LUKE Lougoon has taken the reins this season to get the Mitiamo side back on track after finishing at the bottom of the ladder in 2024.
Having played in four grand finals for Mitiamo including the 2019 premiership team, Lougoon is looking to rebuild the side.
“I wanted to keep the club going and maintain the majority of the list, so when the club asked if I would be interested in taking on the role I thought I’d take the opportunity,” he said.
“We have a fairly young list at the moment apart from me and a couple of others and I’m trying to get the team back to where we were when I first started a decade ago.
“I want to try and get some successes and give some of the young players a taste of that.
“We have a fair bit of work to do to get there and it won’t happen right away, but we’re getting everything in place now to make our way back up the ladder.”
Skills and fitness along with positivity and a shared vision are the focus of preseason training.
“Realistically we have to take small steps in the right direction to get bigger and better things from that,” Lougoon said.
“I’m taking a bit of a different approach to get a positive feeling in the place and get the boys to buy into what we’re trying to do.
“We didn’t kick many goals last year, so we’re aiming to get some wins on the board and get the belief back in the group.
“We’re working on moving the ball quick, run and carries and putting scoreboard pressure on the other teams.”
While the side is welcoming back some players from injury, two will remain out with knee injuries until May or June.
“We had our fair share of injuries last year which doesn’t help the cause, but most of the blokes out last year are back fighting fit,” Lougoon said.
“You can’t rush knee injuries so they’ll slot back in when they’re back up and running after they’ve taken their time and ticked all the boxes.”
Mitiamo is welcoming about half a dozen new players to the side.
“We’ve maintained the majority of the list bar two or three so we’ve had good retention, and we’ve definitely added some senior talent,” Lougoon said.
“We’ve got a bit more depth there and can push everyone a bit harder.”
Joined league: 1956.
Ground: John Forbes Oval.
Premierships: 6 (1967, 1977, 1979,1999, 2009, 2019).
Senior coach: Luke Lougoon
2024 ladder position: 9th.
2024 best & fairest: Luke Lougoon
2024 Leading goalkicker: Liam Shiells
Player to watch: Zach Morrison
One of 2024’s best players, Morrison is a young player with plenty of ability.
Lougoon expects him to play a big role in the side this season and take another step up.
Ins : Lachlan Carter, Matt Gilmour, Anthony Huisman, Cody Tuohey, Jack Daglish, Dylan Marshman, Ben Bradford, Jarrod Saliba.
Outs: Rhys Varcoe, Eli Spiers.
