Bye bye Brigades: Jayden Schofield signs on as player/coach for Chapman Valley, bringing brother Kim with him

Dynamic duo and household names in the Great Northern Football League, brothers Jayden and Kim Schofield, have signed on as player coaches at Chapman Valley for the 2024 season. After another impressive season at Brigades, the pair decided to make a change and Jayden Schofield has been named the newest league coach for Royals, bringing his brother along as the new midfield coach. The decision wasn’t easy for either for them, but Jayden Schofield said the opportunity was too good to pass up. “Just wanted a change,” he said. “They came with an offer to coach and I’ve been passionate about coaching for the last five or six years. “To get the opportunity to coach a league side in Geraldton, I jumped at the opportunity. “It’s a young group as well. I am passionate about developing younger boys so can’t wait to get stuck in.” While Jayden Schofield was weighing up his future, splitting up was never in the picture for the brothers. “We kind of do everything together — we work together, we do a lot of sport and things together,” Kim Schofield said. “I couldn’t really see myself playing without him. Pretty excited to have him as head coach and hopefully we can get Valley back on the map.” It will be the third GNFL club the pair have played for, starting their journey with Railways before Jayden Schofield spent time in the AFL with the Western Bulldogs. Both brothers have WAFL experience, and played their first full season with Brigades in 2021. They helped the Hawks win a premiership in 2021, and both brothers have won a JJ Clune Medal during their time at Brigades (2023 for Kim Schofield and 2021 for Jayden Schofield). At the end of last season, the Schofields were approached by last year’s Chapman Valley coach Aaron Thomas with the opportunity, but the decision to change clubs was a long one for the brothers. “It’s taken us six to eight weeks to decide — it hasn’t been an easy decision,” Jayden Schofield said. “Definitely thought about it with family and friends and just think it’s the best move for us at the moment.” “It definitely was a tough decision. We’ve got a lot of close friends and we’ve built some great relationships over our journey (at Brigades),” Kim Schofield added. In his first league coaching role, Jayden Schofield said he was coming in with a fresh mindset but aimed to develop the younger players. “It will definitely be have fun first — it’s all about having fun, enjoying it, wanting to come to training, wanting to get better,” he said. “It’s all about enjoying coming to training, working hard as possible and improving every session. “The way we’re going to play is just going to be fast, attacking style, move the ball as quick as possible.” Coming off a JJ Clune-winning season, Kim Schofield said he didn’t plan to dial it back, but wanted to bring the squad along with him. “I definitely want to carry on form from last season, but it’s more about developing the younger boys now,” he said. “Valley are looking for someone with a bit of midfield experience, so I’m happy to give that and do what I can.” The pair will have a big task ahead, leaving a Brigades side that finished top of the ladder and were just seven points off a grand final berth. Now they join Chapman Valley, who missed out on finals and haven’t won the flag since 1992. A championship is in their sights, but Jayden Schofield knows it won’t be a quick turnaround. “It’s not going to happen overnight, it might take a year, might take two years, it might take six months, who knows?” he said. “Thirty-two years without a premiership, it’s a long drought and a lot of the Chapman Valley people out there are dying for a premiership . . . so hopefully we can be the ones to help bring that to them.”