HARMIT Singh has been appointed coach of Northcote Park in 2015.
The 27-year-old will replace 2012 premiership coach Jason Heatley, who spent the past three years in the top job at Bill Lawry Oval before stepping aside for family reasons.
Singh will take on the role as playing-coach, a position he relished while guiding to Morwell to back-to-back premiership wins in the Gippsland League over the past two seasons.
Speaking to NFL.org.au, Singh said he was looking forward to working with Northcote Park’s young playing group.
“It is a pretty young group and we’ll look to educate them as best as we can and continue on the great work that Jason Heatley did with the group for the previous three years,” he said.
“The opportunity presented itself at Northcote Park and I knew some players that did play at the club.
“I thought it could be a really good fit with where I’m at in life. I had a chat with the football club and am fortunate that they’ve given me the opportunity to try to take the club forward.”
After a successful stint with Morwell – where he broke the club’s 17-year premiership drought – Singh said he was comfortable continuing as a playing-coach.
“It’s something I have been able to juggle pretty well in a good competition because I did have good support staff around me,” he said.
“We’re looking to put that in place for season 2015 but I think regardless of whether I was a playing coach or not, it is important to have quality people around to support you which will also benefit the group.”
A pre-season premiership fancy, Northcote Park managed just seven wins and a draw for an eighth-place finish this year.
It followed a third-place finish in 2013, following its stunning premiership success in 2012.
“I think there are opportunities for improvement having spoken with the club and the captain Bronik (Davies),” Singh said.
“Last year we lost seven games by under 20 points and probably we were unable to stem the flow in a couple of quarters.
“We’ll be looking to strengthen our list over the next couple of weeks and then we’ll get into our pre-season block.”
Singh is the community engagement officer at the Collingwood Football Club.
He has worked closely with former AFL players Tarkyn Lockyer and Anthony Rocca in recent years. Lockyer was a member of Morwell’s premiership team this season.
Photo courtesy of Leader Newspapers, photographer: Josie Hayden
