A familiar Shepparton face has jumped into one of the hottest seats in footy this week.
Goulburn Valley export Steven King ― who sits in the Greater Shepparton Sports Hall of Fame among the region’s greats ― has been appointed interim coach of Gold Coast.
The Suns sacked incumbent Stuart Dew earlier this week, turning to Geelong premiership player King ― who was fulfilling the role of senior assistant coach ― to steer the club for the remainder of the season.
“As brutal as it is, in this industry no-one waits for you and you have to get on with your next responsibility and task,” King said at his first press conference at the helm.
“Ultimately, I'd do whatever this club needs me to do and if that's my role, that's my role for the next eight weeks.
"My focus is purely to get through this week, get a result against St Kilda and make sure, whatever happens, that this place is left in a really good spot for whoever comes in.
“I think this is a must-win in regards to how we respond as a footy club.”
King, who has been at the Suns since 2021, said his focus would be on getting the basics right rather than trying to reinvent the wheel over the final months of the 2023 campaign.
“For me, simplicity around what we try and execute, try and nail a couple of those key things we've been chasing and make sure the players have got real clarity around what their role is and what the expectation from me and the coaching group is,” he said.
"I've got a couple of ideas that may get built into what we do in the next couple of weeks, but ultimately this week is about getting everyone's head back in the game, making sure they play on instinct and passion and care for one another, and a bit of pride.
“This is more around the human element and how our players feel and make sure they're up for the challenge.
"In times like these where there's a lot of emotion around, you could try 100 new things and I don't think you'd get the result you're after.“
The Suns host the Saints on Saturday afternoon in round 18.