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Roos’ premiership coach bracing for GFLW player losses

Neale HarveyKalgoorlie Miner
Kalgoorlie captain Gaylee Rauch and coach Shane Coysh lift the 2023 Goldfields Football League women’s premiership trophy in September.
Camera IconKalgoorlie captain Gaylee Rauch and coach Shane Coysh lift the 2023 Goldfields Football League women’s premiership trophy in September. Credit: Amber Lilley/Kalgoorlie Miner

Kalgoorlie women’s coach Shane Coysh says he will be taking nothing for granted next year when his squad chase a third successive flag in the Goldfields Football League.

Coysh has led the Roos into the grand final in each of the three seasons since the GFLW was launched, underpinned by the 2022 and 2023 premierships.

But he expects a bid for a rare three-peat won’t be easy as he braces for significant player losses.

“There’s seven (players) who are going and probably another half-dozen maybes,” Coysh said.

“It’s hard to gauge (players’ interest) at this time of the year, as far as anyone committing for next season.

“But I know there’s quite a big group who won’t be playing or are still deciding due to either work or family (commitments) that they’re juggling.

“Time will tell.”

Coysh said a dramatic improvement across the competition since the inaugural 2021 GFLW season made for a wide-open flag race in 2024.

Railways were this year’s GFLW minor premiers with 14 wins from Kalgoorlie and Mines Rovers, each with 11.

Kalgoorlie sat in third place for most of the 2023 qualifiers, but they grabbed second spot on percentage over Mines Rovers after winning four of their last five games.

“The last two years here have been massive,” Coysh said.

“‘In the first year, it was pretty easygoing — not necessarily by how the games were played, but just with everyone’s attitude to the whole thing.

“A lot has changed, but the reality among each of the teams and living in Kalgoorlie-Boulder is that you lose players.

“We’ve put feelers out to see who’s around town and you get sporadic interest.

“But it’s whether they follow through or not — after Christmas we’ll start to push things along a lot more and do more recruiting.”

Coysh is expected to officially launch preseason training in late January.

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