Nathan Thomson and Aaron Carney, both Shellharbour juniors, have been named the second and third grade men’s coaches respectively – marking the first time either have tried their hands at such a role.

During his playing career, Thomson, 32, won two reserve grade premierships with the club, with the most recent being in 2016.

“I last was involved in the club back in 2016, when we won the competition but since then I’ve had two years off,” Thomson said.

“After those two years away, I’ve really missed it, which is why I’ve put my hand up to coach.

“Hopefully, I can bring plenty of experience to the role and help those younger players come through the ranks.

“One of the other reasons I’ve decided to come back is I think the club is in a great position moving forward, especially with the push for younger people to take on responsibilities.”

Sharks club secretary Mitch Silk said the whole club was stoked to have Thomson back at the club.

“He [Thomson] has always been considered one of the most talented guys in the club, but work and family commitments, as well as a number of series injuries over the years, have hampered his chances at establishing himself as a regular first grader,” Silk said.

“He's a natural leader on the field, has a great footy brain, and is well liked and well respected by everyone associated with our club – I know he is going to be an excellent coach.”

Similarly to his counterpart Thomson, Carney is a one club player, who has played just under 300 games in the maroon and gold – making him a future life member of the Sharks.

Carney, who will captain/coach the third grade side, won back-back-back (2015 and 2016) reserve grade premierships with Gary Breakspear’s Sharks side – an experience which he hopes to use this season.

“Winning those two competitions with Gary [Breakspear] were great and I intend to use a lot of those structures next season,” Carney said.

“I also hope to bring a tough style of play to the role, as well as and most importantly – stability.

“In recent years, the club has struggled to find a third grade coach and with me getting towards the tail end of my career, I decided to put my hand up – I hope that fact the boys know who will be at every training session and game will attract some guys back to the club.”

While admitting the club has had some lean years in the past decade, Carney, 32, couldn’t speak highly enough of the direction of the club.

“The club is in a really good spot, with great numbers across all the grades,” he said.

“There was a little bit of a transition period after we came back from the Carlton League but we are now on the straight and narrow, shown by the first grade team winning the competition last season.”

Much like Thomson, Silk believes Carney will thrive in his new role.

“There’s no doubting Aaron’s [Carney] ability on the field as a player and I’m sure all the boys in the third grade side are going to love playing with him,” Silk said.

In other club news, former fitness coach Scott Sablowski will return to Ron Costello Oval in 2019 and work alongside premiership winning coach Abed Atallah, as they attempt to defend their crown.

While Atallah’s long-time assistant coach and defensive specialist Jay Efairamo has been named the club’s under 18s coach for 2019.