Former Western Force and West Harbour coach Joe Barakat will join his former colleague Dave Wessels at the Melbourne Rebels as an assistant coach in 2018. Former Waratah Sean Berne and 2017 Perth Spirit coach Kevin Foote have also joined Barakat and Craig McGrath on the Rebels coaching staff under Wessels ahead of next season. Barakat joined the Force late last year after a stint with Irish club Ulster. He spent a number of years coaching in Japan before returning to the Shute Shield to coach West Harbour in 2015. The coaching announcement finalises the Melbourne Rebels rugby department following the appointments of Wessels, highly regarded General Manager Professional Rugby and Pathways Nick Ryan and experienced new Team Director Tony Thorpe. “We set out to establish an elite professional rugby environment at the Melbourne Rebels and feel that we’ve been able to assemble a world-class staff of top coaches and performance staff,” Wessels said. Zane Hilton has farew