By Mark Murray
RECENTLY appointed Western Jets coach Steve Kretiuk doesn’t hide his ambition to push into the Australian Football League (AFL) coaching system in the near future.
The former Western Bulldogs hard man has been with Werribee for the past four seasons as an assistant and will now take charge of the western suburbs TAC Cup side for at least the next 12 months.
Kretiuk, a Bulldogs veteran of 170 games, said he was keen to use the TAC Cup as a launching pad for his own coaching career, but, more importantly, for the kids he will guide.
He said he hoped to get more Jets players drafted next year than in previous seasons.
“TAC Cup is a platform for the players but it is also a platform the coaches as well,” Kretiuk said.
“I see this year as a really big step in my development, but I’m not looking any further ahead than this year.
“But I want to coach at AFL level and that is the reason I have gone down this path. I have obviously done an apprenticeship at Werribee and now this role with the Jets will be challenging.
“It was never going to be a money thing for me and it was always about taking the right steps that will hopefully to get me into the AFL.
“You could go and get quadruple the money in local footy or country footy, but in terms of your own development and being around the right people you need to be smart.
“So this is a fantastic opportunity to coach in the TAC Cup and I’m very grateful for the chance.”
Kretiuk, a revered figure at Whitten Oval in his playing days, said the development of his Jets squad would be something he would take great pride in overseeing.
The 35-year-old had a similar role under Simon Atkins at Werribee in the Victorian Football League and said working with youth was something that came naturally to him.
“I guess this was a role I had aimed for probably three years ago when I first went down to Werribee,” Kretiuk said.
“I new I kind of wanted to head down the coaching path, and obviously growing up in the area I wanted to try and get a few of these kids to go down a similar path to me.
“I love helping kids out and seeing them improve, and obviously trying to win a game of footy.”
The Jets have been busy training since last month and are coming off their most successful season in a decade.
They played off in the VFL final, and Kretiuk is expecting another big year in 2008.
“It is going to be an exciting year, I think, and from what I have seen over the last few weeks we have a pretty talented bunch of kids down there,” he said.
“We just have to get them up to TAC Cup standard, fitness and skill level, but that will hopefully come over the next 10 or 11 weeks.”
