By Tyler Lewis
Ben Wise will be at the helm of Rowville for another two seasons after penning an extension with the Hawks on Wednesday evening.
Wise has led the brown and gold to an imperious 15 wins from 17 appearances in 2022, after a difficult two wins from nine outings last season.
In the wake of securing the Eastern Football League (EFL) Premier Division minor premiership in round 16, the Hawks locked Wise in for another two seasons.
“It’s pretty exciting and it means a lot,” Wise said.
“We came out of a pretty difficult time with Covid and some list changes and I feel privileged to be getting another two years… it shows grows great confidence from the board and committee at the club.
“It’s good to get some more stability within the club and we’re all going in the same direction, we know what we want to achieve.”
The enthusiastic coach is eager to see what his group can achieve in not only the remaining five weeks of this season, but beyond into 2023 and 2024.
“Getting to develop these young men into senior footballers,” he revealed of what excites him the most.
“We’ve got such a good young group coming through and having that constant voice of what we want gives them a chance to play the way we want them to.
“It gives these guys a chance to lock in on the way I want them to play, they know where they have to get better.
“It’s going to be really exciting, the young group in the under-19s and the kids coming out of the (Eastern) Ranges if they don’t get picked up… they filter in and buy into what we’re about.”
In the lead up to the 2022 season, Wise put bold expectations on what competing clubs will think of his unit at the Queen’s Birthday bye.
“I am hoping they’re blown away with the way we compete,” he said in March.
“Putting our hat in the ring and competing with the better sides, hopefully with plenty of wins on the board… talking of Rowville with a bit of respect, like the Vermont’s, Balwyn’s and the Blackburn’s.”
And while his expectations from March have eminently come to fruition, Wise isn’t putting down a certain number of wins or pieces of silverware as his hopeful outcomes over the next two years.
“I just hope it goes as well as them reaching their full potential,” he said.
“Like I said from when I took over, ‘I want to get this club into a position where whenever I do leave it’s in a stronger position than when I got there’.
“I think we’ve made good progress early, but we’ve got to keep developing, set high standards and reach for the clouds.
“Who knows, we’ve qualified for finals, got the pats on the back for the minor premiership, but that means nothing now.
“After this weekend, after round 18, it’s a new season and we’ve got to prove ourselves once again, it nearly goes back to zero (wins) and zero (losses) in the finals race.
“It’s something we haven’t achieved yet at Premier Division and it’s something we have to tick off, that’s my main focus.
“Whatever we achieve, wherever we finish, I will be looking to better that again (next year).”
Rowville president Ben Corfee was thrilled for Wise to put pen to paper.
“On behalf of Rowville Football Club, we’re thrilled that Ben Wise has agreed to extend his tenure as senior coach for the 2023 and 2024 seasons,” he said.
“Irrespective of the current on field results, we see Ben as one of the key architects of our successful football program that continues to pay dividends and go from strength to strength.
“Ben will continue to drive the standards of the playing group, provide young players with opportunities at senior level and shape Rowville as a destination club for players who want to develop their game and be a part of something pretty exciting.
“Ben has displayed in his time as senior coach a terrific aptitude for the game, outstanding leadership and a burning desire for sustained success.
“We look forward to continuing this exciting journey under Ben’s leadership and building the Club and positioning it to enjoy continued success.”
Rowville travels to Balwyn this Saturday before enjoying the first week of finals off as minor premiers.
