By JARROD POTTER
BANKING on a former player’s appointment as coach, Casey-South Melbourne has upped its off-field stocks by picking up Brian Keogh.
Keogh will take the reins at Casey-South Melbourne Cricket Club this season as the club looks to drag itself off the bottom of the Victorian Premier Cricket ladder.
Taking a step-back in his day-to-day work in the financial sector allowed Keogh to devote more time once again to cricket and he found himself ready to invest in the south east’s cricketing future with Swans’ veteran all-rounder Chris Hall stepping down as coach at the end of last season.
Knowing the required standard already – having played for South Melbourne from 1989 to 1996 – Keogh took his skills back to the local level after finishing up in Premier Cricket, as he successfully led Ashburton CC to four consecutive grand finals and a premiership as its captain-coach.
“He’s a very good communicator – he’s played Premier Cricket before and knows the game really well,” Casey-South Melbourne president Ross Hibbins said.
“That’s his skillset.
“He has great passion and he knows the game, having been a former South Melbourne player and being able to bring the team and lead it – so we’re quite excited about it.
“Brian comes to the club with a very good team around him with some Sri Lankan Test players and experienced players around him and he brings it all together and leads the team to a direction that we want the club to take.”
Keogh will look to drive the Swans’ revived fortunes alongside assistant coaches Rob Elston, Dane Harkin and former Sri Lankan Test players Tilan Samaraweera (batting coach) and Prabath Nissanka (bowling coach).
Casey-South Melbourne’s VPC season starts on 4 October against the Camberwell Magpies.
