Group 4: Mark Sheppard takes over as Kootingal Roosters head coach

But 52-year-old Mark Sheppard recently ticked off a new one when he was appointed head coach of the Kootingal Roosters

Although he has extensive history coaching local and representative Oztag sides, along with some captain-coaching stints during his days playing for Wests Lions, Sheppard has never headed up a first grade side before.

Filling the shoes of incumbent Geoff Sharpe, who will act as his assistant next year, will not be easy.

But Sheppard's time as manager and assistant coach over the last two years has served him well, as it allowed him a close vantage point to learn from Sharpe.

"I think you've got to keep the guys fit, communicate with everybody and be upfront with them," he said.

"Sharpie definitely does that, he doesn't hold back and if he's communicating well with people, they respond."

The man-management skills shown by Sharpe during his five years in the job are broadly applicable to most areas of life, and certainly Sheppard feels he has honed that aspect of his leadership repertoire through his time as an operational field lead for Telstra.

He told the Leader that, although he will bring his own flavour to the role, he "won't be making wholesale changes" to how things currently work.

What he does hope to do is "support and guide" the players as they look to go better than their semi-final finish this year.

"We missed an opportunity [during the preliminary final loss to Dungowan], really," Sheppard said.

"We had a couple of injuries at the wrong end of the season that didn't help, but we definitely missed an opportunity to be there on grand final day."

However, he knows there is no shame in losing in finals, and though the Roosters finished third on the ladder this year, Sheppard did note how close the competition was.

And while "our end goal will be to be there at the right end of the season" next year, he said, "it'll be a game-by-game situation, we're not getting ahead of ourselves".

Nonetheless, Sheppard is "excited" to see what 2023 holds.

"I think we've got a good base of people out there," he said.

"Through the playing ranks and the committee, with Lad Jones heading it up. They've done a great job at Kooty ... so for me, it'll definitely be a bit of a challenge, but I'll have good people around me."

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