General News
10 November, 2021
Coaching challenge lands Casey at Bombers
UNTAPPING the talent of Cobden’s youthful football list underlies Dan Casey’s first challenge for his new club.
UNTAPPING the talent of Cobden’s youthful football list underlies Dan Casey’s first challenge for his new club.
The former Camperdown coach was unveiled as the Bombers new mentor last Thursday, with his appointment completing the Hampden league’s coaching puzzle.
Casey, a former star forward who coached the Magpies in 2014, is keen to return to the rigours of coaching major league footy after previously coaching Colac and District league outfits Colac Imperials and Alvie.
But a fresh challenge awaits him at the Bombers, with the new coach charged with getting the most out of a young list primed to rise back up the ladder.
While conceding he thought his senior coaching days were numbered, Casey said the chance to coach a Hampden league outfit, in particular a young developing side like Cobden’s, once again was too hard to turn down.
“The appealing thing is I love coaching major league footy and I love being in the Hampden league,” he said.
“Every town is a one club town and with the list Cobden has got and the amount of younger players that have already played or are coming up, for me the challenge was just too good to refuse.
“A few people have asked me what are you looking to do next year and everyone is always looking to play finals but with playing kids, anything is possible if you can untap their talent, which is what a lot of people have told me, that there is so much talent at Cobden.
“Anything is possible, it’s just putting a few things in place and getting to play the way I want them to play but also letting them play to their strengths as well.”
Cobden’s new mentor is hoping to capitalise on the work done by previous coach Adam Courtney, who pumped games into the club’s younger players during his three season stint as leader.
Casey wants to continue that work and build on those experiences, while he also wants to instill confidence and belief and improve fitness levels in his first season in charge.
A focus on defence will also be at the forefront of Casey’s gameplan, while he also wants his players to thrive on a challenge.
“I haven’t really had anything to do with the group so the first few weeks will be about what I want to do but also about seeing what they’re capable of and how they play,” he said.
“I want them to be more defensive, we can’t have games where goals are easily kicked against us – I want the culture to be that if we lose by 40 points, then that 40 points is hard to get in front of Cobden.
“Scoring should come easy because they’re used to the speed and the space of Cobden’s ground and other Hampden grounds.
“It’s just working on that defensive pressure and when they’re playing on talented players, I don’t want them to be overawed by it, I want them to accept the challenge and to try and grab it with both hands.”
As for the club’s standing within the competition, Casey wants to do his best to re-establish it among the top tier of teams.
The Bombers have previously shown they can match it with the best as evidenced by grand final appearances in 2012 and 2017, but following a few lean years, the non-playing mentor wants to find sustained success.
“When I was at Camperdown, Cobden was always top two or three,” Casey said.
“They’ve since had junior success and now the senior success has to follow.
“There’s obviously the talent around, it’s just about getting them to realise what their potential is and to get them to build that culture of why drive past Cobden to play footy, I want to go and play there.
“Success is obviously to win premierships, but I think the sustained success of being around the mark all the time is what we’re chasing.”