Sport
1 February, 2022
Sheppard returns to steer Gladiators
FORMER NRL player and Northern Pride premiership star, Chris Sheppard has returned to his roots in 2022 taking on the role of head coach at the Mareeba Gladiators.
Sheppard, a junior Gladiator himself, is excited to come on board with the club and lead the Gladiators in 2022. The Gladiators fought valiantly throughout last season but multiple injuries and close calls put them just short of a finals appearance.
Now Sheppard, with 65 NRL games under his belt is looking to lead the Gladiators into a premiership winning position, after taking over the reigns from 2021 A grade captain coach Trent Barnard.
“I’ve done a little bit of coaching and other bits and pieces since then, I coached Mareeba for a year back in 2007,” he said.
“Obviously been close to the club, I’ve run water and done other things for them.
“I was keen to get involved again, I could see the boys last year were really close -Trent built a fantastic culture here and the boys are really tight.”
Sheppard will juggle his duties as the current U16 Northern Pride Coach and the Gladiators A grade coach as he attempts to steer both sides to victory.
The plan for the Gladiators is to take each game, point and run one at a time and steadily move forward in the season, one foot in front of the other.
Despite losing quality players such as Clint Posselt, Kurt Jackson, Ezra Tokarahi and Jack Pedersen, Sheppard is confident the Gladiators will push through.
“We’ve lost some quality players, they’re not someone you can just go and replace tomorrow,” he said.
“To lose them is disappointing, but that’s how life goes and we’ve got to give someone else a chance and it’s next man up now.”
Locals will be the recruitment focus this time round with many young and promising footballers climbing through the ranks at Mareeba.