Barwon Heads Seagulls chasing another premiership with new star recruits and coaching structure

A new coaching structure and big-named recruits are leading the charge for Barwon Heads’ quest for a third consecutive flag.

Football GFL: South Barwon v St Mary's South Barwon 7 James Syddall and St Mary's 1 Max Augerinos involved in a long tussle Picture: Mark Wilson

THERE are no concerns for complacency at Barwon Heads as the Seagulls go searching for their third consecutive BFL premiership.

With a new coaching structure and big-name recruits, Barwon Heads will again be one of the league’s favourites for the premiership after a dominant win against Torquay in 2022.

New co-coach Mitch Herbison said the new recruits, such as ruck and forward duo Luke Davis and James Syddall from South Barwon, kept the pre-season training “fresh”.

Luke Davis will play for Barwon Heads in 2023. Picture: Mark Wilson

“There hasn’t been any need to discuss complacency, obviously a few new faces help with that a bit,” he said.

“Everything looks different this time around, just like it did last year compared to the year before.

“Guys are enjoying the challenge of playing with new teammates, under a new coaching structure, and the guys that have come to the club from elsewhere want to put their best foot forward to impress and win a premiership and have some success.

“The balance of the change and the existing players is keeping everything really fresh and exciting for us.”

Barwon Heads will be seeking its third consecutive premiership in 2023, with a different coaching structure for each of the last two already.

Herbison is already a premiership coach at the Seagulls, co-coaching with Troy Mitchell in 2019 before Dan Donati took over and led the club to the 2022 flag.

Troy Mitchell and Mitch Herbison coached the 2019 premiership together. Picture: Mark Wilson

The gun forward will spend 2023 as a playing coach, working with Sam Schaller to lead the club towards a third-straight premiership, and said he was an ideal co-coach to work with.

“It’s been a pretty easy transition, both Sammy and I worked pretty closely with the coaches last year throughout the season, and with Dan stepping aside it opened up the opportunity for myself to step back into the role and give Sammy a chance to join me as a co-coach as well,” Herbison said.

“Sammy was an assistant of Troy and I when I was coaching, and same as when Bobby and I were coaching together.

“I’ve worked with Sammy for a while now and we both feel we work pretty well together.

“The way we see the game complements each other nicely.”

Originally published as Barwon Heads Seagulls chasing another premiership with new star recruits and coaching structure