GANMAIN-Grong Grong-Matong and Turvey Park are the latest two clubs to enter the market for a new coach.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mitch Sykes surprised a few at Turvey Park training on Thursday night when he announced to the playing group that he will not be coaching again next season.
GGGM captain-coach Luke Sicker will also finish up at the end of the season, after two years in the job.
Sykes, 30, has only managed two games this season due to injury and has decided to step down to concentrate on getting himself right.
“I’ve struggled with my body this year,” Sykes said.
“I just want to focus on getting that right to be able to play with the boys, instead of standing there telling them how to play.”
Sykes has done a terrific job in his first season, with the Bulldogs still a faint finals chance with four wins and a draw, after not having won a game for two years.
Sicker, 27, will return home to Queensland after two seasons at the Lions.
“I’ve definitely enjoyed the two years and met some great mates there that I’ll continue to be mates with,” Sicker said.
“The best thing I ever did was to have a crack at coaching at a club like Ganmain.
“I was always going to have a crack and then eventually head home and after three years in Victoria, then two years here, it’s probably time.”
Griffith will be another club with a new coach next year after Adrian Pavese’s return to AFL Canberra club Queanbeyan was announced on Friday.
Pavese was unveiled as Queanbeyan’s new general manager of football operations and will begin the post in October.
He took the Swans to their first finals series in a decade last year, and has them on track to go deeper next month.
Griffith will announce their new coach at the club’s 100 Club function on August 26, after their final home and away game of the season against Turvey Park.
Fellow Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) clubs Leeton-Whitton and Narrandera are both yet to lock in coaches for next season.
Leeton-Whitton is undecided on whether Jade Hodge will coach the Crows for a third season, while Narrandera is in the process of sorting something out with Jarred Lane.
Coolamon have already announced their plans to part ways with long-serving coach Matt Hard, while Collingullie-Glenfield Park and Wagga Tigers have already re-signed Luke Gestier and Shaun Campbell respectively.
Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes are expected to announce Travis Cohalan’s reappointment soon.