When Dean Sinclair returned to the coaching hot seat at Northern Football League side Thomastown he planned on being there only a year.
The man who coached Thomastown to the 2008 premiership returned to the club late in the 2014 preseason when Steve Krstevski switched to Watsonia.
Three years and another premiership later, Sinclair has decided this season will be his last.
“It was only ever going to be for one year and it’s now three years,” he said.
“I’ve got a trip to Europe planned for next year, which is the main reason [I’m leaving].”
Sinclair’s first year back in charge resulted in a division 3 premiership and promotion back to division 2.
The last two years have been mixed, with the Bears just missing finals last year and struggling this year.
They are currently sit fifth on the ladder.
“Last year we surpassed our expectations,” Sinclair said. “We won a lot of games and missed finals by only half a game.
“The whole ambition was to be competitive, so to just miss finals was good.
“This year we’ve been treading water a little bit. It’s been disappointing but we’ve managed to maintain our spot in division 2.”
Sinclair said the club did not recruit as well as they thought for this year and had been hit by injuries.
“We’ve missed both our captains, who’ve been out injured for extended periods of time,” he said.
“We’re a very young side and I think we’ve had 23 points on the points system a couple of times, which is the lowest in the competition.”
He said that with such a young playing group, there was a lot to look forward to.
Even though he won’t be coaching, Sinclair will still be involved with the club.
“The club has asked me to help out until I fly out next May,” he said.
“I think they need to look at someone with a bit of experience to guide the young guys moving forward.
“We need to keep developing from within.”
Elsewhere in the NFL, Lalor’s losing streak continued when they lost 20.13 (133)9.8 (62) against Diamond Creek.
In division 1, Bundoora beat Lower Plenty, while Whittlesea just fell short against West Preston-Lakeside.
South Morang and Mernda were among the winners in division 3.
