GREENHAM Park will have a vastly different feel to it next season, with the Neagle brothers set to depart Balranald and head west to South Mildura.
Jydon Neagle, who has spent the past three seasons coaching the Roos, was yesterday announced as South Mildura’s new coach, with younger brothers Matthew and Jaxon also joining the Sunraysia Football & Netball League club.
Their departure is expected to leave a massive hole for Balranald to fill, which is on the lookout for a new coach after Tom Lister also announced that he won’t be returning in 2025, having shared the coaching duties with Neagle this season.
Having reached the grand final in 2023, where they were ultimately beaten by Kerang, Balranald scraped into fifth position this year, where they made it as far as the first semi-final before they were eliminated by eventual premiers Nyah-Nyah West United.
It was with a “heavy heart” that Neagle announced his departure from the Roos, with his dream of emulating the feats of his late father Merv in leading Balranald to a premiership over.
“I want to thank the Balranald footy club for giving me the opportunity to coach for the first time,” Neagle told The Guardian this week. “I’ll always be indebted to the club for putting their faith and trust in me, and the club will always have a special place in my heart.
“Nothing worth doing is ever easy and it wasn’t always a smooth road, but that’s the same for any coaching job. I couldn’t be happier with my time in Balranald.
“Getting to the grand final last season was a huge effort. We had a lot of travellers and the group wasn’t together as much as I’d like, but to get them back into a grand final was amazing.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t sustain that form this season and although we made the finals, we didn’t quite reach the heights that we were hoping for and instead of us hunting teams, we were getting hunted.
“I’m definitely disappointed that we didn’t go all the way, but at the same time a lot of people never get the chance to play in a grand final and I’m grateful for that opportunity (in 2023).
“There will always be a feeling of the job not being done, but all good things have to come to an end.”
Both Matthew and Jaxon Neagle will join their brother at South Mildura next season.
While Jydon and Matthew will be ready to hit the ground running in round 1 for their new club, Jaxon will have to wait until at least round 10, with the key defender having nine weeks remaining on his 10-week suspension.
After three years in charge at Balranald, Neagle was unsure if he wanted to step straight into coaching again, but it was the encouragement from his brothers that helped convince him to accept a new challenge.
“(Matthew and Jaxon) were the ones that talked me into it, pretty much,” Neagle said.
“If one of us goes anywhere, it’s pretty hard for the other two to not follow them.
“It’s pretty special for us to play together and I think most guys would love to play with their brothers for as long as they can and we’re no different.
“The ultimate would be to play in a premiership and have success together and if we can get there, it would be incredible.”
