Ahead of the 2019 season, the Crookwell She Devils have enlisted the services of former Green Devils head coach, Chris Chudleigh.
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He will work alongside incumbent coach, Paddy Lenane, as they share the role, and Lenane said that he was looking forward to the experience and insight Chudleigh will bring.
“Chris is a really good coach, he’s always had his men’s teams really fit and really sharp with their plays, and that can be a plus for our team,” Lenane said.
“The way he coaches and the advice he gives, I think he’d be a really good fit in our team.”
The She Devils have made four semi-finals in recent years, but haven’t been able to take the next step into the final and towards a possible premiership. Lenane expects that the addition of some new blood to the side, the same core of experienced players, and Chudleigh’s influence may be the factors they need to break the barrier.
“We’re in a pretty strong position, we’ve picked up two or three new girls,” he said.
“We’re looking fairly good, we’ve got good numbers to training, so we’re looking positive.”
Chudleigh explained that he believed the time was ripe for a change, and the move to the She Devils coaching staff provided both teams with a breath of fresh air from which they may benefit in seasons to come.
“I’d been there [with the Green Devils] since 2012, and I knew when I was playing, a different coach, even if he tells you the same stuff, it just reinvigorates the side when you get a new coach,” he said.
The goal for Chudleigh as he steps into his new role is not to make wholesale changes to the team and the way it functions, but instead he intends to try and introduce the same ease of play that was a trademark of his Green Devils side.
"I’m going to try and have them the same as the Tooke side was, the same basic plays and theories,” Chudleigh said.
“The simpler you play the game, the better it is, the easier it is. If you’ve got one play with a few variations, that’s all you need. We won a grand final with that last year.”
The She Devils have begun pre-season training ahead of the 2019 season. The draw for the upcoming George Tooke League Tag season has yet to be released.
