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Bombers lock in Cal Gardner for 2024 campaign

Cal Gardner will coach the Marrar Bombers again in 2024. Photo – Cathie Fox.

Marrar Bombers have wasted no time re-signing current first-year coach Cal Gardner for the 2024 Farrer League season. Gardner, who took over from long-serving and multiple premiership-winning coach, Shane ‘Sparks’ Lenon, had the weight of expectation on his shoulders in 2023, with the 29- year-old leading a new-look Bombers into their premiership defence.

With five wins in seven games, Gardner has done a great job and is excited to be locked in for another season. “To start with, I wanted to give coaching a go and see how it went time-wise and pressure-wise, and having a young family, I needed to consider that as well,” Gardner said. “As I got into it, I knew I was enjoying it, and it was a pretty easy deci- sion in the end.”

Following a slow start, which saw the Bombers lose to The Rock-Yerong-Creek and Northern Jets in the early rounds, Mar- rar has won five on the trot, and Gardner is happy with how his side is travelling. “It’s been good; I was an assistant coach under Sparks for quite a while, and I learned quite a bit,” Gardner said.

“Of course, there was that element of expectation coming into this season and following on after him, but I was lucky that he left the club in a pretty good place. “We had a lot of changeover with players, but I looked at it as a positive, as he set some good standards, and it’s given me a chance to pass on my knowledge and implement those good standards.”

The Bombers sit third on the competition ladder and boast a two-game buffer on the East

Wagga-Kooringal Hawks and CSU Bushpigs. When asked about his goals leading into the second half of the Farrer League season, Gardner kept things simple. “My expectation is that we keep improving every week,” Gardner said.
“If you break it down and improve every week, that’s all you can ask of your players.
“There will always be something to work on, and we’ll identify those things each week, work on them, and respond to them.”

 

Gardner and his Bombers face the ultimate test in Round 10 of the Farrer League competition with an away trip to Victoria Park on Sunday while battling the unbeaten The Rock- Yerong Creek Magpies.

Round 10 draw – June 17: CSU v Coleambally at Peter Hastie Oval, North Wagga v Northern Jets at McPherson Oval, East Wagga-Kooringal v Temora at Gumly Gumly Oval; June 18: The Rock- Yerong Creek v Marrar at Victoria Park.

 

Farrer League ladder: The Rock-Yerong Creek Magpies 32, Northern Jets 28, Marrar Bombers 24, East Wagga-Koorin- gal Hawks 16, CSU Bushpigs 16, Barellan Two Blues 12, Temora Kangaroos 8, Coleambally Blues 4, North Wagga Saints 4.

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