mmg.com.au

Tocumwal Football Club has signed Shane Gorman as coach for this Murray Football League season.

Gorman will take over from Nathan Tresize, who stepped down from the top position due to commitments with his family business.

Gorman, 45, a native of Greensborough who lives in Barooga, played with Collingwood’s under-19s and reserves before joining Coburg in the VFA.

He also played for clubs including Lavington, Nathalia, Barooga and Yarroweyah before knee problems forced his retirement about 10 years ago.

Gorman coached Mangoplah Cookardinia United as a 27-year-old in the first year it joined Riverina Football League.

Gorman signed on last Friday week ago and said coaching this season was not on his mind.

He was invited to visit the club by president Bob Bourke, Mark Baldwin and Mick Haynes and was impressed by what he saw.

‘‘It was a great facility and after a few chats with Bob and Mick Haynes as well and Mark Baldwin I said I’d have a go and take on the position,’’ Gorman said.

Gorman said developing a strong junior base would be a key focus in his tenure as coach and getting some fitness in the players’ legs and developing strategies for winning the contested football would be crucial in the pre-season.

Bourke said making the appointment was a relief for the club, with the beginning of the season just more than two months away.

‘‘If anything, we potentially could have had three or four people in the position, but they weren’t necessarily the right people,’’ Bourke said.

‘‘As nerve-racking as it was getting, we wanted to get the right person for the job, and right under our noses we found him.’’

Bourke said he made more than 15 calls to genuine prospective coaches and from that, the club chased at least five candidates, including former Collingwood and Gold Coast ruckman Josh Fraser, who joined his hometown Goulburn Valley Football League club Mansfield.

Bourke and other committee members have been working on gaining recruits in the interim, a job made more difficult without a coach, but had secured some.

Rye’s Aaron Findlay and Harry Crowe, possible centre half-forward and half-back flanker respectively, and on-ballers Matt Neil and Trent Boglis from Melbourne will join the club.

The only departure confirmed is last season’s best-and-fairest winner Kieren Andrew, who will be studying in Melbourne and Bourke said he would play with North Heidelberg.

Tocumwal had its first training session of the year last night, giving Gorman a chance to meet the rest of the playing group, and there is a meet the coach session on Friday from 6pm.

‘‘Scoreboard-wise, as disastrous as last year was we had a lot of positives as far as getting locals back on the track and building what was a good social, club environment,’’ Bourke said.

‘‘We’re certainly not getting too carried away, but I would certainly hope it will be much improved.’’