Fremantle Dockers sack coach Ross Lyon, CEO Steve Rosich leaves after missing finals
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| PHOTO: Fremantle coach Ross Lyon and CEO Steve Rosich will both leave the club. (AAP: Sabine Albers) |
Staff have been told that chief executive Steve Rosich is also leaving in a dramatic day at the WA club.
Lyon will leave the club with immediate effect, with one game left in Fremantle's season.
In a statement, the club said the board "had a duty to act in the best interests of its members and supporters, and to be bold in making its strategic decisions".
It said it had reached "a mutual agreement" with Rosich to depart.
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| PHOTO: Ross Lyon arrives at the Fremantle club headquarters ahead of his sacking today. (ABC News: Frances Bell) |
"Fremantle had not made the finals for the past four years.
"This isn't acceptable to the board, the players, and most importantly to our supporters. We need high performance and consistency at all levels of the club, so we need to change and evolve."
Although speculation over Lyon's future has swirled for much of the season, the veteran coach has routinely denied he was considering walking out on the Dockers.
The club failed to make the finals this year, its fourth in a row without post-season football.
An inconsistent year saw Fremantle pair unlikely wins over top-two teams Geelong and Brisbane with disastrous losses to basement-dwellers Gold Coast and Melbourne.
Former Dockers forward and current Collingwood assistant coach Justin Longmuir has been installed as the bookmakers' favourite to take over as Fremantle's next coach.
Ex-North Melbourne coach Brad Scott, Brisbane legend Michael Voss and current Dockers assistant David Hale are among the other frontrunners according to betting markets put forward by two bookmakers.
An inconsistent tenure
Lyon's tenure has been plagued by inconsistency.
He was sensationally recruited by Fremantle after the 2011 season, walking out on his contract at St Kilda.
In his first four years in charge Fremantle won 67 of 87 matches and made a grand final in 2013.
Recent years have been far less successful.
Under Lyon, the club has posted just 31 wins from its past 93 games. Only Carlton, Gold Coast and Brisbane have fewer wins since the start of 2016.
Criticism over Lyon's ability to coach skill has dogged his time in charge, with Fremantle hindered by poor kicking accuracy and sloppy marking this season.
Injuries to key players, especially star defender Alex Pearce, also disrupted the Dockers this year.
Dockers 'weighed up Lyon cost'
The club faces a significant six-figure payout to Lyon to compensate for the last year of his contract.
ABC Grandstand AFL commentator Clint Wheeldon described his sacking as "a brutal and pragmatic decision" based on the club's finances.
"The club would have been weighing up what it would cost them to pay out Ross Lyon, versus the damage that could have been done to their membership," he told ABC Radio Perth.
"And the membership certainly would have been a real issue. Crowds have been down for the Fremantle Dockers this season.
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| PHOTO: Ross Lyon has endured speculation throughout the season after a series of losses, including a western derby pounding. (AAP: Richard Wainwright) |
"So I think there was a general consensus among a lot of supporters.
"I think most people had had enough of the way the club's been performing."
The decision to sack Lyon adds to an exodus of experience at the club, with veteran ruckman Aaron Sandilands announcing his retirement, and forward Hayden Ballantyne departing the club at the end of the season.
Internal and external search for replacement
Fremantle assistant coach David Hale will take charge of the team for its final game against Port Adelaide this weekend, while chief operating officer Graeme Parker will act as CEO until a permanent replacement for Rosich is found.
The club said separate selection panels for the two roles had been set up, and both internal and external candidates would be assessed.
"This leadership change is about transforming our whole club. We need to act now to ensure we are reinvigorated and reenergised for success," Alcock said.
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| PHOTO: Fremantle Dockers coach Ross Lyon has been sacked after eight years in the job. (AAP: Gary Day) |
He paid tribute to both men, saying Lyon had "instilled great professionalism, drive and commitment into our club," while Rosich had "done his utmost for Fremantle over the past 11 years, and he's leaving the club in good shape corporately and financially".
