Top gun a Saint

CHAMPION local footy veteran Ricky O’Toole says the lure of a premiership was a major factor in his decision to join CDFL powerhouse Birregurra.

O’Toole this week returned to coaching ranks, putting pen to paper with the Saints, saying the strength of the list and Birregurra’s premiership potential had convinced him.

“The player retention was one of main reasons why I decided to take on the job,” O’Toole said.

“I think they’ve got a really good squad and a lot of the guys have been around for a while. They’ve done a lot right in the last four, five or six years, so it’s just a matter of me coming in and trying to keep the ship running straight.

“I’m not trying to change too much, maybe bring a couple ideas here or there, but I need to sit down with the club and work through what they did this year and the years previous, what worked and what didn’t work and add a little bit to it.”

A Newcomb premiership coach and winner of the league best-and-fairest medals in the GFL, BFL and GDFL, O’Toole comes to the Saints with one of country footy’s best CVs.

Birregurra president Mick Paddick revealed the club courted the former East Geelong mentor after failing to secure a playing coach.

“We interviewed a few high-profile candidates, but they were still playing finals at the time, so we waited until the end of the season and that didn’t work out,” Paddick said.

“It went a bit quiet and one of the guys on our coaching panel (Luke Phillips) proposed Ricky O’Toole and we gave him a call and he was happy to sit down and have a chat with us.”

O’Toole hasn’t ruled out having a kick if required, but the 40-year-old concedes it would be “more unlikely than likely”.

“We’d have to have an abundance of injuries for me to play,” he said.

“I still need to get a feel for the club and I don’t want to stand in the way of a young kid who might be coming up.”