Davey named as Bathurst Bushrangers senior men's coach for 2023, Anthony Smith to be assistant coach

Davey will take the coaching reins of the club's 2023 senior men's tier one side, stepping up from his role as last year's vice-captain and into the top job.

He takes over the role from last year's premiership-winning duo of Matt Archer and Tim Hunter, both of whom will continue to play with the first grade side while stepping away from leadership duties.

It's the first time since 2014 that Archer has not held a coaching role with the club.

Davey will also have a new assistant coach, Anthony Smith, by his side for the new campaign.

"Tim and Matt decided to retire from coaching, and then discussions came about on presentation night last year. Anthony Smith and I were sitting there having a chat about who was going to coach," Davey said.

"We had a discussion over a period over a couple of months leading up to the applications. We then thought that we'd put our hands up and give it a go.

"I guess it's a challenge in my life that I've never done before. I've never coached in any sport, and I've been playing senior Aussie rules with the Bathurst Bushrangers since 2009, and started as a junior in 2004.

"I'm 34 this year, with plenty of experience, so I thought I'd give it a crack and see how I go."

Davey has been a part of five senior premierships with the Bushrangers but will now look to add a sixth as a player-coach.

He's keen to add his own personal approach to the job, while continuing to expand upon the attitude that the previous coaching staff instilled in the team.

"My philosophy is just about trying to develop a fast and exciting brand of football for the Central West," he said.

"I think that we're going to have a similar team to last year, with maybe three to four who have left, but Tim and Matt have built a very good foundation, so for me it's all about trying to continue that.

"They built up some great discipline with this team and I want to keep it going."

Bushrangers have also named Andrew James as their head captain for 2023, with vice captains to still be confirmed.

"I was vice-captain with AJ for the last two years and he's got great natural leadership qualities about him, so he's the perfect choice for this role," Davey said.

Bushrangers have confirmed they will scale back to just a single senior tier team for the 2023 season.

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