SFNL appoints Cheltenham premiership coach Des Ryan as its Interleague mentor

Cheltenham premiership coach Des Ryan may have stepped down from his role at the Rosellas, but he won’t be lost to coaching.

Des Ryan will coach the SFNL Interleague side. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Des Ryan will be back in the coaches box in 2024.

It won’t be for a rival, nor will it be in a return to his beloved Rosellas – Ryan is coaching the Southern league as a whole.

The Cheltenham premiership mentor will lead the SFNL when it takes on Riddell District in the return of Interleague next year.

Ryan is set to have three assistant’s on his coaching panel.

Ryan says Interleague is a great way to earn “credibility”.

“I think it’s about getting the best of the best together and performing on a bigger scale,” he says.

“There’s a lot of great football competitions in Melbourne, if we can earn our stripes against the very best, then that’s what it means to me ... getting the credibility of the city.”

Cheltenham celebrate its narrow grand final victory. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Ryan is urging the competition’s best players to put their hand up for selection.

“We need the best players to do that,” he says.

“We want them to enjoy the prestige of it, it’s not going to be a slap-up competition, it’s got meaning, it’s got purpose.

“We have some of the best players in the city playing for Southern league clubs — if we bring that talent together, we can beat anybody.”

The match, which is the first since the 2019 overtime thriller between the two leagues, will be held at Southern headquarters, RSEA Park on Saturday, May 11.

It will be played as a normal day of senior football and netball, with the women’s taking the reserves place between the under-19s and senior matches.

The SFNL will have a bye across Division 1, 2 and 3 to ensure the competition’s best players are on show.