playing group committed to the new season.
Although Keysborough is widely expected to be among the top sides again, Siwes, who will play off the interchange bench, knows the competition will be tough.
“We’ve picked up five or six blokes and only lost a couple, and I want to get across the game plan that we will try to employ this year as the first goal,” he said.
“It’s a bit hard to come in fresh and set too many goals.
“They’re hard at the ball and the tackling is unbelievable so that’s a start.
“Obviously we want to play finals footy, but if I can change a couple of things this year and then another two or three next year, the process will look after itself.”
