Little River announce Reuben Chandran as new coach for 2023-24 season

Little River will enter Saturday’s qualifying final clash with Waurn Ponds Deakin with an extra set of eyes watching over the club after announcing its new coach for next season.

Reuben Chandran is the new coach of Little River.

LITTLE River will enter Saturday’s qualifying final clash with Waurn Ponds Deakin with an extra set of eyes watching over the club after announcing its new coach for next season.

The Redbacks have landed former Manifold Heights assistant coach and bowler Reuben Chandran, who will take over from one-and-done coach Daniel Burrows.

Chandran said he had been impressed with the rapid rise of the Redbacks in the 2022-23 season after moving to the GCA from the BPCA.

“I’ve always kept an eye on Little River and how they’re going, they’ve come a long way in the past few years,” he said.

Reuben Chandran is the new coach of Little River.

“To see the club second on the ladder this year after coming across from the BPCA and struggling a bit there.

“There’s been a big jump that makes it a really appealing club to coach because you’re not starting at the bottom, with still plenty of room for improvement.

“It will be a perfect place to start (my coaching journey), but having said that there’s not much of a difference between division three and division four, it’s not much of a step down.”

Reuben Chandran played at Manifold Heights in 2022-23. Picture: Mark Wilson

Manifold Heights finished the season with five wins, while Chandran took 22 wickets at an average of 15.09 to finish third in the competition’s leading wicket takers.

The fast bowler said he would add to an already-strong bowling line up that boasts two of the top 10 wicket takers in the competition.

“I think on-field I’ve been the best I’ve ever been, and I think statistically that shows that,” he said.

“I was one of the top fast bowlers in GCA3 for average, so I’m in really good form and I understand my game, which probably something I didn’t two or three years ago.

“But I’ve also always wanted to be a coach and help people improve, it’s something I’m passionate about probably as much as playing, and I’ll get to do both at Little River.

“In the medium term I want to be here to build the club up, do well and hopefully get extended for another year.

“I won’t make it a secret, division three is hard for a hard-wicket club to get there because it’s mostly turf teams, but that’s definitely my medium term goals, to build this club up over the next couple of years.”

Originally published as Little River announce Reuben Chandran as new coach for 2023-24 season