Kade and Matt Butters. PICTURE: Peter Merkesteyn.
BORDER-Walwa has appointed Kade and Matt Butters as co-coaches.
After a fruitless six-month search for a senior coach, one of the Upper Murray league’s most successful clubs faced a grim future.
President Robert Newnham said the club had approached more than 30 people before the brothers accepted the job last week.
“You don’t enjoy seeing any club in this sort of situation,” Kade said.
“We might not be the answer but are willing to give it a crack and try to do the best we can anyway.”
Kade said the pair were keen to attract enough players to field senior and reserve grade line-ups in the Upper Murray league this season.
“It’s tough recruiting but we’re hoping we can get enough players to field two sides,” he said.
“We have got our fingers crossed and we are trying everything we can to attract players.
“We just need blokes to commit and stop sitting on the fence.
“Our first goal is to fill two sides then try to be competitive.”
Newnham said he had been overwhelmed by the response since the club’s plight was revealed by The Border Mail.
“There has been a lot of past players ring up out of the blue who want to help the club out,” he said.
“A lot of businesses even in rival towns have donated goods and services.
“This year we weren’t going to fold and were going to battle through no matter what.
“But the following year was the unknown.”
Kade coached Border-Walwa in 2010-11 and played last season.
Older brother Matt is a life member of Barnawartha and also played at Border-Walwa in 2010 and helped run the bench the following season.
The Magpies’ team last year consisted of only one senior player who lived locally with most coming from Albury-Wodonga.
The senior team trains in Albury with the exception of one Thursday night a month at Walwa.
Walwa won 15 premierships between 1898 and 1958 and, after merging with the Jingellic-based Border United in 1961, won another seven flags with six in the 1990s.
Border-Walwa’s last flag was in 2002. A year later, it overcame a similar threat and found a way to stay in the competition.