Sunbury Kangaroos coach Chris Meacham steps aside after steering his side to one last win in Riddell District Football League

THE bombshell did not come until after Saturday’s Riddell District Football League match for the Sunbury Kangaroos. When it came, though, it hit hard.

Sunbury Kangaroos’ Daniel Gregory and Diggers Rest’s Zac Fisher contest the ball on Saturday. Photo:Angie Basdekis

THE bombshell did not come until after Saturday’s match for the Sunbury Kangaroos.

The side, which had made an up-and-down start to the season, had just beaten a highly-fancied Diggers Rest by 60 points at Boardman Reserve.

It was in the rooms after the game that the Kangaroos’ 2012 premiership coach, Chris Meacham, announced his tenure was over after making a one-off return­ to the coaches’ box for the match.

Seriously injured when he rushed to save son, Archie, from the path of a runaway ute on a property in Wallan early last month, the 35-year-old will undergo major shoulder surgery on Wednesday as his recovery continues.

“I’ll be bedridden in a rehab centre for six weeks with that,” Meacham said.

“So I had to make the tough decision. I told a couple of boys before the game, the president and that. None of the players knew until after the game. So from that side of it, it was a fantastic win. It wasn’t an emotional win. It was just those boys being the better side that I know they can be.”

While they may not have known it was going to be Meacham’s last game in charge, the sight of seeing their coach back at the club clearly spurred the Kangaroos on in the match.

Veteran Jamie Cuffe, who had been filling in as interim coach in Meacham’s absence, pulled on the boots for his first game of the season as part of a bet with his good mate.

“He said if I came back he’d play,” Meacham said.

“He was fantastic. He really wound back the clock.”

While Diggers Rest was without stars Brent Tuckey and Leonard Clark, the home side opened up a 28-point lead by the main break and went on from there with an eight-goal-to-three second half in a consummate team performance.

While he will not be in charge for the rest of the year, Meacham said he had belief his team could go on to carve out a strong season and challenge for a second premiership in three years.

“Everyone knows that Romsey’s got one hand on the cup,” he said. “They’re sitting on top of the ladder. Riddell will no doubt finish second. Then the fight is between us, Rupo and Diggers for that third spot.”

Meacham and the club will meet tomorrow night to discuss who will take the reigns as coach for the remainder of the season.