Coachy In The Hot Seat After Disappointing Season Opener!
09/10/2007

The coaching future of Warren 'Coachy' Burford is in question after a disappointing outing by The Bullets in Round 1 action of the SRFL tonight. Off the back of a strong 2006 campaign and a promising pre-season this year, The Bullets were labelled 'insipid' by veteran Age columnist Caroline Wilson after a 55-point loss to Meeniyan. The Bullets looked 'lazy' and 'disinterested', according to Wilson, who pointed the finger squarely at Coachy when asked who was to blame. However, it seems Wilson is not the only person who has concerns about Coachy's ability to lead his side into 2007. There are reports that several board members are upset with the direction of the club and are considering whether to terminate Coachy's contract with the club.

The evening began well enough for The Bullets. Rob Hazell, returning from a serious shoulder injury, showed that his pre-season comment that he was "ready to kill somebody" was as much bite as it was bark. On fire early, he kicked three of the first four goals in the game. But it was all one-way traffic from that point onward as Meeniyan steadied and ran out big winners. There were few winners for The Bullets on the night. 2006 Vitale medallist Luke Barisic, fresh from his outburst at Mike Sheahan during the week after being omitted from Mike's Top 50 footballers, was named best-on-ground for The Bullets, but was well below his usual standard. Andrew Merryweather, fresh from his outburst at Melbourne's road infrastructure after being delayed in traffic, kicked a couple of goals and was always busy. The returning Elodie O'Connor, fresh from an outburst of mucus after struggling with the flu, worked hard through both the midfield and defensive areas. Meanwhile, Dean Jones racked up a stack of possessions in an unfamiliar defensive position.

The Bullets now have one week to regroup and try to work their way up the ladder. And the task gets no easier. Next week, The Bullets come up against Pencil It In Again. The last time The Bullets played The Pencils was way back in Round 2 2005, when The Bullets suffered a heartbreaking 11-point loss that triggered the beginning of the club's record 6-game losing streak, while The Pencils went on to win the premiership.