Six-time George Town flag-winner Shaun Muller has taken over the reins from Jake Terry and Dan Ellis as senior coach, while Brayley Coombes has been tasked with defending outgoing reserves coach Nick Hughes’ 2017 flag.

Muller returns to the Thistles after two years away from the club and has set his sights on returning to the top after last season’s straight-sets exit from finals.

“We finished fourth overall so we’ve got a lot of improvement to do chasing the East Coast boys, Lilydale and Evandale, so we’ll set our sights on those three being in front of us at the moment,” he said. 

“We’ve got a handful of new players - and a couple of really handy players - so we’re looking to be as good as last year if not improve slightly.”

Coombes expected to join Muller in predominantly coaching from the sideline this season – a change from the club’s appointment of player-coaches last year. 

“It’s a fresh approach, the guys that were involved last year and coached are still going to be actively involved in the club,” Coombes said. 

“It’s a lot of time and effort for a social sport to coach so we’ve put our hands up to help out and keep the club going in that forward direction.”

Old Scotch will take on traditional rivals St Pats in the first round of the NTFA division 2 season starting March 24.