Sandringham Dragons announce 2023 Senior Coaches

DYLAN BOLCH

The Sandringham Dragons have confirmed their head coaches for the 2023 NAB League season.

Rob Harding has been appointed head coach of the boys’ program, while Martha Cantwell has been appointed head coach of the girls’ program.

Harding joins the Dragons from SANFL club Norwood, where he has served as senior assistant coach and reserves coach for the past two years.

He previously spent more than a decade as an opposition analyst and strategy coach for several AFL clubs including Essendon, Adelaide, North Melbourne and Geelong.

“I’m really excited to be appointed into the role,” said Harding.

“It’s a club that has had great success in recent years and a great history of being able to develop talent for the AFL pathways, I’m really excited to be a part of it.

“There’s a great crop of talent coming through over the next couple of years, that I am really looking forward to working with.

“I am also looking forward to the opportunity to be based out of Moorabbin at a fantastic facility, and being able to get to know the local clubs in the region to support them in developing players for our pathway as well.”

Cantwell joins from Collingwood, where she has worked in several roles including AFLW development coach and VFLW assistant coach.

Cantwell began her coaching journey in the QWAFL Development League, before moving becoming an assistant coach with the Calder Cannons in the NAB League.

From there, she was a senior head coach at Melbourne University for two seasons before making her way to the Pies through their Coach Acceleration Pathway, where she has since worked with some of the brightest talent in the League.

“I can’t wait to meet the players and their families and get stuck into the first phase of preseason,” she said.

“This opportunity has allowed me to step away from my full-time work as a secondary school teacher to focus solely on my coaching.

“My passion still lies in developing others as learners and as people, just in a slightly different way now.

“I can’t wait to see what we can achieve as a club throughout my appointment.”

The AFL has committed to boosting the resources available to girls pathway programs in Victoria and Tasmania to support the continued progression and growth of girls football.

For the first time, all regional pathways programs participating in the NAB League in Victoria and Tasmania will have a dedicated full-time coach for each of their boys and girls teams in 2023.