Lions ready to roar in 2023

According to club president Darryl Hore, player numbers have improved and the feeling around the club is very positive.

“There’s a renewed focus and a sense of belief is building for the upcoming season,” Hore said ahead of last weekend’s home games at the ‘den’.

“Everyone’s excited about the year. It's a massive turnaround for the club from where we were 12 months ago. The atmosphere is different.

“It won't be easy, and there will be challenges along the way, but the club is determined to keep the Lion’s spirit alive.

“We’ve overcome so much already and will continue to work together to make this a great year for our club.”

New senior football coach Brett Chapman is also optimistic about the football team's potential with a new look side is responding well to training and eager to improve on last year's performance.

With a positive attitude and hard work, the Lions are determined to make their mark in the league this season.

“The goal for the year is to see the team improve every week and keep building on that momentum,” Chapman said.

“My focus for the team is to see them learn how to win again. We can do that if we get the basics right.

“We have a few new recruits- the likes of Matt Halton, Nash Kusen, Dean Druce and Jake Reid- and a talented group of players who are eager to learn and improve, and I believe that if we stay disciplined and work hard, we can achieve our goals.”

Netballers out to restore pride

The club has also very recently welcomed Lauren Connell as the A Grade netball coach. Lauren brings a wealth of player experience and is also coaching the under 15s side.

Club committee member and netball coordinator Lisa Byatt said it was a real coup for the A Grade side to have Lauren’s expertise

“It’s worked out well with Lauren coming on board in the last few weeks,” Lisa said.

“Preseason training was great. There was lots of enthusiasm in the lead up to the season. There are also new faces around the club which is really encouraging. We’ve got three new girls in the A and B Grade which is fantastic.

“How the season will pan out in terms of results on the board, it’s an unknown last this stage, but we’ve made a focus on developing players, particularly our juniors. That then lays the foundation for the next three to five years. It’s a season with long term goal.”

Despite the final look A Grade team only coming together a fortnight ago, they have already shown impressive improvement.

Lauren said her focus for the seniors is “working on the basics both in defence and attack”.

“Eight of our girls have never played together before so leading into our first game on Saturday against Dederang, my initial intention for the girls was to have fun and be competitive,” she told the Free Press on Monday.

“Last year they lost to Dederang by 30 goals and on the weekend, we lost by six goals. That’s massive improvement.

“We were also leading and quite frankly, could and should have come away with the win. A few missed goals, bad passes and the game was lost.

“Overall, I’m most impressed as now that is the benchmark for what my expectations are for the season going forward.

“For the year ahead, I am expecting at least a few wins as last year they went winless for the entire season.

“A positive attitude goes a long way in making that happen too. Working on and off the court with team building activities will no doubt cast the girls in good stead.”