One of the league’s best players says Myrtleford has picked a beauty in its new coach.
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Jake Sharp will lead the Saints for the next three years.
“He’s a great leader, I’ll tell you that much, he’s mature for his age,” Lavington’s Nick Meredith said.
“He’s like (Collingwood captain Scott) Pendlebury, he’s not fast, he’s not strong, he just finds space and uses the ball really well.”
The pair lived together during Meredith’s two-year stint in the VFL.
“He’s good at driving people and holding standards high,” Meredith said.
“He’s always up and about and pushing everyone.
“He’ll bring the best out of the young blokes anyway.”
And that, more than anything, will delight Saints’ officials.
The club has some promising teenagers, including Rising Star nomination Darcy Chellew, but there’s a batch of young guns on the horizon.
The Saints’ under 12, 14 and 16 teams claimed the minor premiership in the Wangaratta and District Junior Football League.
“We’re hoping he’ll put some good time and energy into our young list and really bring them along, where ‘Loobs’ (this year’s co-coaches Tim Looby and Terry Burgess) and Terry have to this point, but we want to advance them along,” president Michael Quirk said.
The Saints are also in discussions with retaining the dangerous Looby.
The club will field an under 18 outfit after being forced to withdraw this year due to a lack of numbers.
“The young kids will be one of my focuses,” Sharp said.
“I want to play a role in challenging them to get better and fast track their development.”
Sharp will be employed two days a week in the football department and work as a teacher for the other three days in his first year.
He’ll then solely teach in the second and third years.
The Saints also confirmed one of last summer’s biggest rumours that AFL big man Dawson Simpson was in negotiations until offered an extension by Greater Western Sydney.
It highlights the club’s determination to return to the top five after a brief taste in 2016.
Sharp will also rejoin his younger siblings - 21-year-old twins Ryley and Brady - having played just a handful of games with them in recent years.
“They’re really pumped for it and mum and dad are pumped for it as well, they can’t wait to see the three of us running around together,” he said.
“And it’s going to be really good playing with my mates and really trying to build something together.
“A lot of the players there, their families put in time and effort to the club you’ll never see anywhere else, that’s another great thing Myrtleford’s got.”
