It’s the beginning of a new football season and the Coleambally Blues Football team are looking for a fresh start.
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With two new co-coaches and an injection of fresh blood in the form of new players from Leeton and Griffith, the year looks promising.
Shortly after their appointment last year, Coleambally co-coaches Mitch Carroll and Tom Groves announced their intention to recruit heavily in a bid to guide the Blues back to finals form.
I’ve been really happy with the pre-season training. Numbers are good and people keep turning up, so it’s going well.
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Groves is a Coleambally local who spent two seasons as an assistant coach before stepping into the top job.
“We’ve got a couple of young signings from Leeton and Griffith. They should inject some fresh blood into the side,” he said.
“Joel Crowhurst and Dillan Mcgillivray are two new ones that have come across from Leeton.”
Mitch Carroll also returns to Coleambally as non-playing coach. He previously coached the side for two years.
It’s believed Carroll will travel from Ganmain to coach, with Groves and new assistant coach Tom Morton to take the reins during the week.
The first round will see Coleambally take on North Wagga Saints at McPherson Oval on April 14.
It seems they’re already keen to kick start the new season.
“We’ve had such a big run up to the start of the season. I’m just looking forward to getting out there and playing. We’re pretty happy with the draw this year. It’s all worked out pretty well.”
After a tough 2017 season and a bottom-two finish, the new coaches appear to be looking for a new beginning.
Groves says players can expect the new coaches to take a different approach.
“It’s different having two coaches. It’s a different start all together. New coaches have different game plans, so it’ll all be a bit of a departure from what’s done in the past,” he said.
He feels he’s learnt a lot from Carroll already.
“Mitch is a wealth of knowledge. He’s played a lot of footy and coached a lot of sides and successful sides. I’m definitely learning a lot from him at the moment,” he said.
Groves says he feels there are a few players to watch this year, but there’s one who stands out.
“Graham O’Connell is probably the player to watch this year. He had a pretty good year last year, but we’ve really seen his fitness improve,” he said.
“I think he’s one to keep an eye on. He’ll be a real asset.”