Cheetham taking nothing for granted

Suggest to the man who took Eketahuna to an historic three successive senior first division club titles that he has to be a front runner for the vacant position of selector-coach of the Wairarapa-Bush rugby team next season and it's obvious he is taking nothing for granted.
Graeme Cheetham looks certain to be one of those from the eight applicants to make the short list for the position but he is quick to emphasise that his fate is in the hands of union officials, and you can never be sure of how they perceive any of the candidates.
"I guess all we can do is put our names up and hope that those who make the decisions see us as serious contenders," Cheetham said. " Nothing is guaranteed?nothing at all."
The 39-year-old Cheetham had played 13 matches for Wairarapa-Bush as hooker by the time he took over the coaching of Eketahuna's premier club side.
He admits he was something of a greenhorn then but the results indicate he is a quick learner with Eketahuna winning their-ever senior first division title in 2003 and repeating the feat, still under his guidance, in 2004 and 2005.
Once the third title was in the bag Cheetham retired from the coaching role, leaving his replacement, David Smith, with clearly the hardest act to follow in club rugby this year. He did well but Eketahuna fell at the last hurdle, losing to Carterton in the grand final.
Cheetham sees the irony in the fact that if he does happen to be appointed to the Wairarapa-Bush job previously held by Peter Russell he will find himself very much in the same situation as Smith.
In Russell's four years at the helm Wairarapa-Bush were runners-up and winners of the NPC third division title and then took out the inaugural Heartland championship last season.
So doesn't that mean the odds favour Wairarapa-Bush taking a backward step or two in 2007?
Cheetham for one is adamant that doesn't necessarily have to be the case despite conceding that being "top dog" meant opposing teams would be keener than ever to claim their scalps.
He is appreciative of the consistently high standard of rugby produced by the Wairarapa-Bush side last season and believes the scope for improvement is probably still in the region of 20 to 30 per cent.
"Quite honestly I think the group of players we have now are capable of reaching even greater heights, there is still untapped potential there," he said. "There is no reason why they can't win the Heartland title again, none at all."
Cheetham believes too that the talent base amongst the union's younger players is an encouraging sign, and he can speak from first hand knowledge there, having helped with the coaching of the well-performed Wairarapa-Bush colts team over the past couple of seasons.
"Some of these younger guys have the skills to push hard for a Heartland spot over the next year or two and it's important we give them that opportunity," he said.
On the somewhat controversial subject of "importing" players. Cheetham makes no secret of his view that if players are to be brought in from other unions every effort should be made to ensure they play at club level here as well.
"We need to identify any weaknesses we have early, and then encourage clubs to seek out players who could assist us overcome them," he said. "The ideal is to select the rep side from within the club competition, no question of that."