RUGBY LEAGUE
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By NICK GUTHRIE
NYNGAN Tigers' president Glen Neill admitted there was a fresh sense of excitement around his club after it was announced former Tigers' junior Byron Warren would be the first grade captain-coach for 2015.
Scott spent his junior years with the Tigers before moving to Newcastle, where he was involved with the Newcastle Knights club.
After living and playing his rugby league there for a number of years Warren made the decision to return home and Neill said the Tigers were only too happy to have him involved.
Former Tigers' coach Brad Besant will also return to the club as Warren's assistant coach, while the club's most recent first grade coach, Col Wright, will mentor the under-18s and Alistair Quarmby will coach the reserves.
The coaching appointments are a boost for the club which was shocked during the off-season when club coach and former Australian representative Rod 'Rocket' Reddy departed after being offered a lucrative coaching position with the Wests Tigers NRL club.
"It will be Byron's first job as a first grade coach and we had a long talk about that but he's going to step up and we don't doubt that, especially with Brad (Besant) helping," Neill said.
"We tried to make it a priority as soon as last season ended and at that stage we assumed 'Rocket' would be staying with us and he thought that too but Byron has a strong understanding of the club and I'm pretty happy with where we're situated right now, everyone is talking footy."
The Tigers enjoyed success in 2014 with their reserve grade side winning the premiership while the under-18s and first grade side both featured in the Group 11 finals.
Neill is hopeful Warren, who predominately plays fullback, can attract more local youngsters into the Tigers ranks following the news that fellow former junior James Neyland is also returning to the club but he also admitted the club was looking outside the town for recruits.
"We're still hunting another couple of guys. We're actively pursuing three players and it would be great if we could get them but the focus is on picking up locals who haven't played the last year or two and keeping those reserves and guys who were around the fringes," he said.
"If we can boost numbers and get them then there's not such a big need for outside players and that's one of the good things about Byron, he'll get locals keen."
Neill said the under-18s would be a great opportunity for Jeremy Whaley, who would assist Wright in the coaching while the president also spoke of his joy that Quarmby would again be involved in the club.
Another key appointment was that of John Tyson. Tyson, who spent time with the Wests Tigers and most recently in Port Macquarie, would work with all grades with a focus on fitness training.