Junee has called upon one of its favourite sons to take the coaching reins following the defection of Lincoln Weir to Wagga United.
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Adrian Merrigan has been billed as the man to lead a Jaguars turnaround after the side won just two games last season.
Merrigan, who was captain last year and came up through the club’s juniors ranks, applied for the role unsuccessfully in 2015 and work commitments ruled him out last season.
The Junee local said he was excited to finally land the gig.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said.
“I took on some of the coaching duties last year when Linc was busy with work and I really enjoyed it.
“I also had a really good response from the boys when I stepped into that role.”
Merrigan said he had plans for a recruitment drive in a bid to build towards the club’s former premiership glory.
It’s a task which became a whole lot more realistic when several players from the Jaguars’ 2015 title winning team expressed interest in returning to the club.
But Merrigan will not reveal who they are until they have formally committed.
“There are definitely some positives signs there for us,” he said.
“I’m just keen to get things going and get everyone keen for a good season.”
The club has also announced that Lachlan Philipse will coach the reserves team.
Meanwhile, Junee will go back to the future when it welcomes back former long-time coach Craig Duncan as the club’s first-grade women’s coach next season.
Duncan was at the helm as recently as 2016 and has been with the club on and off for more than 20 years.
Duncan said he expected next year’s team have a familiar feel, with just a handful of changes in terms of personnel and playing style.
“It should be a similar team but we’ve had a few other players indicate they’d be keen to play,” he said.
“I can’t say who yet, but if we can get it done it should add some more depth and experience.
“In terms of style, we’ll hopefully play with a little bit more flair than we’ve been used to.
“I still plan on sticking to the 4-3-3 format that the FFA wants everyone to play, along with a little bit of 4-4-2.”
Duncan takes over from Adrian Weir, who was set to take a break from the game for health reasons but is a chance to join his brothers Travis and Lincoln at Wagga United if he can get healthy.
Junee fell short in last season’s grand final in heartbreaking fashion, going down to Tolland 3-2 in extra time.
