New coach, same plan
INCOMING Modewarre coach Damian Stephenson says he will not be trying to reinvent the wheel when he takes the reins from Matt Armstrong for the 2019 season.
Armstrong departs the Warriors after four years, during which time he oversaw a period of success that brought in back-to-back premierships in 2017 and 2018.
Stephenson has served as a B-grade coach and assistant coach in that time, giving him a strong rapport with the Warriors senior list, and he said his main priority was ensuring his players were enjoying their netball.
“I think when something is working already you don’t want to mess around with it too much,” Stephenson said.
“We had a fantastic season in 2018 and I think we would be hoping to build upon that and keep playing better as a group as opposed to seeing what we can change.
“There are a couple of things we might look to add in to mix things up a little bit so that we are keeping on our toes, but I think for the whole it is going to be going through like we have for the last couple of years and working on that, because it has obviously worked for us.
“So I won’t be trying to do anything too radical.”
Armstrong cited family reasons for stepping down from the head coaching role at Modewarre, with his prior role at Bell Post Hill taking his time in charge of an A-grade team to seven years.
But Stephenson has been quick to lock away most of the premiership team from 2018 and said, despite the winning formula the Warriors had in place, he was open to adding to the squad under the right circumstances.
“We have got most of the spots covered, so we’re right to go, but the beauty of being successful for two years is that you are probably a little bit more enticing to some other players looking to make some moves,” he said.
“But we have only just sewn up talking to last season’s players, so we will start to look if there are any gaps and if there is anyone we want to talk to. There might be people who are new to Geelong who might be looking for a spot but we will look to cross that bridge in the next couple of weeks.”
MEANWHILE Geelong Amateur is on the search for a new A-grade coach, with 2016 premiership mentor Heidi Shaw stepping down after one season.
Shaw said it had always been the plan to be in the role for just one year, but she leaves Ammos in a strong position, having re-signed most of the A-grade side from this season.