Newly appointed Cowra Magpies coach Steve Sutton hasn’t wasted any time recruiting players for 2018, with Josh Rainbow, Will Ingram and 2017 first division player of the year Joe Bugg all putting pen to paper.
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Sutton is looking to mentor Cowra to its first finals berth since he was last at the helm in 2014, when the Magpies went on to host the Group 10 grand finals, however were pipped by Bathurst St Pat’s in the decider.
He [Rainbow] is 25 in 2018 so he should really be hitting his straps. I expect him to be one of our best.
- Steve Sutton
Sutton said he didn’t expect to have the coaching role at Cowra again, but he’s now fully focused on creating a stable future for the Magpies, something he thinks the club’s lacked in recent years.
“We want to put the building blocks in place to make us competitive for a number of years and make the club more stable with seven or eight first graders locked down for the next few seasons,” Sutton said.
“Rather than having one good year out of every five we want to be competitive each season.
“I would have liked to have committed to the job earlier so we’re not starting from the back with recruitment but between a few of us we have our heads together and we’ll form a competitive team.”
Despite being left behind the eight ball in relation to recruitment, due to the club’s three annual general meetings, Sutton has quickly made 2018 look a lot brighter with Cowra junior Josh Rainbow signing for the new season, as well as clever half Joe Bugg.
Rainbow links with the Magpies from the Blayney Bears, while Bugg joins from Bathurst Panthers.
Sutton’s expecting a big season from Josh Rainbow, a player he’s hoping to play in the back row to strengthen Cowra’s edge.
“He [Rainbow] is 25 in 2018 so he should really be hitting his straps. I expect him to be one of our best. If the cards fall the right way I’d like to play him in the back row,” the new coach said.
Rainbow is also capable of playing fullback, centres or in the halves, while Bugg is likely to link with Warren Williams in the number six and seven jumpers.
Sutton will be supported by former Magpies player KJ Wood, the pair are also set to work closely with Will Ingram, who will captain-coach Cowra’s reserve grade.
Further signings are expected in the coming weeks, with the club targeting some big men to bolster its forwards.
Sutton has had success with the Magpies during his long association with the club, highlighted by his efforts in 2013 when he coached its under 18s to a premiership.
He’s won an under 18s Country Championships as coach of Western Division, and coached Canowindra Tigers to its last Woodbridge Cup premiership in 1995.
He said a finals appearance for the Magpies in 2018 is a realistic goal.
“We want to be competitive and if we could sneak in the top five that’d be great and leave the club in a stable position for it to continue to be competitive,” he said.