Local footy: New Greenvale EDFL coach Darren Bewick explains why he took the job
Dual Essendon premiership player Darren Bewick addresses why he took on the top job at EDFL outfit Greenvale, how he will lift the Premier Division side back to finals and the reasons for his exit from Eastern Ranges.
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Greenvale Football Club and Darren Bewick have enjoyed ample success over the past decade.
The Jets have been the Essendon District Football League’s most successful club in the past 10 years – based on winning percentage – claiming 145 victories from 199 games, qualifying for five grand finals and completing back-to-back flags in 2012 and 2013.
During that period, dual Essendon premiership player Bewick helped countless young guns realise their dreams of securing a spot at the elite level as coach of NAB League outfit Eastern Ranges.
The former AFL forward will be calling the shots at Greenvale next season, charged with the responsibility of lifting the Premier Division club back into the top four.
The Jets have missed finals just twice in the past 10 completed seasons – in 2014 and 2019.
But at a time when salary caps have been slashed to give clubs the chance to regain their financial footing amid the coronavirus crisis while they operate under the player points system, the reliance on homegrown talent has never been so great.
Greenvale has a proud history of developing its own, and Bewick appears the perfect man for the job.
“That attracted me,” Bewick said of the Jets’ strong junior program.
“They’ve been a group that have played a lot together and they’ve come through the junior competitions.
“I think it’s a great thing players see a real pathway or transition that they can go from the junior club to the senior club and be worthwhile members. Hopefully we’re able to continue that.”
But Bewick, who steered the Ranges to three deciders after taking over in 2010, is more than a development coach.
He pointed to his five-year stint as an assistant at North Melbourne, declaring he would not need to make any significant changes to his approach in a senior competition.
“I’m a great believer that, whatever level you’re at, you can still learn and get better,” Bewick said.
“Obviously I’ll go there with new ideas and try to challenge the players to be better, and hopefully we can do that.
“I’ll go in there and be me and be the coach I’ve always tried to be, and I don’t see much reason to try and change that.”
Bewick, who lives locally, said he had some knowledge of the EDFL having been in the area for “30-odd years”, while his sons Jett and Koby have also played in the competition.
He stepped aside at the Ranges following a revamp of the top under-age competition, with coaches to go full-time from next year under the new model.
The 53-year-old works at Rowville Secondary College and is director of its football coaching program.
“With the restructure, it wasn’t a viable option for me to continue (at the Ranges) unfortunately,” Bewick said.
“I really loved it and really disappointed I had to leave. I just love coaching and there were opportunities at a few clubs that I spoke to.
“Greenvale probably created the most interest in terms of being close to home and that sort of thing, it really appealed to me.
“From afar, I’ve seen them as a strong and successful club since they’ve been in the EDFL. Going to a strong club like that presents a really good challenge.
“I’m not going in there with any preconceived ideas. I’ll look at everything at face value and make my own judgments.
“Initially, (the aim is) to get back into the finals where they should be and see where we can go from there.
“Everyone goes into a year thinking they’ll be successful and they’ve traditionally been a strong club.
“From all indications, they were terribly disappointed they missed out on finals last year and it’s a challenge for everyone involved to get back and give themselves a chance by firstly making the finals and seeing what happens from those opportunities.”
Bewick is also set to lock horns with premiership teammate Paul Barnard, who will coach Essendon Doutta Stars in 2021.
“There’s some quality coaches in the league, so that’s going to be a really great challenge and something you’ll look forward to every week,” he said.
“I saw Barny got the position at Essendon Doutta Stars, so it will be good to catch up and test ourselves against each other.”
Before his stint at Eastern, Perth-born Bewick was in charge at Gippsland Power for two seasons before heading up the football program at the Northern Territory Institute of Sport for two years.
He retired after Essendon’s 2000 premiership triumph, finishing with 332 goals from 238 games, while he also represented Western Australia six times.
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