Nick's gig

NICK Carter will take the next step in his football career by assuming the reins as senior coach of reigning Bendigo Football League premier Golden Square.Although there had been plenty of speculation in the past fortnight that Carter would be appointed the Bulldogs’ new coach, it was only officially confirmed yesterday.Carter takes over from Mark Adamson, who stood down because of family commitments last month, after guiding the Bulldogs to their first premiership since 2001.The 31-year-old Carter is one of Bendigo’s most well-known football figures.A junior product of Golden Square, Carter played in the TAC Cup with the Bendigo Pioneers, before spending four years in the AFL between 1996 and 1999, playing 25 games with Fitzroy, Brisbane and Melbourne.On his return to Bendigo, he played eight years with Bendigo’s VFL side, the Diggers and Bombers, captaining the team, winning multiple best and fairests, and also becoming the first player for Bendigo to reach the 100-game milestone.He returned to Golden Square in 2008, and this year was a member of the Bulldogs’ team which defeated South Bendigo by 37 points in the grand final.At this stage, Carter intends to be a non-playing coach.“I suppose it’s one of those things where there’s a great opportunity with the strong list and a group that has built into a cohesive team that had some success this year,” Carter said yesterday.“I’m looking forward to getting into the hot-seat and helping to lead the club into the future and work on evolving some of the younger guys on the list.“We’ve got a lot of exciting junior players who we hope will go to the next level, and with the older guys we have on the list, they will become more like mentors.“If we can double the leaders we had this year, it’s only going to benefit us at the end of the day.”The Bulldogs’ preparations for their 2010 premiership defence under Carter will get under way with a time-trial at Lake Weeroona on Monday night.Meanwhile, Kangaroo Flat president Paul Brooks says he has not spoken with Darryl Wilson since Wilson recently made the decision not to take on the position of football manager with WAFL club Peel Thunder.Wilson coached Kangaroo Flat in the BFL for the past two seasons, this year leading the Roos into the preliminary final in what was their first finals appearance since 2001.However, following the season, Wilson was appointed to the position of football manager at Peel, with Murray Collins - one of Wilson’s assistants this year - later named the Roos’ new coach.But the Thunder says Wilson has cited family reasons for not taking up the position.“We remain committed to Murray (coaching Kangaroo Flat), and I haven’t spoken to Darryl myself; I just want to give him a week or two and a bit of space for him to settle back down in Bendigo,” Brooks said this week.“I don’t know what Darryl will do as far as footy; we’d love him to be around and involved in some way.“I have a couple of things that I might approach him about, but as I said, I haven’t spoken to him, and until I do, I can’t say too much.”Wilson was unavailable for comment yesterday.