The club is happy to announce the 3 new coaches for next year are:
1st grade – Jarrod Costello
Reserve grade – Danny Ostwald
U18’s – Ben Linde
Coaching co-ordinater – Phill Ostwald
The club is looking to go back to its local nursery for the 2016 and have chosen these three guys to lead the club. Jarrod has served an apprenticeship in reserve grade taking them to grand finals appearances and this year stepped up to assistant coach to Luke Swain in 1st grade.
Ben Linde 2008 grand final winning captain has been in the clubs junior ranks for sometime and has mentored next years U18’s from an earlier age and will continue on giving them much needed experience as they enter the grade ranks of the club.
Danny Ostwald also has had experience in the junior coaching ranks and next year will step up and take over the reserve grade coaching job from Brett Jones. Danny has a big job a head of him trying to turn the teams fortunes around and will call on his vast knowledge of the game. Danny has a very smart footy brain on his shoulders and will do an outstanding job.
Congratulations to all three and good luck for next year. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Luke Swain, Brett Jones, Keith Cole and Blake Eager for the effort they have put in this year.
Illawarra Mercury Story
Costello to take over from Swain as Thirroul coach
Story by Mitch Jenning Illawarra Mercury sports writer
They’re still hoping to make an impact in the finals, but Thirroul have already begun planning for next year, appointing Jarrod Costello to take over from coach Luke Swain.
Swain took the reins from 2014 premiership winner Nathan Fien as captain-coach this year and has been one of the most consistent performers in an otherwise inconsistent Butchers outfit.
He’s still hoping to add a Coal League premiership the the NRL ring he won with the Panthers in 2003 before returning to junior club St Marys next season.
“I’ve had a great time at the Butchers but just moving forward professionally it’s better for me to go that way,” Swain said.
Costello assisted Fien in the Butchers’ premiership season last year and stayed on as Swain’s right-hand man this year.
Swain is confident he’s leaving the club in good hands.
“I consider him a co-coach this year not an assistant so he’s more than capable of doing the job,” Swain said.
President Shane Millard said Costello’s appointment, along with reserve grade coach Danny Ostwald and club great Ben Linde as 18s coach, is part of an approach to put the club back in local hands.
“Swainy’s come in and done a good job and he’s a champion bloke but he’s moving on to St Marys. He’s got a job in his field so we’re rapt for him,” Millard said.
“From a club perspective we need to get back to basics.
“We had a great year last year and then 10 of the 15 guys from the grand final squad left the club. This year we’ve struggled to replace that a little bit and we need to get more locals involved.
“We’re a club with a helluva lot of really great sponsors but we haven’t got that league club backing so we need to produce our own.
“We’ve got some really good kids coming through so we thought the best thing to do was to put a local bloke in charge of first grade for next season as well as across the club.
“Jarrod’s been there his whole life, he’s coached some winning and losing grand finals in reserve grade and he’s been a [first grade] assistant the last two years so he’s done a great apprenticeship.”
In other signing news, Berkeley have taken a big step towards rebuilding in appointing former Roosters and Eels lower grade coach Aaron McDonald as head coach for next season.
McDonald coached the Eels SG Ball side last season and has also assisted with Wentworthville in the NSW Cup.
“We had several candidates to pick from and he was the one who stood out and we think he can deliver what we’re looking for,” Eagles president Richard Ford said.
“He’s here for the right reasons and everything he put forward to us fit our overall plan.
“He’s the sort of person we’re looking for to take the club forward over the next couple of years.”
