THERE’S set to be a new face on the sidelines for the Tenterfield Tigers in 2016 with Chris Battersby appointed as A-grade coach.
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Born and bred in Tenterfield, Chris returned to town last year and says he’s excited for his chance at the clubs top job.
“I grew up here and left when I was 20,” he said.
Mr Battersby played his junior football with the Tenterfield club before signing for the Stanthorpe Gremlins where he had a two year stint with the club in the Toowoomba Rugby League competition.
From there he trekked south where he continued playing in Nambucca and then Bellingen before an injury halted his career.
“I did my knee in 2004 and then moved to Sydney,” he said.
He was called up to representative sides in the North Coast region before his 11-years in Sydney and returned home to Tenterfield, family in tow, at the back end of last year.
“I wanted to put something back into the club. I never had the opportunity to play for the men’s team so I thought I’d help out a little.
“It should be good – get back involved and hope we’ll go alright,” he said.
Chris said he’s taking over the reins with fresh eyes.
“We’ve got to get players to train, that’s key. You can’t win a competition with only six players training.
“The good thing for me is I don’t know anyone. I’ll have fresh eyes and they sort of have to prove to me they deserve to play.
“That starts first with going to training.”
Mr Battersby and club president Brendan Minns have started recruiting and say they’ve spoken to a lot of players eager for 2016.
“We want to encourage local guys to come and play. If we have guys from Brisbane who want to come, well we don’t want to turn them away.”
Chris said if they can work on their defence, it’ll go a long way to securing a trophy at the end of the season.
Wayne Minns will continue in his role as coach of the competition winning Tigers ladies league tag team.
The club will start training two nights a week and interested players can contact Chris on 0481 132 187 or Brendan on 0423 264 661.