YARRAWONGA'S Damian Sexton says the prospect of coaching against interleague rivals Goulburn Valley was the catalyst for him accepting the Ovens and Murray's top job.
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Sexton, who contacted the 10 O and M coaches before taking on the role, has strong links with the Shepparton-based league and is hell-bent on securing the bragging rights.
"The rivalry was the appetiser for me to coach," the Finley farmer said.
"There is no doubt about that.
"The GV think they are better than us and we think we are better than the GV.
"It's that simple.
"Obviously I want the ledger to be in our favour."
Sexton stepped down as Yarrawonga's coach after three years at the end of last season with star midfielder Mark Whiley taking over the reins.
Few have more extensive coaching backgrounds than Sexton.
As well as coaching the Pigeons, Sexton led Finley and Blighty in the Murray and Picola and District leagues.
Sexton coached the respective competitions at interleague level and spent a decade at the helm of the VCFL under-19 side.
"I enjoy coaching and obviously you want to do it properly," he said.
"I'll be doing it a bit differently in that I've contacted the 10 O and M clubs and want to work closely with each of them during the process.
"You need support to be successful. It's an important match against the GV and I want them all on board."
Sexton takes over the Ovens and Murray role from Jon Henry and Brad Murray who stepped down due to family commitments.
He is presently working on his coaching assistants.
League general manager Sean Barrett believes Sexton is the coach to build on the foundations put in place by Henry and Murray.
"We'll miss having John and Brad involved, they've been great supporters of our interleague and done a fantastic job over the past few years." Barrett said.
"Having said that, we're extremely excited to have Damian lead the team against our traditional rivals.
"He's been a stalwart of our competition and representative footy throughout his career.
"'Secco' has a passion for representative football and he's fully aware of the significance of the local rivalry.
"He'll leave no stone unturned."
Darren Hovey will lead the underage O and M squad for a third successive year.
The interleague will be played on May 23 after the O and M and GV organised the clash following the collapse of the community championships.
