Shepparton United star Jesse Cucinotta opens up on ambition to lead a Demons resurgence

Was he too young? Would it distract from his football? Did he have enough time in his schedule to give the young players at the club his full attention?

Being a qualified physiotherapist in Melbourne while working at VFL club Box Hill as a development coach indicated Cucinotta’s plate was full.

But the star United midfielder didn’t take long to realise he wanted to pile more on his plate and he is thankful he did.

“I am probably on the younger side, (but) look, since I have taken (the coaching role) on it is probably one of the best things I have done,” Cucinotta said.

“There are certainly questions to be asked in terms of where the best position is for me to be playing to see the game; sometimes when you are playing midfield you are just in the hustle and bustle and it can be hard to get outside of that bubble.

“In the past, I have been someone who gets in my own head a little bit, so it is a great way to stop worrying about me and worry about the bigger focus and the team.”

Coaching at Box Hill has advanced Cucinotta’s leadership prowess, but it has also allowed him to stay in contact with his former coach and current Hawthorn head honcho Sam Mitchell.

Cucinotta was a first-hand observer of Mitchell’s coaching during part of the 25-year-old’s four-year stint at Box Hill.

“I had a little bit of a different journey to the VFL where I didn’t play in the TAC Cup, I didn’t make any of the Bushrangers and really had to work my way onto a list to start and then work to get a game,” he said.

“The highlight of debuting for Box Hill is certainly one (in my career).

“Having Sam Mitchell coach me is a highlight; he has gone on to do some really cool things.

“Being under the program at Box Hill, Sam is overseeing the Hawthorn program, but still having that little bit of a connection back to the club where I first started has been really cool and certainly accelerated my learning.

“To see Sam and have a chat with him is always a highlight.”

“It just got to point where I just wasn’t enjoying footy; plain and simple as that.”

Following his ultra-successful junior career at Shepparton United (winning four flags) and subsequent journey to Box Hill, Cucinotta decided to change the brown and gold back to red and blue as he joined VFL club Port Melbourne in 2022.

By the bay, he was awarded a vice-captaincy role and featured 32 times for the Borough during his two years at the club.

At the end of 2023, Cucinotta said he found himself mentally drained by football and felt a return to Deakin Reserve might help refill his cup.

“In all honesty (a move back to United) was always on the cards,” he said.

“We had a very successful junior period, we won under-14s, 16s and both under-18s and it was always something in the back of my head that I am always going to go back.

“Not to repay the club, but just because it is where I feel so connected.

“In terms of the timing of it, I had my four years at Box Hill, I had two years at Port Melbourne and good exposure and time in the leadership group, but I just got bogged down with the process and, look, it is a lot of time and effort to not be loving what you are doing.

“The idea of coming back to Shepp and playing with some of my best mates in Fraser Hicks and a few of the boys I grew up playing with was the most exciting thing I could think of at the time.”

“I rate (Cucinotta) highly as a coach and a player, but above all that he is just a really good guy.”

United's other co-coach is GVL life member and former Demon Freer.

While Cucinotta coaches in the rough and tumble, Freer is United's sideline tactician.

Since accepting the roles in late 2024, the duo has quickly formed a strong coaching partnership, with Freer full of praise for his “partner in crime”.

“I think my wife thinks I am married to him,” Freer said.

“We are always on the phone and when we are here all together we have a really good working relationship as well.

“For a young guy, I have just been rapt about how (Cucinotta) goes about it with his coaching and he is just so eager to learn and eager to share what he does learn.”

On the clean-cut grass is where Cucinotta’s talents are most on show, as the silky, but tough, midfielder leads his team by example.

Freer said Cucinotta’s ability to juggle his coaching responsibilities with being “one of the boys” was masterful.

“For a guy that is only lightly built, he doesn’t take a backward step; he is certainly very brave,” he said.

“I think he has already copped a few knocks to the mouth and I think he ended up with braces for a few weeks, so he certainly puts his body on the line.

“(The players) love him just because, like I said, he doesn’t ask them to do something he wouldn’t, but he also gives them all the avenues to be the best versions of themselves both as footballers and as people.

“He spends hours on hours on revision and film, but yet, has the ability to turn that off and really be one of the boys as well.”

The fresh coaching partnership is yet to secure its first victory after a nightmare fixture to start the season facing the likes of Echuca, Mansfield, Shepparton and Kyabram.

While Cucinotta will be hoping his players can knock over Mooroopna at home on Saturday, he said there had been noticeable improvement to the atmosphere at United despite the lack of wins.

“I think after what has been a pretty tough five years for the club, there is (now) a nice mix of boys who have endured that and been in the thick of it and are ready for change and ready for not just in words but in actions,” Cucinotta said.

“Then, there is this nice crop of youth that are coming through and as youth do they are just jumping on board anything that is put in front of them.

“In previous years, there probably would have been that mindset of, ‘Here we go again’, after a couple big losses, but there has been a big shift culturally in terms of that.”

Saturday's One FM GVL broadcast match is between Benalla and Rochester, live from Benalla from 1.30pm, while on Sunday, the Kyabram District League broadcast match is between Murchison-Toolamba and Longwood, live from Murchison from 1.30pm.