By Jonty Ralphsmith
Southern League Division One club Cranbourne has backflipped on its decision to move on from 2022 premiership coach Steve O’Brien.
In an email to members on Thursday morning, it was announced that O’Brien had re-signed as senior coach for the next two seasons.
“Following on from a premiership year, Steve will naturally have the goal of going back-to-back, with a greater emphasis on developing our assistant coaches and current playing list along with ensuring our juniors receive development opportunities for the future of the club,” the email read.
“Furthering his own personal development, Steve has just recently been accredited as an AFL level three coach, gaining further knowledge to assist the football department in the implementation and ongoing development of the Cranbourne Football Club development plan.”
President Terry Gleeson chose not provide detail behind the decision but confirmed O’Brien did re-interview for the position.
O’Brien said he decided to reapply for the position after receiving lots of support and learned of the news on Wednesday night.
“I’m extremely happy to be back, I was keen to continue on so we get to work now,” he said.
“There will be a strong focus on development – we have a strong squad so we still want to compete with the very best and defend our title, but we also have a clear focus on development across the board of players, coaches and people in general.
“It’s about empowering people and spreading my knowledge across the footy club.
“We have to sit down and work through how that will play out. We’ve got people there who are good footy people so it is about educating them and continuing to give them development opportunities
“I’ve had some great some support from a lot of people and it’s really driven me, so it’s my turn now to repay their trust and belief in me and we’ve got to get to work.”
The decision comes exactly one month after it was announced that O’Brien would not go on as the Eagles wanted to sustain holistic, long-term success.
Having drawn up a development plan, the club was seeking a coach who could stick around for the next three to five years, a commitment O’Brien was unable to make at the time.
Stability and consistent messaging for young players keen on pursuing senior football were cited as reasons a longer commitment was sought.
It was a decision that surprised many in the local footballing scene given how highly O’Brien is regarded.
“We don’t want someone to come in and say it is a ready-made flag side,” said president at the time, Shane Baker.
“We want to win the flag every year and had the perfect coach for that.
“OB could have got us back-to-back, but going forward we want someone who can maintain a level of great performance and bring the next generation through.”
Reflecting on that period, O’Brien said: “It is what it is, footy clubs can be funny places sometimes, but everyone does what they believe is within the best interests of the footy club and for now it is all about moving forward.”
The club is still finalising its assistant coaches for 2023 ahead of preseason starting on 28 November.
