‘He’s a best mate of mine’: Xavier Stevenson joins Ted Lindon at the helm of Shepparton

His first senior coaching role at a GVL level, Stevenson said the opportunity to coach at a club he represented for years was exciting.

“It was also really humbling as well, knowing a few of the previous coaches of Shepparton and those names it was really gratifying and from my perspective another challenge,” Stevenson said.

Stevenson said he and Lindon were keen to work together, with the Bears’ 2022 senior coach also set to be Stevenson’s best man at his wedding.

“He’s a best mate of mine and we’ve been really lucky to have a relationship both with football and outside of football,” he said.

“I think we share pretty similar values and ethos’ when it comes to coaching and how we want our football club to look.

“For me co-coaching with anyone is a really tough decision and he’s probably the only individual that I would do that with and I’m really excited by the partnership that we were able to form.”

Shepparton president Mark Washington said Stevenson would be a valuable asset to the club.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have him back at the club,” Washington said.

“He’s a fantastic appointment, as we structure up for 2023, he’s of huge value to what we’re trying to achieve going forward.

“He’s had a couple of years away from the club and has been very influential at Tungamah and has done a great job.”

Washington said Stevenson and Lindon “think alike” with a continued balance of experience and youth set to drive the Bears in the years to come.

“It just doesn’t sit at the top for us,” he said.

“It’s about what’s sitting below that in the reserves, the thirds and below, so we look at a whole club approach and they’ll certainly capitalise on what we’ve got and we’ll see more improvement.”

Guiding Tungamah to Picola District Football League seniors and reserves grand finals this year, Stevenson said it was no easy task to say farewell to the club he’d called home for two seasons.

However, the opportunity to coach a club he’s always loved, alongside a great mate with plenty of new and familiar faces was too good to turn down.

“It was an absolute privilege to be able to coach Tungamah, a club that I have a fair bit of family history with and in terms of clubs I personally think at a local level there’s not too many better,” Stevenson said.

“It’s an incredible club that was probably resembled by how much success they had over the grand final period.”

With the Bears of the GVL variety currently in a rebuilding phase, the duo of player-coaches will be hoping to continue Shepparton’s rise up the ladder next year.

“We’re not putting any ceiling with what we can do,” he said.

“We definitely want to put on the agenda that we want to be playing finals football next year and we feel that we should be able to contend strongly to do so.”