Tongala has turned to neighbouring Kyabram in its hunt for a new senior football coach, with Billy Barnes announced to spearhead the club next season.
Barnes was unveiled as the replacement for outgoing coach Matt Daniel on Sunday, taking up his first senior coaching appointment since leading KDL club Girgarre from 2019-21.
A former Geelong VFL and Western Australian state footy representative, Barnes has four premierships to his name in stints with clubs stretching from Victoria to WA.
Barnes won’t be alone at the top, however, with a familiar face joining him as the Blues’ senior assistant — Kyabram legend and former Carlton star Wayne Deledio.
Daniel has also indicated he’ll also be staying on at the club in 2024.
Outgoing football operations manager Paul Cox said Barnes’s addition had caused a “buzz” around the club.
“The club’s excited moving forward with Bill on board, and there’s a bit of a buzz around again which is good.
“It’s a change, we’ve had in-house coaches prior to that, so this is an opportunity to have a change-up and get some fresh eyes in, which will be good.”
The move marks Tongala’s next step in its rebuild, with the Blues finishing 11th this season.
Barnes will finish the season with Kyabram as the Bombers launch into the 2023 GVL finals series before settling into his new role.
The Blues announced A-grade coach Grace Hammond’s reappointment prior to finals.
Murray Football League reappointments have kicked off in earnest with Moama reappointing Sam Sheldon as senior coach alongside Jye Warren, while Farran Priest has also recommitted at Echuca United.
• Two Tongala netball teams have the chance to join the club’s A-grade team in the Murray league grand finals at Moama Recreation on September 16 if they can win through preliminary finals this weekend.
The B-grade team lost its qualifying final with Moama 35-54 on Saturday at Nathalia and will need to beat Deniliquin in order to get another crack at the Magpies.
C-grade also has to overcome Deniliquin in the preliminary after it also lost the grand final qualifier with Moama on Saturday, 30-44.
In the C-reserve game Tongala was beaten 25-31 and is now out of the premiership race.
Trailing by six at quarter-time and by 16 at half-time, Tongala’s B-grade team was outscored by just three in the second half as defenders Georgia Watt and Tahlia Gordon tightened the screws on their opponents.
Paige Waide was the standout mid-court player, while Abbey Nexhip and Kelsey O’Neill did their bit to try and produce a winning score.
A 14-goal loss by the C-grade team came as Ashlee Watson and Meg Nunn took until half-time to get control of their opposition goalers. Pam Brunt and Chloe Mitchell worked hard in the mid-court, but Mikaela Pyke and Tracey Hughes had their hands full with the Moama defenders.
A two-goal third quarter cost the C-reserve team any chance of victory, meaning a half-time margin of one blew out to seven at the final change.
Connie Blake was the backbone of the defence, working with Monica Tucker and Rhiannon Payne, while Sarah Halliwell played three quarters in the centre as her team ended its season two weeks shy of the grand final.