LEON Cameron has quit as coach of AFL club Greater Western Sydney.
Cameron has ended his nine-year tenure at the Giants, according to a multiple reports on Thursday, with the club languishing in 15th spot on the ladder with just two wins.
Cameron will officially announce his decision to step down at a media conference in Sydney at 1100 AEST.
The move paves the way for the Giants to chase renowned master coach Alastair Clarkson to become the club’s third coach since joining the AFL in 2012.
Clarkson is taking a year away from football after departing as coach of Hawthorn, where he won four premierships between 2005 and 2021.
The 49-year-old Cameron will lead GWS against Carlton this weekend before stepping down, reports said, with Mark McVeigh to act as caretaker coach for the rest of the season.
Cameron has been at the helm of the Giants since 2014 when he replaced Kevin Sheedy, who coached the club for their initial two seasons.
Cameron has a record of 94 wins, 81 losses and four draws. He took the club to the 2019 grand final when beaten by Richmond and reached the finals in five of his nine seasons, including last year.
But he was widely expected to not be offered a fresh contract for next season amid the Giants’ middling results in 2022 when they have beaten only Gold Coast and Adelaide.
After his club’s win over the Suns on April 2, Cameron revealed his future beyond this season had been put on hold.
“We had a really good meeting with the club just before the season started and we’ll assess that at the end of the year,” Cameron said at the time.
“I’m a nine-year coach, 10 years at the footy club, and sometimes trying to work through a contract in the hurly burly of week-in, week-out footy is pretty full-on.
“I think it’s a really smart decision from the footy club. It’s an honest decision.”
(C) AAP 2022
