Goulburn Bulldogs sign Shane McCallum as their new coach

Shane McCallum has replaced Tyson Greenwood as coach of the First Grade side and is excited for the year ahead.

The former local player said he would try to get the Bulldogs playing finals football again after missing out last season.

"We're in mid-November training right now and since it's early in preseason, the focus is on building a connection, getting together as a team and working on our fitness," McCallum said.

"The first goal for the season is to make the semi final in not only first grade, but in reserves and juniors as well.

"The ultimate goal is to play in the grand final, but I also want to see the players improve."

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Most of the players this season are former Stockmen players, showing the strength of the local players.

"We have one player from Canberra, Mittagong and New Zealand, but other than that, we don't need to look elsewhere too much as we have good local talent," he said.

Among the squad are a couple of former NRL players in Mitch Cornish and Tyler Cornish which will be very handy.

"You can build a team around the former NRL players," McCallum said.

"They bring a lot of ideas and do extra training with the kids too.

"As the coach, they listen to what I ask of them, but we also work with each other.

"I'll ask for advice and vice versa."

McCallum called himself a people person and said he was "hard with the players, but fair".

"I like to really get to know the players well because I think it helps a lot with gaining team cohesion," he said.

The Bulldogs will be in good hands this season as McCallum brings plenty of experience with him.

He has coached the reserve grade, the u19s for two years in a row, which included a premiership in 2021, and the Monaro junior team in Canberra for six years.

The 2023 Canberra Region Rugby League season begins in April.

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