The UNSW / Eastern Suburbs football club is delighted to announce three new coaching appointments for 2014 with former UTS Premier coach Daniel Lynch, NSW Women’s coach Tracey Kick and Sydney Women’s AFL veteran player Jemma Still joining the fold.
They join the reappointed Shaun Fewings, Chris Peters, Dennis Rider and Mark Wright as coaches of UNSW/ES in 2014 – a panel sure to rival any other club in the league.
Whilst the loss of the 2012 premiership coach and player Rhys McAlister to the Sydney Swans Academy is unfortunate, the addition of Daniel to the club will see Rhys’ efforts built upon in 2014.
Daniel has been a key figure in the recent promotion of UTS into Premier Division and has also worked part time for 11 years as a consultant with the AFL Western Bulldogs. He inherited a UTS team that finished with 3 wins and 15 losses in 2011, building them to a team with an impressive record of 11 wins, 7 losses in 2012 and 8 wins and a draw in 2013.
The two men have worked closely during the holiday period to ensure a seamless handover, so we can expect a smooth transition as Daniel mounts his 2014 campaign in the Bulldogs colours. Rhys will still be very active around the Club pending his Swans commitments and will attend training, play some games and attend social functions.
The club is also excited to welcome Tracey on board as the senior coach for our Division One women’s team after the Stingrays’ 2013 coach, Krissie Steen, left the club to pursue opportunities with the GWS Giants and the Under 18’s women’s state team.
Not only is Tracey the incumbent NSW State Coach, she has an impressive pedigree having coached the Balmain Dockers to four grand finals and two premierships during her time at the club. Joining her as assistant coach is Kate Lancaster, who is no stranger to success in the women’s league, having held the same role in 2013 at the premiership winning Sydney University Bombers. Ben Porter will remain involved with the Stingrays as a specialised skills coach.
Tracey, Kate and Ben will work closely with Jemma, Stingrays 2013 Captain and long time NSW Blues and Sydney Women’s AFL player, who has taken on the role as coach of the newly appointed Division 2 team.
Before the club look too far ahead to 2014, however, it is timely to pay tribute to Rhys and Krissie for the great legacy they have left our Club. Rhys arrived in 2012 as a player coach after the team spent two years at the wrong end of the ladder and had immediate success, coaching the Bulldogs to our first top flight flag since 2003 and backing up with a final appearance on 2013.
His appointment at the Swans Academy and his assistance in the coaching of the NSW/ACT U18’s Rams as they embark on seven games in this year’s TAC cup is appropriate recognition of his talents. Likewise, Krissie, along with assistant coach Ben Porter, took the Stingrays from the bottom end of 2012 ladder to deep into the finals in 2013 in just one year. We wish them both every success in the future.
In other coaching news, it is a testament to the culture and opportunities available with the UNSW Bulldogs that all other men’s team coaches have reapplied and been reappointed.
Shaun ‘Gull’ Fewings is staying on board after the tremendous success he brought our Division 1 ‘resy’ team last season. Gull orchestrated an amazing late season charge, resulting in a tough loss to Southern Power in 2013 Div 1 grand final. We know Gull has similar plans for 2014 and is developing a strong coaching group that we hope will bring greater success in 2014.
Similarly, we are thrilled that Chris Peters will continue with Division two, and that Dennis Rider and Mark Wright have stayed with us to develop new and old talent in Divisions 4 and 5 respectively. These three teams missed the finals last season by a ‘shandy’ and there is strong resolve in all these teams to go further in 2014.
At this stage, we are still searching for a new Under 19s coach team after Joel Robbie and Adam Gulden ended a great era with our junior team with a heartbreaking four point loss in the 2013 grand final to Pennant Hills.
However, our pathway with East Sydney juniors has been strengthened with Division 1 tall Adam ‘Lanky’ Moran accepting the under 17 coaching role at Trumper Park this season with East Sydney AFL. We are also on the lookout for an Assistant Coach for the Women’s Division 2 side, the newest addition to our club.
We wish all teams the best of luck with their on-field success in 2014.
Steve Ray
President – UNSWES AFL
Last Modified on 21/01/2014 16:25
