Football
19 August, 2024
Laharum FNC one step closer to women's team, senior coaches re-sign
Laharum Football Netball Club has signed 34 players over three age groups as it looks to establish a women's football program from 2025 onwards. In other good news for the club, senior football coaches Shan Argall and Robbie Miller have re-signed, alongside senior netball coach Rebecca McIntyre.
They held an information session at Cameron Oval last Wednesday night, and Liam Brady from the AFL and AFL region manager Angela Ballinger were present.
The club has signed up 20 girls for senior football, ten for under-15s, and four for under-18s, and that's before a recruitment drive, during which they won't be targeting Horsham Demons players.
Hamish Roberts said the progress is promising.
"It has gone really well, and the AFL are happy with how it went," Roberts said.
"The first step we needed to do was show the AFL that we are serious about this, and now we are off and running, it's exciting.
"We have had girls sign up from a bit of word of mouth, and over the coming weeks and months, we will put in a concerted effort to recruit and appoint coaches."
Roberts confirmed that people had approached him to register their interest in coaching.
"We have had a couple of people come forward and express interest, but like anything, we need to put out an advertisement, review all applications, and make the decisions based on the quality of candidates," Roberts said.
The key step for the club now is to apply to join the Western Victoria Female Football League.
"We need to put time and effort into that, and part of the application will detail our vision for our program. Then, they will consider our application, and I hope they will accept it," Roberts said.
"Our vision is something we want to set up and last forever and not a flash in the pan. We want to get stronger yearly with our women's and girls' football.
"It will be 100% embedded into the Laharum FNC and aligned with everything we do. They will train at the same time as the men's teams, and we will read sides out on Thursday nights, and everyone will attend functions. It won't be separate entities, and it's exciting that we can get to do it."
Argall and Miller excited for the future
Laharum senior football coaches Shannon Argall and Robbie Miller have signed on to coach the club for 2025 after a successful season that propelled Laharum back into finals after not winning a game last season.
Laharum is building nicely for the future. With players already re-signing, the two coaches re-signed, and a possible few new recruits, 2025 is set to be a great year for the club.
Shannon Argall said it was an easy decision to sign on.
"It is something that I have really enjoyed this year, and the ability to work with Robbie has been a healthy relationship where we have leveraged each other's strengths and shared the coaching workload. It's been one of my most enjoyable years coaching," Argall said.
"It's nice to be winning, but also to be playing with such a committed and enthusiastic group is great and makes the job more enjoyable.
"Having done coaching for as long as I have, it tends to be a lonely role, but the fact that I have had so much support from Robbie and Hamish as coach and president, and then Mark Mintern as football director, has made it a rewarding experience."
Robbie Miller said he didn't plan on leaving.
"It's exciting to be a part of what we are building, and it's a rewarding experience so far, so why not continue the great foundation we laid and continue on next year," Miller said.
Miller echoed Argall's sentiments about the playing group and club.
"Having a good group of people in the right roles has been a huge key to the success, and having a healthy playing list and sharing the workload helps, too."
Hamish Roberts is thrilled they stayed on.
"We are a happy club. We have gone from zero wins to being deep in finals this year, and what they have been able to do with our playing group is incredible," Roberts said.
"The playing group is coached well and the playing list has 100% brought into their game plan and they both have done a terrific job and re-signing them as coaches was a no-brainer."
McIntyre re-signs for A and B-grade
Rebecca McIntyre will return as coach of A and B-grade netball in 2025 after re-signing with Laharum Football Netball Club.
Laharum heads into the finals unbeaten and premiership favourites with a strong team at her helm, including many developing players.
Club President Hamish Roberts said it was great that she re-committed.
"Rebecca is a gun coach and a good quality person, so getting her re-signed was a no-brainer," Roberts said.
"Rebecca has done a terrific job this year bringing in the youth into the A-grade team and has exposed some of the talent, which can be hard to do, and managed to do that well, with them playing well in A-grade netball.
"She can get the best out of the group, and her credentials speak for themselves, and she has a good eye for the future, and we believed she was the best candidate out there."