The timing was right for David Connell to return to Tullamarine Football Club.
Connell ended his playing days at the Demons and started his coaching career at the club in both the reserves and as an assistant coach.
He left the club to further develop his coaching skills, most recently as senior coach with fellow Essendon District Football League division 1 club Westmeadows for nearly four seasons.
Now after nine years away, Connell returns to the Demons as their new head coach.
“It’s a good fit and it’s close to home,” Connell said on Monday.
“I was very new to coaching when I left the club. I’ve gone away and learnt a lot about what and doesn’t work.
“It’s a terrific challenge at a club which has been fairly consistent for over a decade.”
Having seen first hand the Demons list, Connell said he didn’t expect them to make too many changes. He said they had a really good list and was excited by what they can do.
“We won’t go recruiting too many players,” he said.
“We want to look at bringing a few players back to the club and also get a bit more depth in the reserves. We’ve got a couple of question marks about players will go on, but we’re not expecting a huge turnover.
“It will allow us to focus on other areas in the club.”
One of those areas it helping further establish the club’s junior program. Connell was very big on promoting players through the sides at Westmeadows.
“Peter Labbad, who was my captain when I coached the reserves, did a fantastic job getting the under-17s up and running. In January they had one player on their books and ended up with 28 or 29 players and made a grand final.
“More than half of them will go up to under-19s [Tullamarine currently doesn’t have a team]. I’m 100 per cent behind getting both under-17s and under-19s running next season.
The Demons were knocked out of the finals on Sunday by Airport West.
