The Rebels leader and champion batsman has inked a new deal at the club after a strong period of growth at Timboon Recreation Reserve this season.

The club has fielded three senior teams this season with the division one team currently sitting in second place, quietly confident ahead of the finals.

Rebels president Michael Vogels said it was pleasing to have Harkness locked away for another season - his third in charge.

"We are thrilled to have Simon returning as senior coach next season, he has been an integral component of the success of the club this season," he said.

"His leadership and passion is incredible and in addition to this his on field performance with the bat has been impressive.

"He is a very important component of the club as we move forward and grow both on and off the field."

MORE SPORT:

Harkness has enjoyed a strong individual season to date to lead from the front, racking up 469 runs at an average of 46.9 across both formats with a best of 104 not out against Woorndoo.

"It's great for the club and it's good for stability moving forward I guess," Harkness said.

"I really wanted to do the role and I feel like I'm learning more every year.

"Now that it's out of the way we can start to focus on finals."

Harkness said with each year coaching the club the improvements had been evident, both on and off the field.

"We've got more juniors now playing senior cricket which is great and they're really taking responsibility for their cricket," he said.

"We feel as a club our culture continues to grow and we're really setting the tone moving forward. I can see next year being really exciting as a club."

With division one in a strong position and looking to make a splash come finals time, Harkness said the vibe around the club was electric.

"Everyone's really pumped at the moment which is great, the motivation is there and we're just trying to time our run," he said.

"Division two is also in the mix for finals too but it's great for the club because it's been a challenge after Christmas with COVID and other things."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard: