The Central Highlands Football League has appointed Rohan Brown and Heath Pyke as joint coaches of the interleague team.
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Both coaches have achieved the ultimate success at local level, Brown taking Beaufort all the way last season while Pyke took Bungaree to premiership success in 2014.
Brown said it was an extremely exciting opportunity and said one of the main focuses for the pair was to get players representing the league and enjoying it and in turn getting the CHFL back to where it belongs on AFL Victoria Community Championships rankings, currently 26th.
“What better opportunity to try and get the league back to where it should be,” Brown said.
“It’s got to be player-driven. As a league, we need to get our best 22 playing. Hopefully we can make it an enjoyable experience and something blokes want to do.”
Pyke echoed Brown’s thoughts. The main aim surrounding getting the league’s best players into an interleague jumper.
There is also expected to be plenty of youth in the side. As well as a selected, and capable, under-19 player or two to be given a taste of the senior interleague.
“We think it gives us a greater opportunity to canvas the league...but also we think it gives us a greater knowledge, not only on game day, but giving the players something back from the interleague experience as well,” Pyke said.
“That was something we were really conscious of during the process, if we were going to take on a role like that we do need to give the role its due time and the players the opportunity to develop and walk away from the experience having gained something.”
CHFL president Eddy Comelli said the pair’s experience and knowledge of the league made them the standout applicants.
“They are obviously well-credentialed coaches, both in the system at the moment and both associated with successful cubs so we thought we’d go down that path,” Comelli said.
“Both have a good knowledge of all the players in the competition.”