Panther coach in shock departure

By Brad Kingsbury
DEVON Meadows coach Steve O’Brien dropped a bombshell when he announced his sudden resignation from the position he has held for the past three years at the Panthers’ presentation night last Friday.
O’Brien, reappointed soon after the end of the 2010 home-and-away season, was forced to make the call after accepting the position of assistant and reserves coach of local VFL club Casey Scorpions on Thursday.
“It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now and I had a chat to them and it went pretty quickly from there,” he said.
“It was a difficult call as far as the Meadows goes but the chance to go to the higher level was perfect for me at this stage.”
Devon Meadows fell out of the finals this year after going down to eventual grand finalists Beaconsfield in the last home-and-away game, and O’Brien believes that the club was on the verge of seriously challenging for a flag.
He gave no indication of what direction the Panthers might go in their search for a replace-ment other than saying that a decision was likely fairly soon.
Along with last week’s shock departure of Tooradin coach Chad Liddell, O’Brien’s resignation means that seven of the 11 Casey Cardinia League coaching positions will have new appointments next year, with only Keysborough, Doveton, Beaconsfield and Cranbourne retaining their mentors.