New Colac netball coach Courtney Cuolahan plans to improve Tigers squad and chase successive GFNL premierships

Colac’s new coach says the Tigers’ squad is ready to win another premiership in 2023, but the club has plans to keep improving. Find out how.

Torquay coach Courtney Cuolahan. A Grade netball Torquay v Anglesea at Spring Creek on Saturday. Picture: Alan Barber

Incoming Colac coach Courtney Cuolahan believes her new Tigers squad will “absolutely” challenge for successive premierships in 2023.

Cuolahan made the move from Torquay back to the club where she played as a junior netballer, taking over from premiership co-coaches Jesse Lang and Tahlia Jeffrey.

Cuolahan said she was excited to make the return to her old club after almost 10 years in Torquay.

“Colac is my family club, I grew up with them and that’s where I started my coaching career,” she said.

“I’ll still be involved in Torquay, my daughter plays in the under-13s there and I’ll coach her side, but Torquay has given me their blessing to go back to Colac.

“The timing was right for my family, my heart has always been with Colac and I’m looking forward to return.”

Courtney Cuolahan has changed her Tiger stripes, moving from Torquay to Colac. Picture: Alan Barber

Colac ended Newtown & Chilwell’s seven consecutive premierships with a 41-33 win in the grand final, with the Tigers’ defensive brilliance keeping the Eagles to their lowest tally of the season.

Newtown & Chilwell scored more than 60 goals every game in 2022, except for when the club played Colac, where the Eagles did not reach 60 goals once in four matches.

Cuolahan said the Tigers’ list was in a strong position to contend for another flag.

“I’m really excited about the upcoming season, the playing group is really talented but also really young,” she said.

“Almost everyone is early or mid-20s, they’re all hungry and they’ve all either re-signed or verbally committed to playing next year.

“They’re driven and there’s no chance of a premiership hangover.”

Cuolahan said the quality of players she had at her disposal was “outstanding”, but the competition was elite around the league.

She said she was excited to lead the side to a 2023 premiership. Picture: Peter Ristevski

“Coming from the BFL, the same five teams were essentially set in stone at the start of the season, but the GFL is a lot more even, each week there’s a strong opponent,” he said.

“There’ll be harder games each week, but our list is outstanding and I’m really excited to learn from them.

“Our list is really strong, we’ve got some stars like Zara Walters, the Winch girls (Michelle and Bec), Brooke Allan, who all play at a really high level.

“Trying to add to the squad and improve the depth is always important, and that’s what we’ll focus on for the next few weeks.

“We’re always open to having discussions with players, providing they make the commitment to travel to Colac for training and games, and we’ll also look at focusing on Colac & District players who want to make the step up.”

Originally published as New Colac netball coach Courtney Cuolahan plans to improve Tigers squad and chase successive GFNL premierships