Namoi United Football Club named their 2025 season coaches last week, with Neil Brayshaw to return as first grade coach and Darren Moodie to take over as reserve grade coach.
Namoi United will line up in the Northern Inland Premier League for a second consecutive season in 2025, which will also be their first season as a standalone club after they broke away from Narrabri Junior Soccer, Narrabri Eleven FC, Wee Waa United, Narrabri FC and Moree Services FC during the off-season.
Brayshaw coached the club’s first grade side to fifth place on the NIPL Southern Conference ladder in 2024 and they missed out on a spot in the finals by just two wins. Moodie was his assistant and now replaces player-coaches Mark Rottger and Matt Urquhart.
Brayshaw and Moodie have also had experience coaching separate teams within the side club as well, back in 2023 when Brayshaw (first grade) and Moodie (reserve grade) led Narrabri FC to the Namoi Premier League grand final day.
Brayshaw told The Courier that he was excited for another crack as the coach of the club in the NIPL and was looking forward to working alongside Moodie once again.
“Darren has great knowledge of the game, and I’ve known a lot of the Narrabri, Wee Waa and Moree guys for a long time, so I think it’ll work well,” Brayshaw said.
“I’m really looking forward to next year.
“I’ll actually get to solely focus on being a coach and not also being a president of the club, which I’m also looking forward to.
“We want to make the finals in our second year, but we’re not just going to be happy with making finals. We want to do what Inverell did and win it. If we can get the dedication and commitment from the players, I have no doubt we can go really well.”
The club’s pre-season training will begin next year on Sunday, January 12, at Leitch Oval.
Brayshaw said that Namoi United will enter both the Australia Cup and Johnson Cup tournaments.
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