Inside Brodie Holland’s plans in Maribyrnong Park return

Back for a second stint at Maribyrnong Park, Brodie Holland has revealed why he’s excited about the group’s potential and the type of players he’s aiming to recruit.

Brodie Holland has a clear goal in mind for his second stint as Maribyrnong Park — restoring the club back to “where it belongs”.

The Lions were relegated to Division 1 of the EDFL for the 2024 season after winning just one game this year with a coaching move halfway through the season.

Holland, a two-time premiership player and coach with Maribyrnong Park, himself had a challenging year coaching the Northern Bullants in the VFL but he’s now ready to put those lessons into place.

During the year, he watched “four or five” of Maribyrnong Park’s games and is confident there is plenty of potential to work with at Monk Oval.

Holland said it was an easy decision to return to the Lions with his kids currently playing junior footy at the club.

“It’s going to be a nice little challenge,” Holland, who has signed a two-year deal with the club, said.

“There’s a fair bit of talent to work with which is really exciting from my point of view. The junior program is thriving at the moment, unfortunately it just didn’t click with the senior side this year.

“Now we’ve got a great opportunity to refresh and go again, there’s no guarantee you’ll bounce back quickly but we’ve got something to really build off.”

Having taken a closer look at the Lions’ playing list for next season, the former Caroline Springs coach said it is clear the type of players he would target.

He said “about 90 per cent” of the playing group had already re-signed.

Brodie Holland during his first stint at Maribyrnong Park.

“We’re going to be looking for stronger bodies,” Holland said.

“We’ve got a lot of guys in the 18-25 age bracket but not as many in the 25-30 range. We want elite and proven players who are going to add leadership qualities to this group.

“We’re after a specific type and I think we can improve by six to eight goals in a short amount of time.”

The Lions will also be boosted by the return of midfielder Sean Hetherington who missed all of the 2023 season with a knee injury.

“He’s going to be a great inclusion,” Holland said.

Alex Barba, Daniel Oliver and Scott Clarke are among the re-signings to have been confirmed by the Lions on social media.

Meanwhile, Milly Beardmore has been confirmed as the new Senior Women’s coach for the Lions.

Beardmore has served as the club’s women’s reserves coach for the last two seasons.