01/05/2026
You won’t find the coaches influence in a stat sheet. It doesn’t live in the goal tally, or the ladder, or even the premiership photo — not really. Funny thing about great coaches — the longer time passes, the less you talk about what they did, who they had, but start wondering how they did it..
Stand at Nyora Football Netball Club now, on a quiet day, and there’s still something in the place, and tomorrow it comes back alive. In the rooms, in the old stories that get louder as the night goes on, in the way blokes greet each other like no time’s passed at all. That feeling didn’t just appear. It was built. And the leader of it — loud, demanding, passionate, and completely invested — was our coach.
Dean Alger (Coach) – Doodles
There’s a saying in leadership circles — good leadership is about making yourself redundant. Not because you’re not needed, but because you’ve created something strong enough to stand on its own. Doodles lived that. But don’t get it twisted — he didn’t do it quietly.
He came from Korumburra with a couple of mates, and from day one there was energy about him. Not the polished, corporate kind — real energy. Voice echoing across the ground at training, standards called out in the moment, and if you dropped off for even a second, you knew about it. The spray was real. Sharp, honest, and usually deserved. But so was the belief behind it. Because if Doodles got into you, it meant he cared.
Thirteen years earlier, his cousin Paul Alger had led Nyora to a premiership. That history mattered. But Doodles didn’t rely on it — he respected it, then set about building something new. Something tougher. Something tighter.
Nyora had the talent. That wasn’t the challenge. The challenge was getting it all pulling the same way. Big personalities. Big ability. That can go one of two ways in country footy. Doodles made sure it went the right one.
As a player, he could’ve taken centre stage every week. A genuine big-game forward, the kind who could change momentum with one moment. From 60 metres, people would stop and watch, because he was always a chance. And when it mattered most, he delivered.
But in a forward line full of stars, he chose the team. Played his role. Shared the load. Still knocked through close to 70 goals for the year, but that was never the story he pushed. His message was always bigger than that.
Play your role. Trust your teammate. Earn it.
Around him, his coaching group reflected that same balance. Bill Burke — Nyora through and through, a student of the game who saw things others didn’t. Heath Clarke — pure passion, the emotional driver who could lift a group with a few words. Darren Newcombe — fresh eyes, new ideas, a different lens. And right in the middle of it all was Doodles, connecting the pieces.
He’d give you a spray that rattled your cage — then back you in the next breath. He knew when to go hard, and when to put an arm around you. That’s why it worked. That’s why blokes responded.
The voice that once drove everything started to echo through the group itself. Standards got enforced player to player. Effort became non-negotiable. The team started owning it. That’s the moment every coach hopes for — and not many achieve.
He built something that no longer relied on him to hold it together — even though you always knew he was there if it wobbled.
Off the field, he was just as important. Good in a room, part of the laughter, but always watching, always aware. Making sure things didn’t drift. Keeping the balance. It’s the part people don’t always see — but it’s the reason things last.
After Nyora, his coaching journey rolled on — Korumburra, Kilcunda Bass Football Netball Club, Warragul Football Club, Nilma Darnum Football/Netball Club — and everywhere he went, the same reputation followed. Hard, honest, respected. Teams that competed. Clubs that were better for having him.
But for this group, it always comes back to that time.
The noise of game day. The sprays that stung but stuck with you. The moments where he dragged more out of you than you thought you had. And the feeling, at the end of it all, that you were part of something real.
Twenty years on, that’s what remains. Not just the premiership. The connection. The pride. The respect and love for each other.
At the 20 year reunion, you’ll see team mates catch up for the first time in years and connect like they never were apart. You’ll see past players, supporters, committee, family and friends share stories, revisit memories, laugh and love each other all over again. It’s a local towns way, it was all little old Nyora had.
As one of our most celebrated players Nugget once said on a cold wet day after he coached a misfit group of twos footballers, you’ve pulled our jumper, and ‘once you’re a Nyorian, you’re always a Nyorian’.
We can’t wait to see you tomorrow.
