Simon Rosa takes over from Ash Connick as Bendigo interleague coach

Former Golden Square star Simon Rosa is aiming to revive Bendigo’s interleague fortunes. See what is motivating him.

From a determined 16-year-old making two-hour trips from his Mallee hometown of Brim to test himself against Victoria’s best young players with the Bendigo Pioneers, Simon Rosa has never shirked a challenge.

After a career that included captaining the now defunct Bendigo Bombers’ VFL team, playing for Peel Thunder in the WAFL and being a key member in four flags with Golden Square, Rosa is bringing that same mindset to his latest challenge — Bendigo interleague coach.

“I’ve always loved playing and being involved with the elite of the elite at each level I played,” he said.

“I’m just passionate about local footy and representative footy and giving back.”

A former interleague captain himself, Rosa is determined to lay the foundation for success ahead of Bendigo’s return clash with the Victorian Amateurs in July, following a narrow 13-point loss last year.

Rosa has tapped some equally highly respected figures to be involved.

They include two current BFL coaches, South Bendigo’s Troy Coates and Kangaroo Flat’s Tyrone Downie and key figures in Golden Square’s five successive flags between 2009 and 2013, Nick Carter and Rick Ladson.

New Bendigo interleague coach Simon Rosa at the Queen Elizabeth Oval, Bendigo. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Rochester’s 2008 premiership coach and former Bendigo Bombers player Daniel Schmidt and Wayne Mitrovic, who most recently coached Wycheproof-Narraport last year, are also on-board.

“It might seem like a lot,” Rosa said.

“But I just wanted to get a really good group together to support the players.

“They’re also passionate about local footy.

“If we can support in that way by creating a great environment for our players, and hopefully have some success, we will see more quality footballers coming into our region and wanting to stay.

“That will only increase the standard of footy in Bendigo.”

Rosa and his team has drafted an initial list of 60 players for the July 13 encounter at the Queen Elizabeth Oval.

Some early season long-term injuries to Castlemaine’s Bailey Henderson, Sandhurst’s Fergus Greene and Strathfieldsaye pair James Schishka and Daniel Clohesy has been a setback.

But a 35-member training squad will be announced in less than a month.

Rosa is eyeing off a long-term commitment in the role.

He believes interleague success can play a part in reinvigorating the Bendigo league, which has shrunk to only eight teams this year.

“I’d love to invest in it over a period of time,” he said.

“I’d also love to play some of our biggest rivals like the GV, O&M, Ballarat, or even Geelong.

“We want to test ourselves against the best.

“If I can support in that way by creating a great environment for our players, and hopefully have some success, we will see more quality footballers coming into our region and wanting to stay.

“That will only increase the standard of footy in Bendigo.”

Simon Rosa in action for Golden Square in the 2011 grand final win against Eaglehawk.

Financial support for interleague football has ceased from AFL Victoria, but some leagues are keeping the representative game alive.

Ovens & Murray and Goulburn Valley will play this month at Wangaratta for a fourth successive year.

Hampden and Ballarat will play again this season as will Sunraysia and Central Murray.

“For a ranking system to come back, or five or six leagues to try and get some sort of round-robin format going, is something I would be fully supportive of,” Rosa said.

“If players didn’t want to go and play VFL footy, it could be the next best option.”

Former Bendigo interleague coach Darryl Wilson believes Rosa is the right man for the job after being one of his assistants in 2019.

“I’m really proud of the fact he’s doing it,” Wilson said.

“He was a strong advocate for that type of footy.

“He was a successful player in his own right and more importantly a really good fellow.

“The more professional you can be, the better buy-in you get from the players.

“He’s on the right track.”

Matt Rosa is Essendon’s list manager. Pic: Michael Klein

Rosa’s younger brother Matt has also carved out a successful career in football, initially as a player for West Coast Eagles and Gold Coast in the AFL.

Matt was an emergency for West Coast’s 2006 premiership team before requesting a trade to Gold Coast in 2016 where he cracked the 200-match milestone.

After retiring in 2018, Matt initially returned to Perth as an assistant coach with the Eagles.

He is presently the list manager at Essendon with the Bombers sitting on a strong hand of picks at this year’s national draft.

Another brother, Luke, is also a Golden Square premiership player.