2024 Coaches

Football Coaching Panel

Shannon Keam: Shannon hails from Dimboola and began his coaching career as a young playing coach, leading his home club to a grand final in his first year. He then continued on as a playing coach at Robinvale 2006-07, Moama 2009-11 and Cohuna Kangas 2012-14. Shannon had a significant impact on these clubs setting a high standard of performance and leading them all to Grand Finals. The hard work paid off when Shannon lead Moama to their first premiership in the Murray FNL in 2010. Shannon also played football in Adelaide & Darwin with St Marys FNC. Following retirement as a player, Shannon has continued coaching junior football with Moama and the NSW Giants in a development coaching role. LG Bombers warmly welcome Shannon, Brooke & family to the bomber hangar.

Jake Van Dongen: Jake brings plenty of experience and professionalism to the role. Jake is a LG Bomber Senior premiership player and has previously held the role of selector at the club in 2016-17 where they played in grand finals both years.

Joel Donehue: Joel ‘Deo’ will assume the role of development coach where he will work closely with the younger players within our senior ranks providing them with the knowledge and feedback to excel at senior level. Deo has played 87 games for LG bombers and is also a LG Bombers Senior premiership player. He also coached our Under 17 footballers to back-to-back flags which highlights his ability to get the best out of the youth of the club.

Matt Pollock: Matt ‘Wigs’ Pollock is thrilled to be taking on the reserves coaching role for 2024. Wigs has an impressive playing and coaching history. He is a dual LG Bomber Senior premiership player and coached our Under 17 footballers to back-to-back flags. Wigs has played 150 games for Echuca Bombers and has represented both GVFL & HDFNL at interleague level. He brings a huge amount of football experience to the role and will be pushing to get the very best out of the reserves this year. He is hoping to push the team up the ladder as well as building strong player relationships and giving players the tools to improve their individual games.

Joel McGillivray: Joel ‘Turk’ is one of the clubs longest serving players (268 games) and will embark on his first coaching appointment. Joel will create a very enjoyable environment as he shares his wealth of knowledge to develop the future of the club. Turk has learnt every trick in the book so the boys will be hard pressed to get anything past him.

Jye Keath: Jye is another one of our LG Bomber senior premiership players and shows incredible leadership and determination on and off the field. Jye has fulfilled the role of senior captain and displays the core values of our club. Jye is very keen to help guide the 18’s to build a team of leaders who have a great work and team ethic. Together with Turk, Jye will be a huge asset to the 18s team and we look forward to watching the growth of these young men.

Daniel Tuohey: Daniel or ‘Tuohey’ as he is usually known as, started his playing career in Pyramid Hill where he played all his junior footy. He moved to Leitchville Gunbower when he was 18 and has been here ever since. Tuohey played 117 games of seniors and reserves. His major footy achievements include representing LVFL at Interleague level for under 17s, playing in grand finals for Pyramid under 17s and Leitchville Gunbower reserves and was also a Reserves Best & Fairest winner for Leitchville Gunbower. After having 2 sons Tuohey decided to help out with the Auskick for a season before taking on the coaching role in 2018. After 4 years at the helm there and the boys moving to the under 12s, he took on the under 12 coaching job in 2022 and is keen to continue his coaching this year. Tuohey’s’ main motivation for coaching is helping kids with their development and watching them improve.

Netball Coaching Panel

Caitlyn Hamilton: Caity played her junior netball at Kangaroo Flat FNC. During this time, she won a premiership, represented NCR at state titles and represented the Bendigo FNL at interleague level. Caity moved to Strathfieldsaye in 2015, playing in the clubs first ever A grade grand final appearance the same year. Caity covers both midcourt and goaling positions and has lived at Horfield for the past 2 years. Caity was drawn to the LG Bombers as it was close to home and has a great group of netballers who have shown a keen interest in improving their netball. Caity hopes to drive high standards, bring leadership, experience and increased competitiveness as we head into season 2024. She is also very keen to develop the juniors at LG Bombers into senior players.

