East Wagga-Kooringal have secured respected coach Matt Hard for a second year.
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The Hawks have finalised a new deal with Hard that will extend his tenure at Gumly Oval to the end of 2019, at the least.
Hard joined EWK this season after 10 years as Coolamon coach and has enjoyed a fresh start at the Hawks.
“It was an easy decision,” Hard said.
“It was a five minute conversation, really. It all went really smoothly and quickly.
“I’ve enjoyed it. The club and all the players have been really welcoming. Getting to know the players, they’re all great blokes and I’ve really enjoyed working with them.
"The club and committee have been fantastic and my family is out there playing footy and netball now and they all enjoy it, which weighs into the decision as well.”
Hard always expected the partnership to move into a second year.
“I never had an intention of it being just one year,” he said.
“That was a start, they got a look at me, I got a look at them and we’re all pretty happy with the way it’s gone.
“I’m happy to re-sign and keep working with the list. The number one objective is to retain our current list and obviously build on that. I think the foundation has been laid.”
The Hawks started strongly under Hard, winning their first three games.
They turned the halfway point of the season only four points off top spot but have lost their past four games as injuries struck.
Hard is confident the club is headed in the right direction.
“Definitely, we were a bit unlucky at the start of the year that half a dozen players verbally committed and then backflipped,” he said.
“We will try to get them back next year.
“It’s a very even competition. We know where we’re at and where we’ve got to get to.
“The club is committed to doing everything it possibly can to be successful and I hope to be apart of that.”
While struggling at the moment, the Hawks remain in fourth position and only face teams below them in the remaining four rounds.
Hard is confident the Hawks can still challenge this season.
“We’re still a live chance,” he said.
“Our aim at the start of the year was to play finals and hopefully in three or four weeks we’ll qualify for that.
“We’ve showed it that we can match it with every side in the comp and hopefully with a bit of luck we can make our presence felt.”
The Hawks are the third Farrer League club to lock in their coach for 2019.
Marrar has re-signed Shane Lenon, while Jake Wooden will enter the second year of a two-year contract at Temora.
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