Hunter Clayton is the new coach of Tumbarumba

The former Lavington player enjoyed his first season with the Upper Murray club and was delighted to be offered the role for 2022.

Clayton believes the foundations are in place for the Roos to give the league's top sides another run for their money.

"We were building towards something special," Clayton said of the truncated 2021 season.

"We knocked off Bullioh in round two and I don't think Tumba's beaten Bullioh in something like four years so we had this good feeling around the club.

"Cudgewa were the benchmark last year but within our club, we had so much belief and every game got a bit closer and a bit more exciting, so it was shaping up to be a great finals series.

"It was a bit of a shock when they asked me (to coach).

"They offered it to me towards the end of the season being cancelled, it came up in conversation and I figured I'd grab it with both hands. It's such a good opportunity.

"At the start of the season, they half-mentioned needing an assistant coach and me and Jim 'Muddy' Waters had taken a fair few of the trainings on Thursday night.

"Coaching wasn't something I'd thought about a lot but once the offer was on the table, I thought about it a whole lot more."

Tumbarumba president Mont Waters is thrilled to have Clayton at the helm.

"Hunter's just one of those blokes who appears to be a natural leader," he said.

"He's got a good football brain and he's well-liked.

"It's always a headache getting your coach sorted but you've got to do it before December because otherwise, before you know it, they're playing pre-season games.

"It's really good to have it sorted this early."

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Tumbarumba sat third in the five-team competition, with a 5-3 record, when the season was cancelled because of COVID restrictions.

"Last year was disappointing because effectively we had our hands tied," Clayton reflected.

"Probably 75 percent of our senior list was outside the bubble and it's not fair on our club or the other clubs to show up like that.

"But our recruiting is going well. We were the first to cancel and hopefully we'll be the first to hold up the cup again.

"Our biggest signing at the moment is probably my brother, Connor.

"It's awesome from a coaching point of view because he's a phenomenal player, a genuine A-grade midfielder and as a brother, we're going to play senior football together and hopefully have a crack at something special."

Quinn Rooney stepped down as senior coach following the birth of his first child but he and Jim Waters will support Clayton in assistant coaching roles next season.

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