Rocky takes on job of lifting Cobram off canvas
By Teo Pellizzeri

December 4 2008

Shepparton News

Rebuilding a wooden spoon club for the third season running will be Rocky Papalia's coaching assignment in North Eastern Soccer League next year.

Coach of Tatura for the past two seasons he will return to former club Cobram as its men's division one leader.

Papalia succeeds Karlo Hundt as the Tigers' coach after Cobram won two games and lost 13 last season to finish 11 points clear in sixth and last place.

Tatura missed out on a finals berth on the final day of the league's home and away season this year, it had gone winless through its 2007 campaign.

Prior to coaching at Tatura, Papalia spent two seasons in the mid '90s as coach of thenstruggling Bendigo league team Echuca.

"I get to rebuild again, going into my fifth year of this sort of situation," Papalia said.

"Cobram gave teams too much of a headstart in matches last year, this year I didn't think they were too bad, but they didn't concentrate for the full 90 minutes.

"A lot of consistency will have to come from training, good aspects I saw . . . were that they had a never-say-die attitude."

At 38, Papalia is a youthful replacement for former incumbent Hundt, who will be 70 next season.

Papalia played and coached juniors at Cobram until the end of 1995 before moving to Tatura, his brother Nino is still at the Tigers along with nieces Pina (open women) and Maria (junior girls) and nephew Rocky (under-14s).

"It's good to have some family at the club, they're looking forward to seeing a bit more of me." he said.

A number of Cobram's top players last season were members of Shepparton's Iraqi community and would be likely to align with the new club currently proposed to play out of Shepparton next season.

But Papalia wasn't giving much away with regards to Cobram's recruiting plans.

"If I have a few players go then we'll bring some in," he said.

"There's a couple of things in the pipeline."