It’s the beginning of a new era for Laurimar in the Northern Football League women’s competition.
After a tough 2025 where it won just two games in division 3, the Power has locked in new coaches for next year.
Chris Morton and Sam Halpin will be co-coaches this season, hoping to guide the side up the ladder.
The pair were keen spectators last season and decided they wanted to step up and help the side develop.
“We’re very keen and we can’t wait for it to start to be honest,” Morton said. “Since we got appointed we’ve been trying to get everything in place ready to go and we’re just waiting for pre-season to start and get stuck into it.”
Halpin, who has played in the reserves side for a number of years, started his involvement in the women’s side when his partner playing in the women’s side the past two years.
He said with the side struggling for numbers at times and not getting many wins, it had been tough on the playing group.
That’s when the pair decided to put their hands up.
“We both came together and thought why not give it a crack,” he said.
“We stepped up to the plate, we landed the gig.
“We’re both really excited, imprinting a bit of our experience onto the girls and driving a bit of excitement and culture.”
It will be the first time Halpin has coached football, but has more than 10 years of basketball coaching experience including at a high level.
Morton was assistant coach for Laurimar’s reserves side when it won the premiership last year.
Halpin said the reaction had been really positive.
“I’ve had an influx of messages,” he said. “The girls were rapt, I was part of the group towards the end of the season, last year being a runner.
“Bunch of girls have massaged Chris through his job who have said they would come down.
“We’ve passively recruited about 10 players already and it’s only been announced for a week and half.”
Morton said while there were a number of players already keen to come down, they were hoping to get some more players on board.
He said players of any skill level were welcome.
“It’s been a few lean years for the women,” he said.
“They’ve struggled with numbers and that’s not uncommon around women’s football at the moment.
“There was a large mix of girls played a lot of football, grist here for their first year or coming into their second year
“I think we’re most excited about it, almost get a blank canvas and we can reset. We get to go in and teach girls the basics and start at the fundamentals.”
The pair said there was no pressure on them or the group in terms of wins. He said it was about setting up the culture and the fundamentals and building from there.
