The destination for outgoing Wagga Brothers mentor Aaron Gorrell has finally been revealed after he was unveiled as the new coach of the Gundagai Tigers for their 2025 Group 9 campaign.
After announcing he would depart the Brothers at the end of the season, the position left vacant by Gorrell was filled by Gundagai stalwart Blake Dunn, paving the way for the former St George Illawarra and Brisbane hooker to complete the coaching swap a few weeks later.
Gorrell said that one big reason for joining the Tigers was their growing legacy of success, something he hopes he can contribute to at Anzac Park next year.
“You sign everywhere looking for success,” he said.
“It was a tough year last year and I’m looking forward to a different sort of challenge.
“They performed well in First Grade and won Reserve Grade, so there’s a lot there to work with.
“I coached Derek Hay at Queanbeyan Kangaroos when I was there and I’ve coached a few of the boys in the rep stuff, [so] I’m looking forward to linking back up with a few of them and seeing if we can take them to a premiership.”
Although the 2023 season turned out to be a difficult year with the Brothers, Gorrell said that he enjoyed the challenge of bringing the club back up to first grade, and with a season of local Group 9 experience added to his illustrious CV, he is ready for a new challenge.
“It was [a challenge] and I knew that from the start [and] to get that win on the board was great,” he said.
“I think the club is still moving forward, [but] the travel there and the whole year took a toll in the end.
“I was just going to do the Representative stuff there for a while, I do a little bit of work stuff with Marty Hay and we started talking, and had a chat to Dave Tout as well, and it all aligned pretty nicely.
“With Dunny staying back in Wagga there’s a job there and with a Club like Gundagai it was too good of an opportunity to let pass.
“In country footy it’s probably one of the most sought after coaching jobs.
“I’m really looking forward to working with the Club and it looks like a great fit for me.”
With the coaching swap easily the biggest storyline heading into next season, the hype around the Gundagai-Brothers game whenever it falls will be massive, however, Gorrell said he won’t be circling the calendar with any more excitement than he would for other fixtures.
“I look forward to every game [and] I never single anybody out, we just have to worry about our own backyard,” he said.
“I don’t coach worrying about other sides and I didn’t play that way.
“As a coach you prepare your team as well as you can for each game, and it’s probably a big cliche, but you take one game at a time and you just keep knocking wins on the board and your season starts taking care of itself, whereas if you sit there and sit back looking at certain games your season can slip away pretty quick.”
As for his representative job with the Riverina team, Gorrell said that he is both committed to and excited about the upcoming Country Championships campaign.
“I’m looking forward to the Country Championships, hopefully we can get everyone to buy in and I think we can come up with a pretty strong squad,” he said.
“We will get that all started in the next few weeks, we will pick a squad and get that moving forward.”
The Country Championships will take place in March, before Group 9 kicks off in April.