CAPTAINCY sits well with first-year Cobden skipper Louis Cahill.
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The loyal Bomber, who will play his 150th Hampden league senior game on Saturday, knew he needed to step up and lead a youth-laden group in 2019.
Cahill, 28, is the second-oldest player on the Bombers' list behind forward-turned-defender Chris Paatsch.
"Chris is back from injury now so he can take over as the oldest bloke on the ground now," he joked.
"I was an older one at 25 (a few years ago) which was a bit strange," Cahill said.
"We have a lot of young blokes coming up through the ranks who will definitely be future leaders.
"It's got to the stage we're a very young team so it's my chance to step up and lead."
Cahill, who has been in Bombers' leadership groups in the past, is relishing the opportunity to impart his knowledge and help out non-playing coach Adam Courtney.
"We haven't had a captain for a few years now because we've had a few playing coaches and we've made the rule, if there's a playing coach he's the captain as well," he said.
"It's the first year in three or four years we've had a captain and I am pretty honoured to do it.
"Not a lot of people get the opportunity."
Cahill arrived at Cobden as a teenager, having moved to town to start work as an apprentice builder.
His early football was played at Colac and District league outfit Irrewarra-Beeac - a club former Cobden coach Wayne Robertson and ex-Camperdown mentor Dan Casey spent time at.
Cahill, who now lives in Camperdown with partner Caitlin Rix, made his Hampden league senior debut in 2010 under James Gellie.
He was part of Robertson's 2012 senior grand final side which fell to Warrnambool.
"The lead-up to that was an unreal experience," Cahill said of the decider.
"Being so young it was pretty cool and as soon as you get older you realise how lucky you are to make it."
Cahill knew early on he would become entrenched at Cobden and now hopes to finish his career in the black and red.
"You spend eight months of a year around a footy club so you've really got to enjoy the people which I do," he said.
"I have no reason for me to leave. I like the club, I am not going to go anywhere chasing anything."
Injuries and a young list have conspired against Cobden in 2019.
The Bombers sit on the bottom of the ladder with a 1-10 win-loss record entering Saturday's clash against top-five side Port Fairy.
But Cahill remains buoyant, saying "we're treating the rest of the season as a big stepping stone for next season".
"We're not throwing in the towel this season at all, we're trying to aim for a few more wins and build for next year," he said.
He sees a bright future, pointing to promising pair Jia Anderson and Tomas Lindquist, as among those to lead the Bombers' revival.
"Tom is probably one of the most skilful players I have ever played with and it's only his first season," Cahill said.
"He has a lot of potential and can do whatever he wants and the Paul Pekins and Jack Hutts have played a lot of games now and they are the next leaders."
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