Keith Senior has taken to social media to confirm he has left Championship outfit Sheffield Eagles, where he had a coaching position.
Senior represented the Eagles as a player and was involved in the club’s famous Challenge Cup win over Wigan Warriors in 1998 before moving on to join Leeds Rhinos. The centre made 365 appearances for the the Rhinos before his retirement in 2011 and is considered one of the greatest players to ever represent the club.
The former Great Britain international returned to Sheffield in 2015 to work as a first-team coach under Mark Aston and he has been involved with the Eagles for nine and a half years. However, after seeing the Eagles miss out on a play-off spot, following their loss at Dewsbury Rams on the final day of the season, Senior has decided to step away from the club.
His decision comes with Aston suspended by the club pending an RFL Operational Rules Tribunal.
“I am going through mixed emotions as I write this as it’s my time to move on from my coaching role at Sheffield Eagles RLFC,” Senior wrote on LinkedIn. “The club has been a major part of my life from being a teenage kid and making my professional debut back in 1994 to the last 10 years as a coach.
“As with anything there has been some massive highs and terrible lows, from moving from stadium to stadium trying to find a home to turning up one pre-season with 12-14 players, to the highs of beating a Super League team in the playoffs, winning the 1895 trophy at Wembley.
“This is life and sport, and it has to come to an end at some point, now is my time. What’s next – that is the big question – I do not know.
“But what I do know is that it is scary, daunting, exciting, and a whole host of emotions, but, we face these challenges head-on and luckily I have a superb support network around me, you know who you are. So a big thank you to the club, fans, backroom staff, and the players that have come through them changing room doors over the years. I hope I have left a mark and didn’t scare you too much with my happy face.
“Most of all I would like to thank Mark Aston for giving me the opportunity all them years ago, when I was dealing with retirement and stuck in a hole at the time. The chance to test myself challenged me, excited me, gave me sleepless nights but gave me a new purpose so I’m forever grateful.
“But for now, it’s about looking for new adventures and challenges, now that is the exciting part!”
Senior is set to be involved in Leeds Rhinos’ ‘745 Game’ at Headingley next month as a host of club legends take on a rugby union all-stars team in a hybrid contest to raise money for MND charities.