VAFA club appoints coaches for 2021 with an international flavour
VAFA Division 4 club North Brunswick has gone down an unique path, appointing co-coaches for 2021 who had previously represented Great Britain in the International Cup.
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VAFA Division 4 outfit North Brunswick has gone international with its coaching appointment for 2021.
Head coach Scott Rymer and senior assistant Sam Willatt both hail from England but fell in love with Aussie Rules.
The pair met as part of the Great Britain International Cup squad in 2014 and reunited in 2018 to lead the Bulls’ reserves to a premiership.
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They will step up to the senior role next season with Willatt returning to the Bulls from Northern Football League powerhouse Bundoora.
“We met in 2014, we both played for the GB national team when they came out to play in the International Cup,” Willatt said.
“We stayed in touch and in 2018, I was injured and he was coaching the reserves and he asked if I wanted to help out.
“The opportunity came up and we had a bit of a chat and we thought we’d go for it together,” Willatt said.
“We really enjoyed coaching together, we’ve got a good relationship, and there was always a bit of talk about maybe going for a senior role at some point.”
Willatt learnt the game at the University of Birmingham and has played for AFL London outfit North London Lions.
Having missed 2018, he signed with Bundoora and played six senior games and has previously been listed by VFL clubs Footscray and Sandringham.
Rymer played for Sussex Lions before moving out to Australia and has spent more than a decade at Allard Park, named in the club’s Team of the Decade (2006-2015).
Rymer and Willatt will look to re-energise the Bulls after the club was relegated in 2019.
North Brunswick claimed the Division 4 seniors and reserves premierships in 2018 but could only manage one win last season.
An injection of premiership talent could be exactly what the clubs needs to bounce straight back.
“We’re looking like we’ve got strong interest from our core senior group to come back next year,” Willatt said.
“A few of the guys that were involved in the 2018 premiership stepped away last year but it looks like a large component of that group is coming back, which is really good for us.
“Whatever happens, after this year, we’re excited just to get back to football and getting the community back we’ve all missed.
As we’ve found out it can be taken away pretty quickly.”