Wayne Robertson.
COBDEN coach Wayne Robertson says the Bombers’ near-perfect finals run will help it reinforce its list for next season.
Bombers officials have reappointed the first-year coach after he steered the side to an against-the-odds grand final.
Robertson said Cobden making the grand final had allowed it to grab the attention of farming communities east of Warrnambool.
He said interest in the club would be an advantage when officials mapped out a recruiting plan to go one better in 2013.
“A few players came and watched our games in the last few weeks. We went deeper than the district league seasons and that’s a benefit,” he said.
“I think they would’ve been pretty impressed with what they saw.
“Although we didn’t win it on the weekend, there were a lot of positives we can take out of it.”
Robertson said club officials approached him mid-way through the season about coaching again.
He told them he was happy to step aside if they found a better candidate, but later accepted the offer after enjoying the stunning end to the season.
“They’re a great bunch of people to work with. We think we’ve got some good things in place,” he said.
Robertson will have hard-working onballer Joe Dare as his assistant, with other coaching announcements still in the pipeline.
“Joe won’t change much of what he did this year. He’s a natural leader,” Robertson said.
“The other day, after the grand final, I went out of the room and there was a fair bit of silence and Joe got up and spoke.
“He’s a leader at the club, the way he plays, and when he speaks people listen.”
Club president Wayne Gibson said reappointing Robertson was a simple decision.
“He took a little bit of convincing at the start of the year that he was the right man for the job,” he said.
“It didn’t take much from a board perspective to reappoint him.”
Gibson said Dare would be a valuable asset as an assistant coach.
“He’s had a fair bit of input this year. It was only a matter of ratifying his input,” he said.
Cobden is yet to talk to the players about their plans for next year, but the club is confident it will retain the bulk of its list.