By Tara Murray
New Jacana coach Matthew Huy is looking forward to the challenge ahead of him as he steps into his first senior head coaching role.
Huy was this week announced as the Jaguars coach for next season.
He replaces Robert Fletcher who decided after two years at the helm not to continue.
Huy, has been involved with football for more than 30 years.
He was an assistant coach with Hurstbridge in the Northern Football League this year, after a number of years away from football.
“One of the players heard that I was finishing up at Hurstbridge and thought I was someone to have a chat to about the role.
“They’ve taken a gamble on someone who doesn’t have a lot of experience.
“It’s all pretty new to me, but I’m pretty excited and can’t wait to sink my teeth into the role. It’s fantastic to be given the opportunity.”
Huy admits there is a little bit of an unknown surrounding what division they will play in next season.
While they finished last in division 1 and face relegation, the return of Keilor Park and possible inclusion of the Sunbury Kangaroos, means they may avoid relegation.
Huy said they would prepare as they would be in division 1.
“We want to be more competitive in division 1, but if we’re in division 2, we’ll be a strong side in that division.
“We’re pretty sure we’ll be in division 1 and either way we will go about it as we are in that division.
“If we are back in division 2, we will be a lot stronger for it.”
Huy knows he has a lot of work to help lift the team off the bottom of the ladder.
Their only win came in the final round of the season.
He said he would work on the structure of the club and look at recruiting a few players.
“From talking with the players, we believe we need to recruit a couple of guys who can run out games for longer,” he said.
“I haven’t had any indication we will lose anyone, but maybe a couple will retire.
“There’s always room for improvement and we’re aiming to be a really competitive side.”
One big focus for the Jaguars in the off-season will be trying to get their under-19s back up and running. Huy said that was something they would pursue pretty hard to help add some youth to the club.
