The Hunter River Times

BY ALEX TIGANI

Muswellbrook Ram Adam Bartholomew will commence another memorable chapter with his club in 2023.

The 32-year-old has signed on as first grade co-coach with Cairns rugby league legend Robbie Swain.

Though both have confirmed that they will be non-playing coaches, they believe they have a playing list that can go deeper into the Group 21 finals.

“The stock is already there, I don’t think we are short on the squad to win games,” Bartholomew told The Hunter River Times.

The Rams last won a Group 21 first grade title in 2004 with grand final defeats to Singleton, Scone and Aberdeen following in 2012, 2016 and 2017.

The line-up suffered a 28-24 semi-final defeat to Greta-Branxton this year despite having a superior head-to-head record over the Colts in the lead up to the finals.

“I thought the stock was already there to go a little bit deeper into the finals than what they did,” Bartholomew explained.

“I did watch that last game against Greta and there were a couple of times where I thought if Muswellbrook scores once more they will run away with it here.

“But the stocks are already there, you don’t have to go out recruiting and signing a heap of people.”

Bartholomew and Swain first crossed paths in 2010 as opponents in the Cairns Rugby League, joining forces at representative level later that season.

Swain’s legacy speaks for itself after he was named as the Cairns Post’s greatest player at local level for the 2000-2022 era.

“Robbie has coached a lot of first grade teams and I know a lot of the boys and how they play so we’re looking forward to working together,” he concluded.

Pre-season will commence in January due to the 2023 season’s later start.