The Western Bulldogs have sacked coach Nathan Burke less than two weeks after the club’s horror AFLW 2023 season ended with the wooden spoon.
Burke had been under pressure throughout the year as his side struggled to emulate the form that saw them reach finals last year – winning only one game against lowly West Coast in Round 9.
They went eight straight games without a win as injuries hit more than a third of their list, including two ACLs, a broken leg and ruptured Achilles to important senior players – forcing the club to turn to train-on players for multiple games.
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The club sunk to a record low score in their final round loss to North Melbourne, but Burke had remained adamant he had the desire and backing of his players to see out his deal until the end of 2024.
“I’ll put up my hand – it was tough in the middle (of the season), but you just can’t help but be swept up by their enthusiasm … I owe it to them not to lose my passion, I owe it to them to give my all,” he said.
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“Absolutely (I want to continue) … you can throw out big statements, but the devil is in the detail with our year. I think this team have been extraordinary, the majority of AFLW teams, if they are sitting at (0-8) or (1-9) at the end of the year, they would have imploded at one stage … we didn’t do that, I’m really proud of how we got through that.
“You can tell when a player is not satisfied, and the way that they’re looking at me is like, ‘Burkey, we’re not satisfied, we’re not happy’, and some of them, if they were allowed, would probably come back and train next week.”
But on Wednesday, the decision was made to cut ties with Burke after five seasons at the helm.
“We’re thankful for his strong contribution over the past five seasons,” Bulldogs CEO Ameet Bains said.
“He became our first full-time coach after leading the team to finals at the end of 2022, and has developed strong relationships with his staff and players during his tenure.
“After careful consideration, the club has decided to move in a different direction heading into next season, as we strive for sustained success in all aspects of our women’s football program.
“We thank Nathan for his time at the Bulldogs and wish he and his family all the best in their future endeavours.”
Burke becomes the third AFLW coach to be sacked this year, after Michael Prior (West Coast) and Steve Symonds (Collingwood).
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“I thank the Western Bulldogs for allowing me to live my purpose of making a difference in other people’s lives – if I did that, then I walk away content,” Burke said.
“I also want to thank the people of the West for embracing me as part of your club. I hope success is just around the corner for you.”
AFLW commentator Jordyn Allen said she saw positives for the club after a horror injury-troubled season.
“Maybe the silver lining is they’ve had to put these players into positions that they don’t usually play,” she said.
“So the depth of those players will be so much better next year and they’ll be so much more well-rounded.
“Fingers crossed they don’t have the injury concerns they did this year.”
Burke agreed with the sentiment, saying he had players “thrown to the wolves” due to their dire injury crisis.
“Everything going perfectly we wouldn’t have played 32 players… but I’m so glad we did,” he said in his final press conference as Bulldogs coach.
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“I’m almost glad we ended 1-9 at the end because you can finish 6-4, 5-5, mid-table and you don’t get the learnings.
“You don’t play certain players in positions.
“We experimented a lot.
“If we had of been vying for finals, we probably wouldn’t have done that and the players wouldn’t have learned what they did.”
