SIRU
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THE coaching puzzle in Southern Inland Rugby Union is almost complete with Leeton and Cootamundra going with experienced heads for the upcoming season.
Ag College is the only club not to lock in a mentor, with Liam Ward taking over the reins at Leeton and Jeff White in charge of the Tri-Colours.
Both men are stepping up to the first grade role for the first time, but bring a wealth of rugby experience to the table.
White played around 200 first grade games for the Junee Rams and has been involved with Cootmamundra since moving to the town four years ago.
The veteran is looking to build on the current squad and has his eyes set on making the premier division when the competition splits.
"We only ended up playing in the Romano's Cup and definitely the goal for this year is to go one step further and get into top tier rugby," White said.
"Once you make the cut, the opportunities are there to go on and do the full the job. That's the goal for the first part of the year and we'll build on it from there."
One of the drawcards for White was the mix of exciting youth and experience in the club.
"We've got a lot of potential in the club with the young blokes coming through and I think the kids are ready to play some good rugby," he said.
"There is a lot of senior heads running around the club too."
White will be supported by new assistant coach Alex Hardie and is expecting the majority of last year's squad to remain.
Departing coach Andrew Glover stepped down from the role due to family and working commitments, but White would love to see him play this season.
Leeton president Bart Challacombe confirmed club stalwart Ward would move from coaching the women's sevens team to the first grade team.
"It's something we've been discussing with him for a fair while," Challacombe said. "We've been keen to get him into the job so we're pretty happy."
Ward guided the Phantoms to a shock victory over Griffith in the inaugural women's sevens competition.
Challacombe is looking to Ward uniting the side, as he did with the with the ladies.
"The grand final is a one-off game but it was a game we certainly weren't meant to win and he managed to get them up and it is a good feather in his cap," he said.
"He had them overall as a unit, playing really well together and emphasised the strength of the team overall � getting more out of individuals through being part of a team."