Southern Football League club Cove Cobras names Jed Wilson as its new coach
The Cove Football Club has appointed a new coach for the second time since August as Brad Crabb, who took the job and then pulled the pin, finds a new club.
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Newly appointed Cove Football playing coach Jed Wilson is under no illusion that he faces a challenge to restore confidence in a club which has copped a battering on and off the field in the past 12 months.
The “inappropriate culture’’ battle with Marion Council and the struggles of the A-grade team on the ground have been well documented.
But Wilson, 32, said that was not a factor in his decision to sign with the Cobras.
“All the other white noise about the club didn’t come into my consideration at all about taking on the job,” Wilson, of Happy Valley, said.
“If I thought there was any hint of a bad culture at the club I would not have signed.
“The club, to me, seems really switched on – a good family club. I have been really impressed with what I have seen so far and the people I have met. I have been busy researching the league to learn more about the clubs and players.
“We have some good players returning like Brad Young, Kyle Stoldt and the McCreerys (Beau, Jake) so that will be good.
“But we will still need to bolster our list. We will play accountable football with a strong defensive base and hopefully we will see a few more (players) return.’’
Wilson replaces former South Adelaide captain Brad Crabb, who took the Cobras job in August but stepped down in October in the wake of the club’s controversies.
Crabb has since signed as a player at Penola in the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara Football League.
He took the job from Brett Baldey, who held the reins for the past four seasons and led Cove to an eighth-place in the recent campaign with a 1-15 record.
Wilson comes to Cove with credentials, having represented South Australia at under-16 level under the leadership of now West Coast captain Shannon Hurn.
He played reserves at Glenelg, then lined up with Sacred Heart Old Collegians in the amateurs.
After returning to his home club at Encounter Bay he led the team to a premiership as joint captain in 2013 in the Great Southern Football League.
He has also coached Encounter Bay’s A-grade team for the past two years.
The Cobras have finalised their junior coaching positions but are still working on support staff for Wilson.