Wood back at Wade Street as new coach of Golden Square in BDCA

This will be Wood's second stint at Golden Square having previously played with the club from 2013-14 to 2018-19 when he churned out 2061 runs and played in a pair of losing grand finals after finishing on top of the ladder in both his first and last seasons at Wade Street.

Wood has been one of the gun batsmen in the BDCA throughout his time with Golden Square and Strathfieldsaye and while he has committed to coach the Bulldogs, is unsure yet whether he will play.

"It has all happened pretty quickly, so at the moment I'm just focused on trying to get on to all the players and work through that first," Wood said.

"I imagine I will probably play, but I haven't committed to it yet.

"Coaching wasn't something I was actively seeking out, but the more we spoke about it the more it sounded like a good fit."

Wood takes over as Golden Square coach from gun all-rounder Liam Smith.

While Smith has stood down as coach after earlier handing over the first XI captaincy reins during the season, he will stay on as a player.

"I enjoyed my time previously at Golden Square. It's a tight knit club that is well run and a lot of the friendships I made during that stint have endured and that's part of the pull to going back," Wood said.

Golden Square is coming off a mixed 2023-24 season.

The first XI side struggled in winning just four of its 12 games to finish eighth and miss the finals for a fifth-consecutive season.

However, the Twenty20 team made the grand final, but lost to Strathdale-Maristians, while the second XI won the premiership, as did the women's first XI for the second season in a row.

"There's some talent at the club, but it has had a lot of players bouncing around different grades over the past few years," Wood said.

"If we can get a bit more continuity with players being available in a particular grade then I think that will help."

Two vacancies the Bulldogs will need to fill for next season is the roles of wicket-keeper and first XI captain, which were both done by Jake Higgins, who has recently moved to New Zealand.

As well as the appointment of Wood as coach, the Bulldogs have also reappointed Sarah Mannes as their women's coach for the 2024-25 season.

"The club is super excited to have Tim on board as coach for next season," Golden Square secretary Mat Christie said.

"Tim is not only a quality person, but he also brings a lot to the table. His experience not only from his time at Strathfieldsaye, but previously as captain at Golden Square will put him in good stead.

"And Sarah has shown that she is not only a quality player, but an exceptional leader on and off the field.

"The work she has done with the women's group over the past three seasons has been nothing short of amazing.

"She is now a two-time premiership coach and we look forward to seeing her progress our women's program even more next season."