Tony Lockyer signs on as coach of Sebastopol

Sebastopol has turned to a club legend as it aims to end a near 50-year premiership drought and it’s clear why they believe he is the right man for the job.

Sebastopol didn’t have to look far to find the coach it hopes will end a premiership drought.

Club legend Tony Lockyer has been announced as the new coach, taking over from Luke Kiel and Michael Columbro who stepped down recently, but remain at the club, after coaching for one year.

The former North Ballarat VFL player has been a prominent player for the Burras for the past few years, helping the team to reach grand final in 2019 and 2022.

It’s been the closest the team has got to winning a premiership for the first time since 1975.

The defender has also been a leader, captaining the team over the past couple of seasons.

Sebastopol’s Tony Lockyer will be the new player/coach of the team. Picture: Hamish Blair

“Tony came to us and expressed and interest in coaching,” interim Sebastopol president Chenay Wilkinson said.

“He felt the time was right and has obviously been part of the rebuild. We have been through an interview process with other coaches as well.

“Tony showed a lot of passion, lots of heart and we just figured he was the right person for the job.”

Importantly, for Wilkinson, he outlined what the team needed to improve.

“Luke and Michael (the last coaches) had put in a lot of work in 2023 and Tony has seen that and wants to put his own spin on a few minor things to see us improve,” she said.

“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel, we think we’re in a good position.

“We’re close with the list we’ve got and Tony is also bringing a couple of external voices to the club that hasn’t been announced yet.

“His vision and what he wants to do for us in 2024 is where we want to be at.”

Lockyer will continue to play while he coaches next year.

And he’ll have almost everyone from last season involved with most players resigning with the club.

Sebastopol’s Liam Latch and his teammates will be hoping for an improvement next year to end a 48-year premiership drought. Picture: Hamish Blair

Wilkinson admitted the team was disappointed not to win a flag in the past two years, especially 2022 falling three points short of beating Melton in the grand final.

And this year the team lost in the first week of the finals after finishing in third during the regular season.

But the team isn’t beating themselves up over it.

“We know where we are at and there were a couple of instances that impacted us from taking the next step this year,” Wilkinson said.

“Externally we felt some pressure and some expectation that we should have got to that next level (premiership).

“Internally we are comfortable with where we are at and our premiership window is open.

“With the current list and the kids coming through we think we’ve got two to three years of the window.

“We’re confident Tony knows what needs to be done and he has the support of the playing group.”