Port Fairy unveils Bill Feely and George Macdonald as new co-coaches

The pair have been unveiled as the Pirates' new leaders. Macdonald will take the field as a top-order batsman, while Feely is set to coach from the sidelines in his first season at the club.

While the pair haven't coached together, Macdonald said they'd met through work in the agriculture industry.

"My dad knew Bill and I got to know him through work. I work with fertiliser and Bill's an agronomist so we'd built a relationship that way," he said.

"It (cricket) is something I've always been passionate about. It's probably a bit earlier than I expected to be going down a coaching path but it's a good club with a great culture and it was a good fit.

"Bill has had some more senior coaching experience and it made sense."

Macdonald, also a footballer with Port Fairy, wanted the Pirates to be difficult to defeat.

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"I want us to be a team that puts value on its wicket and grinds hard," he said.

"It's easy to say 'we want to play aggressive cricket', but putting value on the wicket and doing the basics well will be a priority for us.

"We want to be known as a team that is hard to play against."

The top-order batsman revealed star Sri Lankan Jason Perera has recommitted and would return to Avery's Paddock for the upcoming Warrnambool and District Cricket Association season.

Perera is a former cricketer of the year.

"He's another person we'll tap in to for his knowledge on the technical side of things," Macdonald said.

Feely, who has coached both football and cricket in the Hamilton region, said the Pirates' top-class facilities made the role exciting.

"It's a beautiful set up. The two ovals next to each other and the club rooms between them are brilliant," he said.

"We'll work to get five per cent more out of the current players as sometimes the best recruits are those already at your club."

Macdonald echoed Feely's thoughts.

He predicted both bowler Niall Dwyer and wicketkeeper Max Green would improve.

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