By Marcus Uhe
At just 23-years-old, Riley Siwes will, in the coming weeks, add ‘coached former international cricketers’ to his already impressive cricketing CV.
With Dandenong West captain-coach Anthony Brannan unavailable in the opening three rounds of the new Dandenong District Cricket Association season, the responsibilities will fall on the shoulders of the young leg-spinning all-rounder to guide the side in its early conquests in Turf 1.
It means that the likes of Nuwan Kulesekara and Malinga Bandara will be shepherded by his decisions on the field, despite the significant disparity in both age and experience.
The man in the hot seat, however, does not see the dynamic playing out that way, believing the collective experience amongst the senior figures in the group will serve as a major asset.
“There are times where we might move their position in the field or change them in the batting lineup, but as far as that goes, you’re not going to tell an international cricketer what to do on the cricket field,” he laughed.
“When something needs to happen, they’ll come in and have their say and I’m nearly going to go with it 100 per cent of the time.
“There definitely are no reservations (about leading them); we let them do what they need to do.
“That was one of our strengths last year – we had ‘Branno’ (Brannan), myself, Kulesekara, Bandara, Shaun Weir, Matt Collett, all bouncing ideas off each other, all wanting to have a say.
“It’s just about making the right call at the right time.”
The vice-captain of last season’s team that claimed the Turf 2 premiership, leadership is in Siwes’ blood.
Part of the decision to move back to the Bulls in 2023 after two seasons at Berwick was to further his leadership capabilities and advance his pedigree in that capacity.
In taking the dual roles, he’ll follow in the footsteps of his father, Greg, a vaunted figure in the region on the back of his coaching tenures in footballing and cricket circles, and is one of the greatest to wear the Bulls’ colours.
Having led junior teams during adolescence as a player, and coached them in his early adult years, the younger Siwes is excited for the opportunity to lead his mates into battle.
“I’ve always aspired to be a coach and captain of a club and start that path as my old man did all through his life,” he said.
“He coached footy and cricket at quite a young age and I grew up around all the footy and cricket clubs with essentially him being the main guy.
“Seeing the way he goes about it and how much he enjoyed it, and the happiness and success he got, is definitely something that I looked at doing in the future for sure.
“I just enjoy that side of things, bringing the boys up and pushing them along and creating new challenges for everyone, as well as trying to set the standard and being supportive, and keeping a good balance between the fun side and when it’s time to switch on.”
With round one abandoned due to weather, his first match at the helm will come at home against his former side, on a special day for the club when they will unfurl the premiership flag from last season.
