Outgoing Keysborough coach Greg Siwes.By Paul Pickering
KEYSBOROUGH coach Greg Siwes has paid the ultimate price for a season of frustration at Rowley Allen Reserve.
The third-year coach was sacked on Wednesday morning, less than 12 months after leading the Burra to an unlikely grand final berth in the MPNFL Casey Cardinia league.
Club president Clay Cullen told the Star that the players needed a fresh start after plummeting to 10th place on the ladder in 2009.
“We just felt we needed to take the club in a new direction,” he explained.
“Three years is a pretty lengthy stint, and Greg has done a magnificent job in that time, but the boys are a bit stale and we need to get a different voice in.”
Most pundits thought the Burra had over-achieved by reaching last year’s decider, but the outlook for 2009 was overwhelmingly positive after an aggressive pre-season recruiting campaign.
The new faces struggled to gel early as the Burra lost its first 10 games, yet three late wins – including a shock victory over Pakenham – provided some reason for optimism.
Still, Cullen believes Siwes may have seen the writing on the wall.
“Greg probably knew deep down that he’d done as much with the group as he could,” he said.
“He was extremely disappointed, which you can understand, because he loves his coaching and he’s got a lot of pride.
“(But) you can give until you’re blue in the face, and after a while you just can’t give any more.”
Cullen said he hoped the timing of the decision would allow Siwes to pursue a senior coaching role elsewhere.
Siwes, who has applied for the top job at Noble Park, could not be contacted on Wednesday morning.