Kellie Taylor: Kellie is an experienced player and coach having previously coached A & B Grade, under 17s, under 15s and Net Set Go as well as leading the HDFNL Under 13 Interleague side in 2021 & the 15 Interleague side in 2022 & 2023. She was also involved in the North Central Region Under 15 State Title team as team manager in 2023. She has had individual success with several A grade B&Fs with LG Bombers, grand final runner ups and represented interleague on several occasions. Over the past two years, Kellie had a brilliant year nurturing and building skills across her 15s team with the team responding beautifully each week. Moving back into senior coaching will be a challenge that she is excited to take on. With a full list in A Reserve, the sky is the limit for this bunch of talented netballers.

Renee Hipwell: In Renee’s words, netball is her life! Renee has played netball since the 13s, only taking time off to have her beautiful children. She has played almost every grade at LG Bombers and has won several best and fairest awards along the way. “Netball is my life, just missing a premiership! I am aiming high and going for my first every grand final, coaching and playing all in one. What more can I ask for?” Renee will be playing alongside her two sisters this year which is something the three of them have been looking forward to for a long time. Renee’s enthusiasm is contagious, and we can’t wait to see her excel this year!

Emily Colvin: Em is a passionate netballer and a very popular member of our club. She is a skillful defensive and mid court player with a passion for netball in general and her voice can be heard across the courts. Em’s creative contributions to the social committee and on the cupcake front, is genius! Em knows her netball and is a natural leader. Em was an obvious option to assist Andy in season 2023 due to her assistance with B Reserve in 2022. Unfortunately, a serious ankle injury at the end of 2023 will see Em coaching from the sidelines but she is absolutely thrilled to see what the B Res team can do in 2024.

Madi Curran: Madison joined the club in 2022 and has embraced the club. She has already added so much, both as a terrific, skilled and team focused netballer and as a mentor to younger players. Madi has previous experience coaching juniors in Tyntynder and in Swan Hill and has also coached basketball. She has co-coached and had mentoring from some of the best in the business. Madi has represented her community in state and regional teams and attended netball academies. She is passionate about junior development and is keen to develop the girls to ensure they are well equipped to step into senior netball. After finding their feet, the 17’s narrowly missed out on a finals series in 2023 and she is ready to go for a ripper 2024 season!

Karlee Gilmore: Karlee has had two years in the 13s as a team manager and coach last year. The 13s had a great season making it to the grand final. Karlee is an experienced coach at both club and Interleague level and is an amazing umpire. Coaching junior netball is a passion for Karlee and she is super excited to take the reins for the 15s this year. Her focus this year will be to further the skills and knowledge of the girls whilst building a team culture that is inclusive.

Wendy Hooper: Wendy saw great success in 2022 when she coached the Under 13s to their inaugural premiership. Wendy has a huge passion for netball and is full of knowledge and was a long-term player for Leitchville. We can’t wait to see her guide the next generation of netballers in 2024.

Zazney Ellwood: Zazney came to LGFNC a few years ago after playing her junior netball at Macorna. Zazneys’ parents both have a long and proud history with LGFNC- her dad Wazza is a premiership player for the club. Zazney suffered an ACL injury and missed the 2021 season but came back strongly over the past 2 seasons. She is now fully recovered and is working hard to become one of our elite goalers. Zazney will work closely with Em, as she helps shape our future netballers!

Emily Hay: Em has played all her netball at LG, starting as a junior. She captained her 17’s team to a premiership under the leadership of Lauren Dehne. Em was a great support to the B Grade side as Captain and coached them in 2023. Em has the love of netball in her genes, through her aunts and cousins, Kate and Hannah Donehue. Em’s strong leadership skills and passion for netball and the LGFNC Club will stand her in good stead. She is excited to see what the baby bombers have got and where they can go this year along with Zaz!