Rokewood-Corindhap’s new coach Jarrod Thompson has moved quickly to bolster leadership around the club with the addition of two key recruits for next season.
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Thompson, who was revealed as Mick Hynes’ replacement at the Grasshoppers’ helm last month, has lured Damon Delaney and Jake Dowell for the 2017 Central Highlands Football League campaign.
Delaney will serve as one of Thompson’s assistant coaches, alongside Jason Hutchins.
Hutchins is a former senior coach of the club.
“The two major players that we have targeted so far are both on-field leaders, so that’s one area, with a young group, (where we needed) some help there,” Thompson said.
“They’ve got great ideas and are obviously both quality players...”
They’ve got great ideas and are obviously both quality players...
- Grasshoppers coach Jarrod Thompson on his two key signings
Thompson said Delaney, who signs from Hampden league club Cobden, where he has played more than 150 senior games, has had some coaching experience through a role with the North Ballarat Rebels squad.
The onballer/forward is Thompson’s brother-in-law.
“He’ll be a walk-in start to the midfield, which will be good,” Thompson told The Courier.
Dowell, meanwhile, arrives at Rokewood-Corindhap from Camperdown, where he formed part of that club’s leadership team in 2016.
“He’s a very classy, skillful midfielder/half forward flanker,” Thompson said.
Jeremy Sezun is another new player locked in for next season, with Thompson expecting the former Winchelsea footballer to hold down a key role in defence.
Thompson said he is still working on bringing more players to the Grasshoppers.
“I’d love to get another onballer and another key player, but we will keep working on that,” he said.
Thompson himself is a massive addition to the Grasshoppers’ playing stocks. A defender who can run through the midfield, the 30-year-old is a two-time Victoria Country division one representative and has played in senior premierships with South Warrnambool (2006 and 2011) and Yarrawonga alongside former Carlton and Brisbane Lions star Brendan Fevola in 2013.
He is also an interleague representative with both the Hampden and Ovens and Murray competitions.
Thompson has taken charge of a Rokewood-Corindhap senior side that finished the 2016 CHFL season in 14th position on the ladder with four wins.
That return is the club’s best since joining the league in 2011.
Rokewood-Corindhap’s pre-season training is set to begin on November 16, with regular Wednesday night sessions planned in the lead-up to Christmas.
In the league’s draft 2017 fixture, the Grasshoppers are to begin their new season with a trip to meet Carngham-Linton on April 1.
Their first home game is planned to be against Smythesdale the following weekend.
