HAWKS SWOOP ON OLD COACH
AWAY from the AFL Cairns competition since late 2014, new Manunda coach Brad Sinclair believes he has found the perfect assistant coach to guide him back into the FNQ league.
The man to lead the Hawks in 2020 and beyond held a meet the coaches evening and pre-season launch at Cazalys Stadium on Wednesday night after arriving in the Far North over the last week.
Sinclair, who coached the club in 2014, understands he is behind the eight-ball starting planning for 2020 in mid-January but is keen to get stuck into his work ahead of his return to fulltime coaching.
The respected Marc Harbrow has led the club since Sinclair departed at the end of 2014, but following the 2019 campaign, decided to step away from the senior coaching position.
Sinclair convinced Harbrow to stay on as an assistant, as well as bringing in former AFL footballer Tyson Lane, and he thinks the retention of the club’s former senior coach as his deputy will be key to the club’s success this year.
“I am glad Marc is staying on, the playing group love him and he knows the AFL Cairns competition better than most,” Sinclair said.
“Marc will be invaluable to me. He has been running sessions before I arrived.
“He has given me a good rundown on our players.”
Despite being Victorianbased over the last few years,
Sinclair estimates he has been able to watch as many as 10 AFL Cairns games a season through live streaming, and believes he is up to speed with where the competition is at as a result.
At training this week, there were as many as six footballers Sinclair coached during his last stint at Cazalys Stadium.
“The new transformation is the playing group getting to know me, it should be smooth,” Sinclair said.
Key position talent Ezekiel Frank is locked in for another season in the brown and gold, while Sinclair was unsure if on-baller Joel Karwan would be back in 2020, citing increased work commitments.
The former Victorianbased Sinclair was at the helm of Manunda when they were banned from entering sides in the competition by the AFL Cairns board after the club voted not to travel to Port Douglas for a game in 2014.