Euroa has found its next senior coach to succeed outgoing mentor Scott Rowan.
The club announced on Tuesday evening star defender Ryan Pendlebury would takeover the reins at Memorial Oval for the 2024-25 seasons in a major coup for the Magpies and Goulburn Valley League.
The Magpies have been on the search for Rowan’s replacement since he stepped down in June.
Pendlebury, who is enjoying his first full-time season at the Magpies, has been a class addition to last year’s grand finalists.
The 31-year-old said he was excited about the opportunity to step into his maiden senior coaching role and lead an exciting and promising list.
“I can’t wait. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity,” Pendlebury said.
“It will be my first time coaching as a head coach, I’ve done a few years as an assistant. I was assistant at PEGS under Mark Williams and I learnt a lot off him and he was a big influence. I did a bit at my junior club Sale last year and then obviously this year with Euroa’s backline.
“I’ve spoken to Scotty and he’s keen to get me a lot more involved over the next few weeks to get me adjusted, which should be good.
“I really enjoy the technical side of footy; it really intrigues me and I enjoy working with the younger, 18 to 21-year-old players ... you see a lot more rewards from their development and that’s something I’m definitely excited about with Euroa, we have so many in that age bracket and there’s four or five in the Bushies program as well.”
Pendlebury, a Gippsland export, said he understood the importance of community clubs in regional settings and couldn’t think of a better place to begin his coaching career.
“I trained with the Melbourne group last year and played a couple of games because I’m good mates with Jack (Hellier),” he said.
“I just really enjoyed it at Euroa and you know, all of the club stuff is the same to back home ... country footy means a lot to the community.”
Euroa president Scott Watson was thrilled to announce the news that was formally rubber stamped at a club committee meeting on Tuesday.
Watson also thanked Rowan for his commitment and dedication to the role during the past six years.
“The club is delighted to come to a decision on appointing Ryan for the next two years,” he said.
“He’s been a fantastic addition to the club since he joined this year, he’s already had a taste of coaching by steering our backline this year and he’s keen to step up and test himself.
“He’s a really committed fella, his football IQ is unbelievable ... we think it’s really good timing now (to make announcement) so there’s greater capacity to sign players. He’s got a huge amount of support from the current playing group and we’re excited for him to begin.
“Hopefully he starts out in 2024 as a premiership player for Euroa.”