It will be a new look Jacana on and off the field in the Essendon District Football League’s division 2 this season.
A new coach appointed in the off-season has been followed by a number of changes in key football roles and players.
New coach Aaron Collins said that after a slow start to the pre-season, the Jaguars now had all guns blazing as the season drew nearer.
Collins replaced Matthew Sacco, who planned to take a year off from football but has since been appointed coach at Longwood.
“It started slowly, but it is really good now,” Collins said. “A lot of them were playing cricket, so we changed the training nights and now we get more numbers to training.
“We’re getting 40-50 each night and there are a lot of new faces.”
Collins said more players wanted to play at the club.
“We had the footy department signing contracts for two hours the other night,” he said. “People want to play for Jacana.
“There are 15 new faces that can go straight into the firsts, so it gives us a lot of depth.”
Among the signings is Dylan Wolfgramm who has previously played with Avondale Heights, Matthew O’Rourke and Albion’s Josh Wilkinson.
Returning to the club is young gun Beau Naim, who won the EDFL’s division 2 best and fairest award in 2013
Another who will pull on the boots for the Jaguars is three-time Brisbane Lions AFL premiership player Chris Johnson, who played six games with the club last year.
“He’s going to help out and he has bought some A-grade players to the club,” Collins said. “He’ll play when he can and he has been a real mentor for me and has lots of experience to pass on.”
Brian Bell, Brett Caton and Bradley Cunningham have decided to return to Diggers Rest, while Daniel Sacco has followed his cousin to Longwood.
Collins, who was assistant coach last season, is loving the challenge of stepping up to the top role.
“It’s really good and an exciting challenge in the senior role. We have new runners, new team manager … we have the right people in place.”
