Ben Talarico joins Corowa-Rutherglen as development coach and thirds co-coach

Talarico has joined the Roos as assistant to senior coach Steve Owen and will also lead their under-18 side back into the Ovens and Murray.

The 26-year-old, who coached Wangaratta Rovers to the thirds grand final this year, will have additional responsibility for junior development and player wellbeing at John Foord Oval.

"I'm extremely excited at the opportunity to jump on board with Corowa and to help them drive towards entering back into the league for 2024," Talarico said.

"Steve and the club approached me throughout the year and expressed that they would love to have a sit-down and talk about how next season could look.

"I've been extremely impressed with the professionalism, the vision and the plan they have - and the opportunity they've given me to further my coaching and to really give something back to Corowa and the community and to get the team back on its feet.

"I'm very grateful for their show of faith in me and I cannot wait to get to work."

After coming through the Rovers junior system into senior football, Talarico joined Holbrook and coached the Brookers to a thirds premiership in 2019. He spent time with St Mary's in the Geelong Football Netball League before returning to Wangaratta as head coach of the Hawks' under-18s in 2022-23.

Talarico's side, which included a number of the displaced Corowa juniors, finished top of the ladder this season but suffered an agonising two-point grand final defeat at the hands of Lavington.

He was also part of the Ovens and Murray interleague coaching staff.

"It's fantastic that we've been able to bring someone of Ben's character and calibre to the club," Owen said.

"The results he achieved this year with Rovers speaks highly of his football knowledge and coaching capabilities but it's the character of Ben which really attracted us.

"People who know Ben, both in football and outside of football, even the opposition, rate him very highly as a person and that's what we're most excited about.

"Relationships in football are crucial and for Ben to have that ability to connect with people from all different backgrounds is going to be crucial in that role."

Talarico last played in 2019 and while he hasn't completely ruled out pulling the boots back on for Corowa, his focus is on building and nurturing a squad which will see the blue and white return to the field after a year in recess.

"You listen to all the noise on the outside and everyone has their queries about it and probably are a little bit sceptical on whether or not it's possible," he said.

"But I'm really confident in the sense that the emphasis is on bringing good people around the club and starting to build a strong foundation and a strong culture.

"That's what will attract a lot of people and they've identified what they need to do as a club to become a better place - and a destination club.

"When it comes to the juniors, there is so much talent around the region.

"The under-16s were unlucky in the grand final (losing to Lavington by 11 points) and last year, the thirds made the grand final and just got beaten again.

"So you've got a really exciting group of kids in that 16-22 age group for whom, I think, the sky's the limit.

"Looking more from a senior perspective, a lot of kids out there have probably had a really good thirds season but might not quite be ready (at their club) to transition into regular senior football.

"I don't think you're going to get many better opportunities to play senior Ovens and Murray football than in a scenario like this.

"Sometimes the Ovens and Murray, a high level, gets that stigma where it's very serious, that you've got to compromise the enjoyment side of things out of football, but I don't think that's necessary at all.

"The plan Corowa has around the balance side of things is perfect; I think you can have those high training standards at an Ovens and Murray level while also really enjoying yourself.

"I want people coming down to the club as a release, as an outlet from their everyday life.

"I don't want them coming down, thinking 'we're going to get absolutely flogged,' I want it to be the highlight of their week, I want them to look forward to training, to getting around their team-mates and I've got no doubt the Corowa community, as a whole, will rally behind the club.

"It's going to be a really exciting season to be a part of so I can't wait to get stuck into it."

Talarico's role in helping the club's under-23 players will extend well beyond assessing their on-field performances by reviewing games and giving weekly feedback.

"We want to create that wellbeing side of things where they can feel as though they've got someone at the club they can come to, whether it's football-related or not, a safe space where they can disclose things - and also just someone they can come and have a chat to.

"I know, at times, in football clubs, it can be daunting to go to the head coach and express how you're really feeling so I'll be that middle man and providing the relevant information to the senior group about the right way forward and how we can provide all the players with what's best for them in both the football and the wellbeing capacity.

"For the club to acknowledge they want to go forward with a role in the wellbeing space is massive.

"We were able to get it off the ground (at Rovers) last year, Pete Rourke was one of my assistants in the thirds and I identified him pretty early after the end of last year to jump on board and to start that role and we saw incredible positive benefits from it.

"All the players spoke extremely highly of having someone in that role and to have a club that says 'we want to do this on a broader scale' says a lot about Corowa and the direction they want to go in.

"I couldn't be more excited to bring that to the club."

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