With Ben Morgan occupying the player coaches role for the season ahead, finding the right man to be his assistant was always going to be a tough job.
Morgan today though confirmed that his former team-mate, product of the Sheffield junior system and one time Steeler, Stevie Duncombe has accepted the invitation to return to the Dogs as assistant coach.
“When looking for a bench coach it had to be someone who had played the game to a high standard and who had previously held a similar or even head coach position” said Morgan.
“Bringing in Duncs not only ticks these boxes from a logistical point of view but from a personal perspective is someone I whole-heartedly trust will push me in my own development, and who will challenge my own coaching principles and philosophies.
“As a product of the Sheffield junior system, Duncs shares our vision and commitment to developing the next generation of players and will play a vital role in ensuring we strike the balance between competitive first team performances and wider squad development”.
Duncombe couldn’t have been happier to be returning to a Steeldogs side with a remit of using local talent with the aim of those players becoming professional and emulating his achievements of once being a Sheffield Steeler.
“I’m so happy to be back” he said “and so excited with this project. It’s something I always wanted where an 8,9, 10 year old kid could see a way of playing through the academy with the dream of playing in front of 9,000 fans at the arena one day as a professional”.
Duncombe played 87 games for the Steelers between 2001 and 2006 before a lengthy career in the National league with Sheffield, Peterborough, Blackburn, Sutton and Leeds.
“There is no way we should have let kids leave the Sheffield system. I guess in the past it was politics, but we have it all here, a huge catchment, great facilities and it now seems like some strong leadership from Tony Smith to bring it all together.
“I was so happy when Ben called and we spoke about the vision to do something really special here and I can’t wait to get started with the guys.
“It should have happened years ago, it didn’t, but it’s happening now and all of us have to make sure we make it a success”.