Former AFL star joins Grubbers’ coaching team

OCEAN Grove Football Club have added former AFL player Matthew Robbins to its coaching staff ahead of the 2021 season.

Robbins played 146 games at the top level, 139 at the Western Bulldogs and seven with Geelong, and joins the club as a ball movement coach and will play a role in supporting the defensive group.

Robbins is in the process of moving to Ocean Grove and with his connection to fitness and wellbeing coach Dean Casamento, finds himself at the Grubbers.

The 43-year-old joins the Grubbers from Ormond Amateur Football Club, where he was part of a premiership winning coaching panel in the Victorian Amateur Football Association.

Ocean Grove senior coach Peter Davey said it was a great coup for the club, Robbins set to bring a wealth of knowledge to the developing side.

“It’s good for the club, we’re a very young playing list, to get someone with that sort of experience is great,” Davey said.

“We’ve got a little bit of experience still around, we’re leaning on those guys to use their voice and guide out on the field, to have another development coach of that quality is enormous… it’s certainly a welcome addition.”

Robbins is currently making the move to the region, attending as many training sessions as possible before stepping up to full-time capacity after Christmas.

Davey said he was really pleased with the numbers that have attended training in the early stages of pre-season.

The Grubbers have enjoyed a fruitful recruiting season, bringing in 10 new players, all of which Davey believes are capable of playing senior football.

Davey said the club had recruited on a needs basis, attending to some key areas across the ground.

Ocean Grove won four matches and finished ninth on the ladder (in a 10-team competition) in 2019. Davey said despite the young list, the aim remained to push for a finals berth.