REIGNING Heathcote District Football League premier Heathcote’s search for a new coach has ended, with the club securing Brent Chapman to lead the Saints in 2010.
Chapman has taken over from co-coaches Alistair Meldrum, who had three years at the helm, which culminated in this season’s thrilling four-point grand final victory over Colbinabbin, and John Harley.
Chapman, 26, has spent the past two years playing with Barooga in the Murray Football League.
He won the Hawks’ best and fairest last year when he kicked 78 goals from the wing, while he kicked 44 goals in 16 games this year.
Chapman’s profile on the Barooga website lists him at 182cm and 76kg, while in 2002 he did a pre-season with AFL club North Melbourne.
Chapman started this year on the Bendigo Bombers’ list and was part of the Bombers’ squad for the pre-season Bushfire Charity Match against the Bendigo Football League at the Queen Elizabeth Oval in March.
“Things were looking pretty bad there for a while for us trying to get this coaching position sorted out,” Heathcote president Andrew Conforti said yesterday.
“But Brenton Sheppard put us onto Brent, so we went up to Shepparton and interviewed him and he was fantastic; we really liked what he had to offer.
“He will be a first-year coach, so he’s really keen on getting himself established.
“Our plans are to go back-to-back, and Brent liked what he heard of that, so it’s now full steam ahead.”
With Chapman’s appointment, all the HDFL coaching positions have been filled for next season.
Among the nine HDFL coaches next season will be 25-year-old Lee Crossman, who will be at the helm of the league’s newest club, Leitchville-Gunbower.
Meanwhile , in the Loddon Valley Football League, Calivil United is still to name a new coach for next season.
After his one season at the helm, this year’s coach Aaron Demeo has stepped aside.
Having won a record six straight LVFL flags between 2003 and 2008, the Demons were beaten in this year’s grand final by Mitiamo by 58 points.
“We’re finding it very hard at the moment to get a coach,” Demons president Rod Lea said.
“The ones who would like to do it are either too far away or have other commitments, and nobody else seems to want to do it, so it has been pretty tough.
“We’d like to get somebody from outside if we could because we have a lot of young kids there now and we want to get somebody in with a few different ideas.”
The Demons have already signed six new players for the 2010 season. And at Pyramid Hill, the Bulldogs are still at least a week away from announcing a replacement for Shane Gilchrist, who has stepped down as coach.
After finishing on top of the ladder this year, the Bulldogs were knocked out of the premiership race in straight sets as they were again unable to break a flag drought dating back to 1950.
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