Dan Wehrung and Chris Dwyer can start planning for a second year in charge of Newlyn after being reappointed as joint coaches for the 2018 Central Highlands Football League season.
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We just need to recruit well. That’s the bottom line. Hopefully we can deliver a better and deeper playing list for them to show what they are really capable of.
- - Newlyn president Simon Dwyer
The pair has endured a tough start to the role with the Cats, which have battled their way to just three wins so far this campaign.
But the club’s committee has shown the faith and locked in the duo well before the end of the current season.
Wehrung and Dwyer will again be assisted by Tom Inverarity in 2018. Inverarity retired in 2014 as a result of significant head injuries and has held the off-field assistant role this year.
Newlyn president Simon Dwyer, the brother of Chris, said the trio was probably the best coaching group that the club has had in a long time.
“We just need to recruit well. That’s the bottom line. Hopefully we can deliver a better and deeper playing list for them to show what they are really capable of,” he said.
“We don’t want to be where we are positioned at the moment ... 2012 was our last finals appearance, so it’s high time we got back into the top eight.”
The club waited until November last year to lock in the current coaching panel and Dwyer said late appointments hinder recruitment and the ability to keep existing players.
Newlyn was the second last club in the CHFL last year to lock in a senior coach, with Carngham-Linton finally settling upon Matt Beaston in early December.
Wehrung joined the Cats from Lake Wendouree ahead of the 2014 season and is a multiple senior best and fairest winner in the blue and white hoops.
The classy onballer has been a leading player in the competition in recent years and has represented the Highlanders at the AFL Victoria Community Championships.
Wehrung will continue to be an on-field leader in 2018, while Chris Dwyer, who is a past premiership player with the Cats, works from the bench.
Newlyn suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Bungaree on Saturday and sits 11th on the ladder after 12 rounds.
The Cats now prepare to take on powerhouse Gordon next Saturday before games against Buninyong, Ballan, Dunnstown and Beaufort in the run home.