Tough midfielder Brad Hibberson appointed coach of Chiltern

Hibberson replaces Luke Brookes who recently announced he will be stepping down at the end of the year after five seasons at the helm.

The 33-year-old said he was proud to land the gig after being assistant coach to Brookes the past two seasons.

"I rate it as a huge honour to coach my home club and am grateful for the opportunity," Hibberson said.

"I've been trying to help 'Brooksie' out as much as I can

"I was in the mix to coach this year before 'Brooksie' put his hand up again which was good.

"But I'm at the point now where if I don't do it now, I'll never do it.

"I'm dedicated to playing, so I may as well coach while I'm playing as opposed to being a non-playing coach."

Hibberson played in the Swans' most recent grand final appearance in 2006 against Mitta United as a 15-year-old.

He followed coach Brendan Way to Birallee Park the following season.

The tough midfielder had stints at both Wodonga Raiders and Albury.

Hibberson initially returned to his home club in 2015 when the Swans made the preliminary final under coach Mark Doolan.

He then joined Albury in 2017 but only played a handful of matches from 2018-20 after recovering from a broken wrist and the impacts of COVID.

Hibberson returned to Chiltern last season and had an instant impact after winning the Swans' best and fairest.

He also finished fourth in the Barton medal.

Hibberson said he had already started the task of retaining players for next season with the Swans firmly in the premiership window.

"Hopefully most of the players are keen to stick around and I'm going through that process with the club at the moment," he said.

"We have got a good mix of youth and experience as well as a fair bit of depth.

"Brooksie has been instrumental in that because when he first took over, the club was struggling.

"But he was able to get some former juniors back to the club.

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"Brooksie has been a bit stiff in that there hasn't been finals for the past two years when we had a list capable of challenging for the flag.

"But I think that's what has helped keep the list together as well because everybody is hungry for success this year.

"Hopefully we can progress deep into the finals this year but we all know how hard flags are to win."

Albury co-coach Luke Daly has already been linked to joining Chiltern next year.

Daly has strong family ties to the Swans with Hibberson his brother-in-law.

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