THE two Daves will lead Walney Central on a new adventure next season.

Former players Dave Warne and Dave Bell have taken over the reins as first-team coaches at Central Drive.

And they will be in charge of a team leaving the Cumbria League – still in existence, but now essentially defunct as a county competition as Cents and Ulverston become the last representatives from the south of the county to withdraw – and heading into the North West Men's League.

Bell and Warne have been part of the Walney set-up since they were eight years old. They through the youth ranks together from mini rugby and into the first team, and have recently been coaching the under-10s side.

Having been part of the club for the past 27 years, Bell is looking forward to helping the next generation break through into the first team in the North West Men's League, and sees it as a great opportunity for young players to progress.

“There's a lot of young lads coming through,” said Bell. “There are some big names finishing, like Liam Finch and Brad Nicholls, so this is a good opportunity to blood these young lads.

“It's a fresh set for myself and Dave. We played together all through the minis and open-age. This is a progression for us now we are coming towards the end of our careers playing – although Dave's probably got a season left in him.

“It's about carrying on from the playing days and passing on the knowledge.

“It's a good time. It's a fresh start with those young players coming through and the older, more experienced players stepping down. It's a good opportunity to take over and start afresh.”

Walney will find out next month which division they will be placed in within the North West Men's League structure, with Ulverston also awaiting that decision.

Bell believes the move to a different competition – made following a players' vote – can only be a positive for Cents, having seen the success Barrow Island have had since leaving the Cumbria League, albeit they moved back to the National Conference.

“In the North West Men's League, there's the opportunity to grow a bit more,” added Bell, who along with Warne will be taking his level two coaching qualification early next year. “In the Cumbria League, we got to the top and we didn't push on from there. Hopefully this is an opportunity for the club to grow.

“In the Cumbria League, a lot of the teams seemed to be dropping out and not making fixtures, which was a bit frustrating for the lads.

“The likes of Barrow Island had moved on – and they seem to be going from strength to strength. It seems to be the way forward to go into a different competition.”

Warne and Bell will be helped by former Walney, Barrow Raiders and Workington Town hooker Jack Pedley on the coaching side, as well a third Dave, former BARLA Great Britain international Dave Barker.

Terry Bewley and Paul Henderson will run the A-team – with Warne and Bell helping out when necessary – with Barry Butterworth the new players' manager.

Walney chairman Shaun Morrow is looking forward to seeing what will happen under Warne and Bell's stewardship, and said: “We are all exited about the coming season.

“Even though we've lost a couple of senior players through retirement, we've got some great young lads coming through.”

Morrow added his thanks to Jan Elliott, who has coached the first team at Central Drive for the past two seasons.