Dons boss eyes colts on the rise

Donnybrook Football Club has moved quickly to fill its vacant league coaching position, revealing former head coach and 2015 colts coach Julian Burgess will take the reins.

Dave Lewis shocked the South West football community last week when he announced he was stepping down from the role because of work commitments and his relocation to Busselton.

Club football director David Guglielmana said the committee met on Tuesday last week and decided Burgess was the best option for the next year. The experienced coach took over the reserves Peel Thunder side in 2002 and coached Donnybrook from 2008-2010 before shifting to the Imperials in the Lower South West Football League from 2011-2013.

Burgess said he was looking to get back into league coaching and immediately accepted the job.

He believes he can take the Dons into the finals next season.

"I wouldn't have put my hand up if I couldn't," he said.

"We've just got to get things back on track."

Guglielmana said there was no need to search for a coach when Burgess was ready to go. "David was very good for the club - his long-term plan was to blood our juniors," he said.

"Julian has been coaching colts and he will go down the same path."

Burgess said there were four to five colts players he had coached this year who would push for selection next season - but he hoped to retain most travelling players.

"That's the aim - to keep what we've got and to add to it," he said.

Guglielmana said the club's committee would soon sit down with the travelling players to discuss their futures.