Positions at NTFL Men’s Premier League clubs are fast being filled with the recent announcements of Ryan Ayres (Waratah) and Peter Leonard (Wanderers) to senior coaching positions, and the re-signing of Brenton Toy to the Tiwi Bombers made public today.
Other clubs to have coaches include; Palmerston who appointed Alwyn Davey as sole-coach, and last season’s grand finalists, Darwin Buffaloes – Matt Campbell and Southern Districts – Shannon Rusca are not expected to make changes.
With Chris Baksh expected to continue his duties at Nightcliff it only leaves the green and gold machine, St Mary’s to announce their senior coach.
Toy lead the Bombers to the finals last season after some years languishing at the bottom of the NTFL ladder.
Tiwi Bombers President, Gawin Tipiloura, said Toy’s leadership had been a major factor behind the club’s resurgence.
“Brenton was appointed late last year with little time to prepare the boys for the 2017/18 season and to get them to the finals was a great result,” Tipiloura said.
“The Board didn’t think twice about extending Brenton’s contract, and with a proper pre-season we should be in for a great season.”
“Brenton is a highly respected coach and has shown tremendous leadership not just last season but in past years with the club too.”
Toy said the Bombers were in a good position to take another positive step forward this season.
“Football is important to the Tiwi people, and a successful Tiwi Bombers team has a positive impact on the community,” Toy said.
“There are a lot of positives to take from last season that we can build on this year.”
“A number of the boys will be coming off a season with the NT Thunder and there are some really exciting juniors that will be eligible to play for the Bombers this year.”
Meanwhile, Ayres said he was honoured to be coaching Waratah.
'"I feel the time is right that I can execute what I think could be a successful game plan and improve the culture again building on from what 'Mago' (outgoing coach Michael McLean) has already done for the football club'.
"First and foremost we want to be competitive, finals are in the future and we need to build up a culture here where we're competitive on the footy field."
And Leonard was excited to take over the coaching position at Wanderers but he called on commitment from the players and club personnel.
"I'm into planning already. My first priority will be (getting) commitment - then fitness, make them smile and to enjoy their footy and if we do that it's half the battle," he said.
Along with Rusca, both Ayres and Leonard are NT Thunder NEAFL assistant coaches while Campbell and Baksh have furthered their coaching experience by taking the reins in NT Thunder Academy coaching roles.
