NEW Launceston coach Sam Lonergan wants to win a TSL flag over the next three years and use his State League experience as a springboard to a future AFL coaching career.
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The 28-year-old former Essendon, Richmond and Glenelg player was welcomed back to his old stamping ground of Windsor Park on Thursday by club president Malcolm Atkins and his assistant coach, Scott Stephens, ten years after being drafted to the AFL.
‘‘It is pretty special to achieve this role, and obviously the club that you grow up with is the one you want to come back and help out the most, and the opportunity to play and coach at my home club became too great to walk away from,’’ Lonergan said.
‘‘One hundred per cent my goal is to coach one day at AFL level, and I spoke to Malcolm early days and said to come back here and actually enter the AFL system again is what I want to achieve.’’
Lonergan said that after two years in an assistant coaching role at Glenelg, he was looking forward to creating his own coaching program at Launceston.
His first priority was to speak to the current Launceston players and retain their services before looking at the possible recruiting of some other TSL players for next season, but he thought it was too early to go down the path of recruiting from AFL ranks.
‘‘It’s a young list and it is very important for us to continue to develop that list, but we need to add some experience to help those kids and support their bodies around the ball and give them more senior players to learn off,’’ Lonergan said.
‘‘I am a very competitive person and I will be out there to perform as well as I can, and at 28 I have some good footy ahead of me.
‘‘There are a couple of TSL players on the radar at the moment and I’ve touched base with them, but for me the most important thing is to retain players.
‘‘We have to make sure what we’ve got are happy and positive and excited about where we are going over the next three years.’’
Lonergan said he was yet to speak to Stephens about his playing future but planned to sit down with his predecessor over the next two weeks to discuss his plans.
‘‘It will be a very important one for our footy club that Scott and I have to sit down and talk, because he is the most educated man about the players at this club.
‘‘I need to upskill myself to understand this group especially over the next six months, and to show the solidness of what we are going to achieve over the next few years.
‘‘We’ll look to grow a few things and add to the things the group are currently doing – I am not going to force anyone to play, but I am hoping that Scott’s body and mindset is up to scratch for a few games ... but at the end of the day it will be up to Scott with what he wants to do.’’
Atkins said the club was proud to welcome back someone of Lonergan’s background and to retain the services of a Launceston and Tasmanian football legend in Stephens as part of the club’s move forward.
Lonergan plans to be back in Launceston permanently by early to mid-October at least a month before the start of pre-season training.
‘‘I need to make sure I’m well-equipped and that we’re adding the right kind of players to our club over the next six months to then see where we are going to end up – but without doubt I am here to win a flag,’’ he said.