BALRANALD will be hoping to bounce back up the ladder in 2022, with the recent appointment of Jydon Neagle as co-coach of the Roo’s for next season.
Neagle comes to Balranald with huge wraps, having won three senior Best & Fairest’s for Ovens & Murray Football League club Wodonga Raiders, on top of playing with Central Districts in the SANFL, Essendon in the VFL and the Murray Bushrangers in the then TAC Cup.
Neagle will lead Balranald alongside current coach Ben Mahon, with club president Tony Stead telling The Guardian the move was a major positive for the club.
“Jydon’s a huge appointment for our footy club – he’s a quality player and comes with very high credentials,” Stead said.
“It’s a huge plus having both guys commit together to coaching us; Benny did a terrific job in his first year of coaching this season, we didn’t have a coach and he put his hand up and I reckon we had a really good year under his guidance.
“And together with Jydon, I think they’ll both lean on and learn from one another – they’ve both got a really good connection already so it looks pretty positive.”
The Roos were one of the surprise packets of 2021, winning four of their ten games and finishing seventh on the Central Murray ladder; with current coach Ben Mahon bullish about what lies ahead for Balranald.
“We’ll be looking to build on what we accomplished this season – I think we turned a few heads in the footy community outside our club, not only as a senior football team but also with the A Grade netballers and we’ll be just looking to build on that next year,” Mahon said.
“No doubt we’ll also be trying to get our Colts team back up and running next as well, but in saying that we had four debutants this year in the seniors so we’re also looking to build on that going forward into the future.”
Jydon is the son of Balranald’s 2006 Premiership coach Merv Neagle and started his footballing journey in the blue and white stripes as a junior, with Stead proud of the return of the famous footballing name to his club.
“Jydon indicated he wanted to come back to Balranald and he obviously wants to do what his old man did I suppose,” Stead said.
“He informed us he wanted to take the next step and start his coaching career and he’s chosen us to do that with – it’s a big thrill for us to have him return and start that journey here.”
It might not be the only big announcement for the Roos either, with the club wasting no time in trying to improve their list for next year.
“There are some recruits in the pipeline, nothing official as yet, but we’ve got a few players that we are looking at to improve the team for 2022,” Stead said.
“Coupled with the bulk of our list committing to playing next season, I think we will be well placed for a fairly successful year ahead.”
