It’ll be Leigh times two in the coaches box for Rockbank this season.
The Riddell District Football League club last week announced Leigh Sporle and Leigh McInerney as its senior co-coaches this season.
They replace Shane Rayment, who stood down for personal reasons. Rayment lasted less than a pre-season at the club.
Sporle’s brother Gavin coached the Rams last year.
Leigh Sporle, who coached the side in 2013, described returning to the Rams as “like groundhog day”.
“It’s pretty exciting,” he said. “I applied for the role at the end of last season but was a little unsure with work commitments.
“The club then appointed Shane. When he resigned I spoke with the club again. I love coaching, it’s a passion of mine.
“I only stopped coaching last time as I was relocated to Brisbane for work. My brother [Gavin, now football operations manager] is here and I get to work with Leigh.”
Sporle sees a lot of similarities to the last time he coached the Rams.
“In 2013 the club was in a similar position [struggling at the bottom of the ladder], but a lot has changed too. Looking at the town itself there’s a lot of changes there; it will be different.”
For McInerney, taking on the role is a chance to help the club. He has long been involved with the RDFL, most recently at Romsey where he coached the reserves for two seasons and helped out with the seniors last year.
“I’m been good mates with Leigh and Gav for a long time,” he said. “When they asked me about helping out, I took a little time to think about it. I decided I want to help them move from the bottom of the ladder.”
The pair haven’t coached together but both were teammates at the Sunbury Kangaroos and Coburg Districts.
“We want to try and help,” Sporle said. “You don’t like to see sides cop beatings like they suffered last season.
“It’s not just about wins and losses, it’s about improving the club as a whole.”
On the recruiting side of things, the Rams have added a few players, but will again focus on bringing youth through.
Defender Jordan Baumgartner returns to the club while his brother Mitchell has also come across from the Sunbury Kangaroos.
The club has also put in clearances for Michael Brown, Tyler Fitch, Jarrod Johns and Scott Matthews.
The Rams kick off their season on April 8 in night match against local rival Melton Centrals.
