Meet Dan Casey, Cobden's new leader

That's what Cobden fans can expect to see from Dan Casey's Bombers in his first season in charge.

The experienced mentor was unveiled the club's new coach on Thursday night and will return to the hot seat after a two-season hiatus from coaching.

"We're pretty ruthless," he said. "We'll like to move the footy quickly but you've got to be pretty defensive as well. Against North Warrnambool and Koroit, they score heavily so that's something we'll have to look at. But with a young list, you want to move the footy as quickly as you can and glide across the ground so if we can utilise that we'll be laughing."

Casey, a former Camperdown mentor, most recently led Colac Imperials but has enjoyed a short break from through the COVID-19 pandemic to focus on work as a farm machinery salesman and his family.

He was a decorated player in the Hampden league before his foot was crushed in a farm machinery accident in 2014. The full-forward returned to the field for Colac Imperials in 2018, playing four matches and another three in 2019.

His first order of business in his return to the Hampden league after seven seasons is to extract the best footy from the Bombers' young list.

"It's pretty exciting. It's really exciting to get involved with a young list and they're a great club," Casey said.

"We want to retain the list and make sure the under 18 kids coming up and the ones that can play senior footy stick around.

"We'd like to get some new players as well. There's obviously two or three strong players we'd like and go from there. We don't want to bring too many players in as they can stay for a few years, so you want that Cobden core to stick around and be successful."

Casey said he understood the Hampden league would be no walk in the park.

"My experience with the Hampden league is that it's quick, tough footy," he said.

"These kids we have here, we'll give them opportunity as they're willing to learn. We'll give them that and if you give them the right tools this year you'll see massive improvement from them and next year will be bigger again.

"If you can get it right on the field and off the field, we're laughing."

Bombers president Darren Mounsey said Casey was a standout candidate to replace Adam Courtney.

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"Dan's a quality person as well. We're looking for someone to develop our juniors," Mounsey said.

"We're looking for some other players to get into that combination as well but the kids are there and we just feel like Dan will be a good person and a good coach to bring them on to the next level.

"We're really happy about (the appointment) so hopefully it goes well for us."

Mounsey said Casey's experience and stature in the game appealed to Cobden's committee.

"You need someone who's actually been there and done it," he said.

"He's been with the Colac Tigers and Imperials and that sort of thing. There's a brand of football they play and I think he'll bring that in and it'll fit in pretty well to the Hampden league.

"Hopefully our kids, well I know they will take it on board because they're really keen to get on with it. They've been training already, a heap of them, which is great to see.

"With this appointment, it'll settle things down and Dan will get them going. We're looking forward to it."

Casey joins Koroit coach Chris McLaren, North Warrnambool Eagles' Adam Dowie, Portland's Jarrod Holt, Camperdown's Neville Swayn, Port Fairy's Winis Imbi, Warrnambool's Ben Parkinson, South Warrnambool's Mat Battistello, Hamilton Kangaroos' Hamish Waldron and Terang Mortlake's Ben Kenna.

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