NFNL: Whittlesea appoints Wayne Van Der Ross as senior coach

Whittlesea has unveiled its new look coaching panel with its 2022 interim mentor set to take on a dual role.

Wayne Van Der Ross has been appointed as Whittlesea's new senior coach. Photo: Facebook.

Whittlesea has confirmed its coaching structure to support its new coach.

The Eagles last week unveiled Wayne Van Der Ross as their new senior mentor for next season and now his coaching panel has been finalised.

Jimmy Robinson, who served as the club’s interim coach after Blair Harvey was sacked halfway through the 2022, is set to remain at the club as a senior assistant coach.

He will also coach the reserves alongside Jack Dyson.

“Jimmy Robbo was a standout clubman in 2022, stepping up into the senior coach role under difficult circumstances,” the club said in a social media post.

“Jimmy demonstrated not only his love for the club, but also his exceptional leadership and coaching skills.

“We’re so excited to have him onboard for season 2023.”

Jimmy Robinson is staying onboard at Whittlesea as an assistant coach. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Joining Robinson as assistant coaches will be Cam McCormick, a new addition to the club, and Paul Higgins.

Higgins is set to form part of the coaching staff after suffering a serious knee injury late in the season.

EARLIER

Whittlesea believes it has struck gold with its new coach.

The Eagles have turned to Wayne Van Der Ross as the new senior men’s coach for the 2023 season as they look to rebound from a “tumultuous” campaign.

The club made the shock decision to sack Blair Harvey in June after a 157-point loss to Montmorency.

But with new president AJ Stewart at the helm, a new chapter is set to be written in the coming years.

“For us as a club we had a pretty tumultuous year and along the way had to make some hard decisions that ensured the club was heading in the right direction,” he said.

“Those were tough but we needed to make those. Going forward there will be a really good crew of people to help the club continue to grow and move on.

“Wayne stood out to us after a pretty extensive search. He was one of the furthest applicants, in terms of where he lives, that put their name up.

“It’s a bit of a trek but he’s shown great enthusiasm and see it as a great opportunity to put his mark on the club.”

Wayne Van Der Ross has been appointed as Whittlesea's new senior coach. Photo: Facebook.

Whittlesea was forced to play the back end of the Northern League season with one of the youngest sides in Division 1 after the clearance window closed.

Boom recruits Jarrad Waite (Benalla), David Mennen (Diamond Creek) and Cam Wild (East Keilor) all departed the club as did young gun Zach Molloy.

But in the end they still managed to avoid relegation eventually finishing one game clear of Northcote Park.

Stewart believes Van Der Ross will be able to get the best out of a young group.

“Wayne is very big on development and a lot of our playing group are around 20 to 22 and still improving,” he said.

“But even those guys who are 26 to 28, Wayne wants to see them improve. He’s got ideas about potential positional changes to allow the more experienced guys to get more out of their footy.”

Jarrod Kendall will remain in charge of the women's team. Photo: Facebook.

While there might be a change at the helm of the men’s team, Whittlesea has confirmed Jarrod Kendall has been reappointed as women’s coach for next season.

Brad Lang and Vinney Ventura will be his assistants.

“Jarrod has played a big part in getting the women’s program to where it is at the moment,” Stewart said.

“It’s an exciting time for us because we’ve got some talented youngsters coming through, our under 16s won the flag and I can see some of them playing some senior footy next year.”