FORMER Nhill footballer Tim Bone will return home to lead the club’s senior side in 2018.
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The appointment was made official at the club’s general meeting on Monday evening.
After playing his junior football with the Tigers Bone moved away after the 2004 season to play with Rushworth, in the Kyabram and District Football League, and then Echuca United, in the Murray Football League.
A move north to farm sugar cane saw him start a successful career with the Mackay City Hawks in the AFL Mackay league.
Bone said he was excited for the challenge of being a senior coach for the first time.
“I’ve been assistant coach at a few different clubs,” he said.
“Coming home was always something I’ve thought about doing.
“To coach Nhill and have a bit of success would be special – that’s the challenge that awaits me.”
The taste of success is a familiar one for Bone having won four premierships at the Hawks, including two as captain.
He said his job will be to get the best out of every players on the Tigers list.
“It’s not just the seniors but the reserves as well and the club as a whole,” he said.
“I’m the first to admit I don’t like losing so I come in with the expectations the players will rise because we want to be successful.
“We haven’t played finals for a number of years and that is certainly our aim.”
Bone said the 2017 grand final was the first Wimmera league game he had watched in eight years.
“I’m not going to know a whole lot about the opposition but I can only control what our guys are doing,” he said.
“I’ve got the whole pre-season to see where the squad is at.
“There are some blokes that may not have been given much of a go over the past few seasons and this is a great opportunity for them to step up.”
There are three parts to football: when we’ve got the ball, when the opposition has the ball and when the ball is in dispute.
- Tim Bone
As well as consistently representing at an interleague level during his career he has also coached junior representative sides and is a qualified level two coach.
Nhill recruiter Matt Fritsch said the club was excited to welcome Bone back to the fold.
“He oozes respect and will demand success,” he said.
“To have a bloke like Tim just land back in our laps is something you dream of.”
Bone is in the process of shoring up who will be his right-hand man.
“I’m not going to over complicate things,” he said.
“There are three parts to football: when we’ve got the ball, when the opposition has the ball and when the ball is in dispute.
“At the end of the day I just want us to have good skills in order to limit the turnovers so we can keep the ball in our halve.”
