Paul Gilmour appointed Big V Under 19s coach

The VAFA is pleased to announce that former Big V Under 19 player and St Bernard’s Under 19 coach Paul Gilmour will coach the Big V Under 19 team that will host the Goulburn Valley League at Elsternwick Park on Saturday, July 11.

Gilmour takes the reins from Paul Carrigan, who coached against Gilmour in the 2024 Under 19 Showcase game that led to the return of the Big V Under 19 side last season.

Gilmour was unavailable to be part of the Big V program in 2025 due to overseas work commitments, but with Carrigan stepping into the senior coach role at Hampton Rovers this year, Gilmour will return to coaching by leading the Big V program in 2026 and is keen to get started.

“I’m all in,” he said. “And when I’m all in, I’m all in. I’ll go hard to get it done and give all our boys the best opportunity to showcase themselves, knowing the eyes that will be on this game.”

Paul had the opportunity to pull on the famous Big V jumper himself when he earned selection in the Under 19 team in the early ‘90s, and the experience remains close to his heart.

“It was a great experience and something I will cherish forever. I’ve still got my jumper, and yeah, I was fighting hard to get into that team and did everything I could to make a point that I was there to get selected, and I wasn’t just sitting at the back of the queue going through the motions.

“That’s something I’ll communicate to the boys this year. It’s all about showing that confidence and leadership. And it’s daunting, I get it. You rock up to training, and you know probably three or four blokes from your own club, and maybe a couple from other clubs. Have the confidence to start introducing yourself to other guys.”

Paul knows he will be blessed with a team stacked with talent, so building those connections will be paramount.

“Showcase yourself at training with your leadership skills, your footy skills and being able to quickly assimilate into a group of people that you don’t know. No one gets a Big V jumper purely because they play senior A-grade footy, for example.

“You’ll still have to shine when our group comes together to earn one, and to have that privilege, guys might have to play out of position, where it fits the team best.

“With rep coaching, you’re not really ‘coaching’ as much as guiding a team of elite footballers. You’re putting a team together that’s going to get the results on the day, giving them a bit of guidance around some match play and putting the right blokes in the right places.”

That process will begin in the early rounds, when Paul and his coaching panel will receive player nominations from clubs and begin scouting.

“We’ll get the nominations and start building a dossier on each player. We’ll have plenty of eyes out there scouting – we’ll break it up amongst our coaching group and work with the clubs.”

Paul has traditionally leaned towards playing open, attractive footy, and that will be his lens as he assembles this squad.

“Elsternwick Park is a big ground, and it’s generally in good nick, so yeah, it will be free-flowing footy. With the skills and pace this team will have, the ball’s going to be heading Inside 50 quicker than it usually would, and that will create opportunities for our forwards. I’ll be looking for players who can move the footy like that for the whole game.”

But he also realises his team will be facing a stern challenge in the form of the Goulburn Valley League.

“Yeah, tough country boys. I’ve got no doubt they’ll be up for a hard game. I know country footy is hard, tough footy, so that it will be a good challenge. But we’ll also have a very strong team as we have the whole comp to pick from.”

The recent AFL State of Origin clash between Western Australia and Victoria in Perth further whetted Paul’s appetite for Big V action.

“The origin game was great for representative footy because you could see both teams went out, went hard and there was no shirking it. Rep footy is back in a big way, and I think that’ll flow on to our VAFA rep teams.”

The Big V Under 19 team will face the Goulburn Valley League at Elsternwick Park on Saturday, July 11. Further details regarding player nominations will follow in the coming weeks.