EFL 2018: Bret Lavars named new coach of Mooroolbark in the Eastern Football League
HEATH Black’s right-hand man will take the coaching reins at Mooroolbark in 2019.
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HEATH Black’s right-hand man will take the coaching reins at Mooroolbark in 2019.
Bret Lavars will be tasked with the responsibility of turning around the Mustangs’ fortunes next year after a disappointing 2018.
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Black stepped down from the role after just one season owing to family commitments.
Mooroolbark entered the campaign as one of the flag fancies but only avoided relegation by two premiership points.
Lavars had previously served under Black for two seasons when the pair were at Narre Warren, before the two shifted to Heights Reserve ahead of this year.
He also played in two premierships with Dingley, including the Dingoes’ maiden top-flight flag in 2015.
Lavars said the majority of the Mustangs’ players would remain at the club next year as they look to move on from their four-win season.
“We definitely underperformed from what our expectations were at the start of the year,” Lavars said.
“This year we’ve identified we probably need to recruit some strong leadership to assist with our youth coming through.
“We’re fortunate enough our under-17s won a premiership … so our development coming through is really good.
“The future is bright but we’re definitely targeting the right fit for our club to improve.”
Mooroolbark president Scott Hassan said Lavars was an obvious candidate to replace Black, who will remain at the club next year in a football operations position.
“He seemed to be a pretty good fit,” Hassan said.
“We didn’t want to change things up too much and while we had some other suitable candidates, we just felt Bret was the best fit for us going forward.
“Bret’s got his own style, his own methods that he will try bring in and implement.
“Through the interview process he mentioned quite a few interesting points that were at fault this year so I think he will be fantastic for us next year with those few little tweaks.”
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