Sport
20 January, 2025
Our new footy coach
New arrival from England, coach Alan Kilshaw has ambitions to turn the Bears into a mean, fit fighting machine.
Kilshaw arrived in Oakey at the start of 2025, and is settling into town with his family.
He will be the new coaching director of the Oakey Bears in 2025, with a mandate to streamline the system from juniors up and improve club culture.
The role of coaching director is one Kilshaw is familiar with, having taken up the position during his last year of his previous stint in Australia with the Sarina Crocodiles in the Mackay competition.
That year, 2015, was the culmination of a three year period where he took the Crocodiles from the bottom of the Mackay comp to minor premiers in A Grade and Reserve Grade and premiers in Under 18s.
Fans of the Bears will be hoping the Englishman can perform a similar turnaround at a club which has similar attributes (small population/30km from a major centre/no leagues club or rich patron).
Kilshaw is looking for a fresh start in Oakey with his young family, who he hopes will be able to gain residency here.
This long term ambition of the coach comes after an unsavoury conclusion to his previous job at English second tier club Swinton, which was relegated to the third-tier League One competition.
This season was a career outlier though, after a three-year stint at third-tier Hunslet and a successful three-year stay at Rochdale, which saw them promoted to the second-tier after a famous comeback win over French club Toulouse.
Kilshaw thanked club president Jason Shannon for the opportunity.
“Oakey is a sleeping giant,” he said.
“It’s a family-oriented club with a close-knit community.”
The Englishman says he wants performances this year to match the characteristics of the town.
“What’s our Bears DNA?
“Oakey is a hard working community, how we’re seen elsewhere doesn’t matter to us, we’ve got that siege mentality and we’re pretty aggressive.
“We’ve got to be disciplined, but we want teams to know they’re in for a tough afternoon when they come here.
“The club have done everything they said they would so far. Hopefully I can do the same.”
The coach talks well - let’s see what 2025 holds.
