After celebrating their ninth senior flag two weeks ago, it hasn’t taken long for focus to shift at the Kerang Football Netball Club – with news their joint coach Bryce ‘Duck’ Curnow will no longer be pulling on the navy blue guernsey.
Curnow was announced as coach of the Sandhurst in the Bendigo Football League last week and will jointly fill the role alongside former Swan Hill and Tooleybuc coach and player Ash Connick.
The full forward will return to Bendigo after two seasons with the Blues and an even more impressive CV than when he arrived, having not only added this year’s premiership, but also the 2021 Jack Betts Medal and Kerang best and fairest.
Curnow, who spoke with The Guardian following the announcement, was effusive in his praise for his former club – and also bullish about their future going forward.
“I’ve mentioned this numerous times, but my time at Kerang has certainly been the best couple of years for me in terms of enjoying my footy,” Curnow said.
“It was obviously nice to be able to top it off with a premiership, but as far as the club’s concerned, they’ve been nothing short of fantastic throughout my entire time and they’re fully supportive of my decision, which is really just based around having a young family now with young Goldie.
“‘Coatesy’ (Troy Coates) asked me for just one or two years when I first signed on with the club and he said now that I’ve held up my end of the bargain, all the club can say now is thanks and we wish you all the best and support the move.
“That speaks volumes to not only Troy and club itself, but also the culture at Kerang and everyone involved – I’ve had multiple people from the club reach out to me since the news broke and wish me all the best, which doesn’t always happen with some footy clubs, who can often get a bit pissed off or sour at your for leaving – but Kerang have been nothing but supportive.
“Hopefully next year they can back it up and go back-to-back, they’re a club that’s full of great people and I’ve been truly grateful for their support across these past two seasons – I’ve only got great memories of the club, there really is not one negative and I’m looking forward to coming back for the reunions already.”
While one of the Blues’ best on grand final day, having spent time both in attack and defence, 2022 was also a difficult season for Curnow, having endured health issues mid-season which saw him miss four matches between rounds 11 and 14.
But with Curnow returning home as a premiership winning coach, he’s also looking forward to the challenge that lies in wait with the Dragons.
“I’m very excited by the announcement, I’ve got a lot of mates at Sandhurst from when I was at school, so that will be nice to play alongside of them and play with some familiar faces and families – I can’t wait for next season to roll around so I can get into it to be honest,” Curnow said.
