Former Sydney first grader Ben Hindmarsh and dedicated clubman Michael Richardson will take the reins of the Bowral Blacks top grade side this season as the club aims for Illawarra Rugby Union supremacy.
The pair will co-coach the side in a similar arrangement to departing coaches John Rolles and Craig Clothier, who had been at the helm for the past two seasons.
Richardson, known by everyone at the club and regulars at the Port-O-Call as Errol, coached the Blacks' second grade side last season with Hindmarsh coming into help midway through the season after breaking his leg playing for Eastern Suburbs.
That injury forced the 27-year-old to prematurely retire from the game, with the former hooker excited about the challenge ahead of him as first grade coach at the Blacks.
"I'm really looking forward to it," Hindmarsh said.
"We've got a lot of young blokes coming through and I think the average age of the side is about 20 to 22, so I think it's going to be the youngest side Bowral's fielded in a long time, so there's a lot of responsibility there as well."
The club has lost a number of experienced players in the off-season, including inspirational captain Tory Ingrey who has retired from the game, adding to the task ahead for Hindmrash and Richardson.
Halfback Dave Elliott is another to call it quits, while Mick Krebs, Doug Thorpe and Sam Hindmarsh will all play elsewhere in 2004.
"Those players are sort of irreplaceable in terms of their experience, so that side of things is going to be our biggest battle," Hindmarsh said.
"There's certainly the potential there but getting players up to first grade standard is going to take a fair bit of work.
"But the big emphasis is for the young blokes that are coming through to get that experience and really enjoy it and set themselves up as prominent first graders in time to come."
Despite going through a rebuilding process, Hindmarsh still believes his side can be competitive and make the semi-finals and from there anything is possible.
"I think the potential is unlimited. If things go well, there's no question about us being a dominant force in the competition this year," he said.
"We've certainly got the players to do it, it just depends on the maturity and how players develop throughout the season, but the firepower is definitely there."
In the last couple of seasons the Blacks have prided themselves on their attacking style of play and the new coaching combination have hinted that philosophy won't change under their regime.
"We're hoping to play a fairly expansive sort of game," Hindmarsh said.
"We've got a lot of skilful players and a lot of depth. Every position is going to be hardly fought for in first grade and first and second grade should be pretty evenly matched this year."
With so many spots in the top grade up for grabs, players' performances in the pre-season will be important with the Blacks to have their first hit out of the year next weekend (February 28-29) at the Kiama Sevens.
The club is then hoping to organise al least three trial matches before the side's season opener against Shoalhaven at Nowra on Sunday, April 18, which is still to be finalised.
The season was set to kick off on the last weekend of March but has been pushed back to fit in with Illawarra's representative commitments in the ACT Premier Division.
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