FORMER Tolland player Aaron Mo'ane will lead Wagga United's Pascoe Cup team next season under the club's new head coach Scott Rohrich.
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Wagga United have unveiled a new structure for next season, headlined by Rohrich as head coach and Mo'ane as the club's new Pascoe Cup coach.
Mo'ane returns to Wagga United from Tolland and replaces long-serving Pascoe Cup coach Travis Weir.
It is part of an exciting new direction the club are looking to embark on and Wagga United president Shandi Gibbons is rapt in the two new appointments.
"We're extremely happy to see both Scott and Aaron on board," Gibbons said.
"Aaron has coached juniors and wants to get into seniors with our new set-up having that head coach sitting above him it will be a good opportunity for him.
"Scott's got a lot of experience...and was interested in moving just to Pascoe but having coached the girls for the year, wasn't quite ready to let go of the girls so he came to us with a proposition and we thought now was the time to do it and share out the responsibility as well."
Mo'ane took no part in the 2020 season due to injury but used the year as an opportunity to assist Tolland coach Joel Irlam with their Pascoe Cup campaign.
The 30-year-old has spent most of his time at Tolland since moving to Wagga, but also spent time at Wagga City Wanderers and Wagga United.
Mo'ane is looking forward to his first foray into senior coaching.
"I sat on the sideline with Joel and learnt a lot from him and thought that's something I want go down," Mo'ane said.
"I've been coaching juniors, I'm 30 now, I'm getting to the end of my premier playing days, if you want to call it that, and from what I've learnt playing in Sydney and with the Wanderers and stuff, I think it would be good to do.
"Football in Wagga, especially at Pascoe level, can sometimes turn into a bit of a wrestling match and it's not so much the football that's getting played and I want to really enforce the football that United is capable of playing and go from there."
He won't be the only one crossing over from Tolland, with the Wolves' MVP from this season, Matt Kelly, already joining Mo'ane in making the move to Wagga United.
Mo'ane says will return to the club with no preconceived judgements on players and wants everyone to earn their position.
"I want to make it very clear that it's fair game. It's up to every player to show Scott and I that they deserve to be there, and they'll get their shot," Mo'ane said.
"The way I'm going to approach it, my philosophy is going to be pretty clear from the start. I want everyone to be 110 per cent on board with the direction Scott and I want to take the club and take the senior teams, that's the first thing, and if not, you're probably not going to make the first grade team.
"It's pretty much, when it's time to work, it's time to work and when it's time to have fun, I'll be the first to do it. And that commitment to the club is vital for Pascoe success.
"You can't have guaranteed positions for anyone."
Rohrich will embark on his 18th year of coaching at Wagga United next season, in the new role of head coach.
Having coached a lot through the juniors, and then the women's this year, he is keen to work more closely with the men's program.
"I'm looking forward to working with the men and working with Aaron. We've had a few chats and we're very much on the same page with what we're looking at," Rohrich said.
"With being a head coach, having Aaron there wanting to go in the same direction is going to make it a lot easier for me. We can work together with the boys and going in the direction we want them to go and strive to get the most out of them."
Weir will remain at the club and continue to coach juniors after three years in his most recent stint as Pascoe Cup coach.
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