Coleambally have pulled off a coup signing key position player – and amateur boxer – Josh Hamilton, as coach and his fellow former Griffith Swan, Tom Groves, as assistant.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Hamilton admits taking charge at the Farrer League club is a step into the unknown but the 24-year old said Coleambally was the right fit for his first foray into coaching.
“When I met with them, the support they were giving me won me over,” Hamilton said.
“Being a young coach, you don’t want to go somewhere and have no support but they were really good.”
Groves will add to that support, returning to his home club as Hamilton’s assistant, after stints on the coaching staff at Griffith and VFL club Coburg.
“He’s a hard nut, goes hard at the ball,” Hamilton said.
“He played 60 or 70 games in the VFL and that’s only one step away from the big league, so he had a lot of experience down there, and he was a forward line coach too.”
Groves was keen to return to Coleambally after a decade away and said Hamilton is the sort of player the Blues can get behind.
“I lived here most of my life, my parents have been here for a while and I’m excited and looking forward to working with Josh,” Groves said.
He's agile, quick and skilful and plays with a lot of passion which is awesome.
- Coleambally assistant Tom Groves on Josh Hamilton
“He’s a very good player, gives you more than 110 percent… and he can play anywhere on the field.
“Even for his size he could go into the midfield and have an impact – he’s agile and quick and skilful and plays with a lot of passion, which is awesome.”
Hamilton said he hasn’t got a firm view on where he’ll play but is hoping to ease some pressure on Coleambally best and fairest, and 2014 Clear Medallist, Dean Pound, a former teammate at Lavington.
“They’ve got another good young bloke (Brendan Hardy) who’s been playing in the ruck,” he said.
“I’m hoping I can give him a bit of a cut out and free Dean up.
“Another big fella and they can’t give all their attention to Dean, which I think has been happening a bit.”
A former Ovens and Murray League representative player who joined Griffith in 2014, Hamilton said he’s learnt plenty under Brandon Matthews, Tim Sanson and Phil Bunn and is keen to get his own coaching career underway.
“It gives you a chance to voice your opinion a bit more and I’m hoping the experience I’ve had can help them out,” he said.
Coleambally made the finals the last two seasons under Mitch Carroll (who hasn’t ruled out returning as a player) and Hamilton – a part-time super heavyweight boxer who hopes to have a couple of fights before Christmas – said he’ll be working on fitness to ensure the Blues pack a punch next season.
“We’ll try and get the boys real fit, that helps you later in the year...
“Obviously we want to go for the title but I’ll know more once I meet a few of the boys, see where they’re at and we’ll go from there.”
