Supercars Darwin: Barry Ryan's frank verdict on fall of Erebus
After a fairytale start to the Gen3 era, which saw Erebus win both the drivers' and teams' titles in 2023, the squad has endured a string of well-publicised internal struggles.
Will Brown defected to Triple Eight at the end of 2023, while reigning champion Brodie Kostecki missed the start of the 2024 season while in dispute with the team, which coincided with big name sponsors such as Coca-Cola walking away.
Kostecki would later return and win the Bathurst 1000, however left to Dick Johnson Racing at the end of last season – along with both Erebus race engineers George Commins and Tom Moore.
Team principal Brad Tremain also left the squad at the end of 2024 with plans to pursue an opportunity in IndyCar in the US.
That has prompted a significant, and ongoing, internal rebuild, highlighted by Ryan himself needing to take the race engineer role on Jack Le Brocq's car.
It's been tough going for Le Brocq and rookie teammate Cooper Murray, too, with Erebus slumping to last in the teams' standings ahead of this weekend's Darwin Triple Crown.
'There's no hiding behind it; the last 18 months have been really hard on our team. Really hard,' said Ryan at Hidden Valley on Friday.
'Losing key people … our last rebuild was 2021 and we got Brodie and Will and no one believed, really, in that. And we won a championship two years later, and we won Bathurst the year after.
'We've gone back to where we were [in 2021].
'It's hard on the team. To replace people like George, Tom and Brodie is really hard. Brad Tremain is going to kick goals in America. That's four key people out of the team, it's really tough to replace that.
'It's going to take time. We can't hide behind that. I can only do so much and the boys that I've had there for six, seven years can only do so much.
'Unfortunately I'm still race engineering, and I say that because I shouldn't be. I should be running the business. But until we can get the right person to do that role; we're trying to self-promote from within, we're trying to find an engineer we can just put in and be really successful.
'It's a balancing act and I can't say I'm really enjoying it. We got to a point where we were beating Triple Eight and we wanted to be that team that was the best year in, year out.
'Massive respect to Roland Dane for what he did for that whole time he was there, and what they're still doing. We got there and we just couldn't keep the momentum.
'No matter what everyone thinks the reason is why. We just couldn't keep that momentum that teams like that can do.
'Anyway, it's a lesson learned, this whole situation. We'll try not to go through it again.
'We'll get there again. We're confident in our team. We've got a great bunch of loyal staff that want to stay on and want to see us get there again and win championships and Bathursts.
'We're still going to go to Bathurst trying to win there this year. We'll have the belief and we'll have the drivers than can do it.'
Erebus showed signs of improvement on track on Friday, with Murray 11th in the second practice session and Le Brocq in 19th as Andre Heimgartner led the way for Brad Jones Racing ahead of Ryan Wood and Will Brown.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Telegraph
31 minutes ago
- Daily Telegraph
Kaylee McKeown hard launches new relationship with ex-AFL player Declan Watson, swimming latest news
Don't miss out on the headlines from Swimming. Followed categories will be added to My News. Australia's Olympic golden girl Kaylee McKeown has publicly revealed her new partner – former North Melbourne AFL-listed-player-turned-lawyer Declan Watson – just a week after her stunning world championships performance in Singapore. McKeown is undoubtedly one of Australia's biggest Olympic stars, the first Aussie in history to win back-to-back 100m-200m swimming titles following her incredible performances in Paris last year. Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. But behind the golden glow McKeown suffered heartache, with a split from her long term boyfriend and fellow Dolphins swimmer Brendan Smith. McKeown and Smith had dated for about four years, both having set up base on the Gold Coast in the lead up to the Paris Olympics training under Michael Bohl. But since the split, and with Bohl relocating to China, McKeown has left the Gold Coast and relocated back home to the Sunshine Coast with her family to continue her swimming career. PREMIUM CONTENT The one topic that's off limits in the household of star Matilda Inside the lives of Australian sporting power couples Who is Australia's greatest swimmer this century? Swim star Kaylee McKeown has publicly revealed her new partner Declan Watson. Picture: Instagram McKeown with her new beau at Uluru. Picture: Instagram However the 24-year-old has clearly moved on with life, winning double backstroke gold again in Singapore and then returning home for a well-deserved holiday with her new man posting some stunning photos of their holiday to Uluru. Watson too posted photos of McKeown on his Instagram page – making the duo Insta-official. The 26-year-old was drafted by North Melbourne with pick No.34 in the 2016 draft but after back-to-back ACL injuries the key defender never played a game for the Kangaroos and was de-listed in 2019. He has since returned home to Brisbane where he now works as a lawyer. 'Declan showed some great potential but unfortunately was set back with injury,' North VFL coach David Loader said at the time. 'He was a great contributor to our group and we certainly wish him all the best for the future.'
