Lower Plenty and coach Ben Turner part ways after four-year partnership

The premiership-winning partnership between Ben Turner and Lower Plenty has come to an end with the Bears now on the hunt for a new coach.

Lower Plenty coach Ben Turner. Picture: George Salpigtidis

Lower Plenty premiership coach Ben Turner has called time on his tenure at Montmorency Park.

Turned led the Bears for four years, guiding the club to the NFL Division 2 title in his first season in 2018, the club’s first flag since 2011.

The respected mentor led the club through relegation, followed by the cancelled 2020 season and was on the cusp of engineering another premiership tilt when the 2021 campaign was cancelled.

Lower Plenty president Grant Keys said Turner had helped hold the club together in 2020.

“He’s been a fantastic contributor to our club over his five years, including coaching the 2018 premiership,” Key said.

Lower Plenty coach Ben Turner. Picture: George Salpigtidis

“Last year, 2020, was a difficult year, we played one practice match and then everything fell apart, but he’s steered us through that and kept the boys motivated and hit the ground running this year.

“We’ll never know what the result might have been unfortunately.”

Turner took the reins after serving as assistant to Michael Ryan in 2017.

He finishes with a 26-22 record, including an 11-1 season this year as Lower Plenty finished second on percentage behind Banyule.

Keys revealed the club had decided to test the market before Turner’s decision.

“It’s a difficult discussion to have when you’re there or thereabouts,” he said.

“The committee made a decision in the middle of the year that after five years it was the responsible thing to do to have a look at what else was out there.

“We were fully transparent about that with Ben.

“We’ve begun an interview process and Ben made the decision that he was going to step down on Friday.

“All our timings have been thrown out by what’s going on, originally we’d hoped to have it all tied up by mid September.

“It’s not a completely open-ended process but we’re determined to get the best man for the job.

REVIEW: KEY FORWARD HIGH PRIORITY FOR PANTON HILL

LEADER: GET YOUR NORTHERN FOOTY NEWS HERE

NFL: AUDLEY CAPS STUNNING RETURN WITH B&F

“We’ll look to make a decision by the end of September.”

Once a new coach is installed the attention will likely turn to retaining the Bears’ talent-laden list.

The future of Darcy and Billy Barden will be key to the club’s hopes of winning promotion in 2022.

Tom Keys enjoyed a dominant season in midfield and up forward, while Tom Blake, Ben Paterson, Josh Turner and Jordan Sacco were all key contributors.