Craig Deans has been announced as the Head Coach of the Newcastle Jets Women side participating in the 2015/16 season of the Westfield W-League.

Ashley Wilson joins the coaching team as Assistant Coach, while Chris Bowling returns as Goalkeeper Coach after being involved for the previous two seasons.

Northern NSW Football (NNSWF) Chief Executive Officer David Eland believes the appointments are reflective of NNSWF’s goal of providing rising local players and coaches with the opportunity to participate at National level.

“Craig, Ashley and Chris are local coaches who have all invested heavily in accreditation and ongoing professional development over a number of years,” said Eland.

“It’s a real bonus to appoint locally developed coaches who are involved in NNSWF’s underpinning program, to guide the Newcastle Jets Women throughout season 2015/16.

“The addition of Ashley to the coaching team is reflective of her coaching achievements and ongoing commitment to her own development, her dedication is an inspiration for more female coaches to undertake the required accreditation to progress to the next level.

“Ashley is also the Head Coach of NNSWF’s 15s Girls team that is competing in next week’s Westfield National Youth Championship for Girls in Coffs Harbour.

“The trio’s involvement as coaches throughout the youth structure provides an ideal opportunity to keep an eye on the emerging talent throughout Northern NSW,” Eland concluded.

Looking forward to steering the Newcastle side in the Westfield W-League, Deans is hopeful to build on the 2014 season during which the Jets narrowly missed out on a Semi Finals birth.

“I’m very excited to be given the opportunity to take the helm as Head Coach of the Newcastle Jets Women, it’s an important role in the development of women’s football across Northern NSW and I’m looking forward to building upon last season’s performance,” Deans commented.

“With regard to the playing group, I’m hoping to see an improvement amongst the younger squad members from last year and would like to see these players step up and make a push towards the starting eleven,” concluded Deans.

The 2015/16 season of the Westfield W-League will commence in October.