SFNL: Cranbourne coach Steve O’Brien has announced his future coaching plans

After 25 years involved in coaching, one of the Southern league’s best mentors has made a call on his future. Here are the details.

2024 will be Steve O’Brien’s last season. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Cranbourne coach Steve O’Brien says it will be “time to give back” to his family when the final siren sounds on the 2024 season.

This year will be the premiership coach’s last as he closes a resume that also included time at Parkdale, St Kilda City, Doveton, Casey, Box Hill and Rowville.

O’Brien plans to give back to those who have sacrificed the most.

“25 years is a long time and you couple that with my playing, and I started that as a seven-year-old, it’s been 45 years all up,” he says.

“The people who sacrifice the most is your family, so I want to give a bit of time back to my family.

“My girls are growing up, they’re 17 and 15 in March; one is on her learners and needs to practice her driving and the other is into her gymnastics at state and international level.

“With coaching I haven’t been able to see her competitions whereas when she was younger I saw a lot of them – it’s time to give back.

“This will be seven years at Cranbourne, I have loved my time at that club.

“I have no doubt I’ll miss it and get itchy feet and probably be thinking ‘do I want to give it away?’ but I think it’s time.”

O’Brien (right) says “it’s time”. Picture: Valeriu Campan

O’Brien knows – and understands – people will recognise the accolades as the most impressive part of his career.

But he says it’s the friendships and development that he cherishes the most.

“The premiership success is great and you always look back fondly but I can remember my year at St Kilda City where they were in financial troubles,” he says.

“Similar to last year where they lost all their players, that happened to me in the pre-season and we were left with a bunch of kids.

“More than half of our side were 17, 18-year-old kids; we didn’t win a game that year but when I look back over my journey, that would be one of my proudest years.

“We developed so much that year and most of those kids were able to play in a premiership a couple of years later to get them back into Div 1.

“When you can reflect on stuff like that, that’s the beauty of coaching.

“The friendship part is super important to me, even going back to my Parkdale days I still have friends from then 20 odd years ago.”

O’Brien at Doveton in 2016. Picture: David Crosling

O’Brien says he doesn’t believe in fairytales in footy and says if the Eagles are to send him out on a high, it will be a result of many factors.

“Are we chasing a premiership? Absolutely. You don’t coach good, strong, successful sides if you’re hoping to win a premiership,” he says.

“But premiership success is a byproduct of everything else you’ve done, your development, the program, keeping your players on the park, happy and all of those things you do as a club, not just as an individual coach.

“I certainly wouldn’t say no to it, it would be a great way (to go out), but I am not a big believer in those things, I think you create your own luck.”

Cranbourne starts its season with Cheltenham on April 6.