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
JACKSON BARRETT: International white-ball matches in the Top End could help revitalise short-form cricket
Cricket is dipping its toes back into winter waters, but it's time for it to take the plunge and embrace it full-time. The first two matches of the Top End series between Australia and South Africa have been a success. The ground is full and vibrant, the wickets are perfect short-form decks that change once the dew sets in and the ground comes across really well on TV. And the opponents — a near full-strength South Africa with their eggs in the Twenty20 basket — are strong enough to give the series genuine appeal. In fact, this is tracking towards being the most engaging white-ball series played on Australian shores in quite some time and the northerners are loving it The first game in Darwin was sold out and now the deciding game in Cairns on Saturday is also a sell-out. The summer series in recent years have felt like a tepid entree, wedged between the end of the football season and the start of the Test summer, where we're all actually more interested in how national team aspirants go in the Sheffield Shield. In the build-up to the World Cup, it is also one of the strongest and most stable white-ball teams Australia has had for some time. The tour is getting close to making the country feel some affection for its short-form teams again. The energy of the cricket-starved Northern Territory crowd has been infectious. Cricket Australia needs to lean into this. There are two Tests scheduled against Bangladesh for this time next year that are almost certain to be played in northern Australia as well, but it's the one-day and Twenty20 matches that could truly be revitalised. Like all international cricket, interest in these series rely on jeopardy. This one has it. South Africa knocked Australia off in the World Test Championship and both teams are now building towards next year's T20 World Cup. Now the series is level — and players like Dewald Brevis have emerged with a rush — there's plenty to play for. Australia doesn't make money off summer one-day series and while playing in Darwin, Cairns and Mackay wouldn't be turning a profit either, little if anything would be lost by taking a good opponent from October to face them in August. The shots of pastel Darwin sunsets and packed outers could also soon become a winter tourism escape. England would do anything to have a region where they could play international opponents in the middle of their winter and expose players to cricket for close enough to 12 months of the year. Former Test cricketers Ed Cowan and Jason Gillespie are among those to push for the Australian Cricket Academy to be reborn and moved to Darwin. It would mean the best teenagers in the country are back training under the eye of coaches linked to the national program and Test aspirants can be finetuned in the lead-up to big series. Darwin is a sports-hungry market that has been left largely untapped. The AFL has mostly shouldered arms to it, despite its deep-seated passion for the sport, and if Gold Coast have their way matches in Darwin would be reduced further. It's the perfect time to make Darwin the home of white-ball winter cricket. It brings cricket to a part of Australia that otherwise sees little of it and could be the rocket those formats need.
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
Grants for social enterprises look to break cycles of disadvantage
Roya Moeen never saw herself being a head chef of a popular restaurant. Fleeing the Taliban from her home in Afghanistan, she came to Australia in 2014. Her experience working was mainly as a housewife for her family. But then, three years ago, she found an opportunity to work at Kabul Social. "I can, because I'm [a] good chef at home and [then I] come here, after that, I started work. First time I'm very scared. You know, after that, slowly, slowly, I'm better." Now the head chef, she says it's been an empowering experience. She leads a kitchen which donates meals to those in need, one in Sydney and one in Afghanistan for every meal sold. "I can look after my family and I work outside and independent. You know, I feel independent. It's so good for everyone." This kind of initiative has been backed by the federal government and is now receiving a $120,000 grant. Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek even had her own go at Afghan cuisine. Plate it Forward, which runs Kabul Social, is just one of the organisations receiving funding aimed at helping marginalised communities. Ms Plibersek says it's hoped social enterprises like this will have a long-lasting impact. "We want to invest a small amount of money so these terrific organisations can help more people help themselves. We know the impact of intergenerational disadvantage, and we want to stop it by investing with refugee women, with First Nations communities, people with a disability. By investing early, helping them become financially self-sustaining, we know that we'll change their lives and we'll change the trajectory of their families' lives." David Hetherington is the CEO of Impact Investing Australia. He says better employment outcomes help address the disadvantages experienced by marginalised communities. "We want to see the funders and the kind of supporting ecosystem, who makes it possible, get stronger and deeper and ultimately, the goal is to address that disadvantage, that marginalisation that exists in the Australian community, and bring more and more and more people into mainstream employment and the mainstream economy." Shaun Christie-David is the CEO of Plate it Forward Hospitality. With four other restaurants as well, he says this is an opportunity for Plate it Forward to grow even further. "This represents so much to us. I think where we're seeing is the incredible strength and talent of our team, accelerating in ways that are beyond what we would have dreamt of. So this allows us to move into more venues, more impact, more employment and great opportunities and outcomes for our incredible people from the under-represented communities that we serve." For Roya, cooking is deeply meaningful to her. And it's a career she hopes to pursue further. "I feel so good and I want a big restaurant!"
