Local footy: NFL club Laurimar appoints Jimmy Atkins as coach
NFL Division 3 outfit Laurimar has found its replacement for Justin Sherman, and president Alasdair Walker says the club’s senior list could not be in better shape.
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Laurimar president Alasdair Walker has declared the club’s senior squad “ready to explode” after the appointment of Jimmy Atkins as coach.
On the back of Northern Football League Division 3 finals appearances in 2018 and 2019 and a thriving junior program, the Power appear well placed for success.
Laurimar had a 13-0 record last year before suffering a straight-sets finals exit and were set to enter 2020 as a red-hot premiership favourite.
Former Whittlesea coach Atkins has replaced Justin Sherman, who departed to pursue coaching opportunities at higher levels.
“Jimmy is taking charge of a senior group that’s ready to explode because we’ve got a lot of juniors coming through,” Walker said.
“We’ve got our first batch of homegrown juniors. Our first two under-9 teams from our founding year in 2011 are all now hitting under-19s next year.
“Justin developed some of those guys, but now it’s up to Jimmy to really nurture that a little bit more.
“Every year we’ve got more of those homegrown juniors coming through, so it’s a really exciting time.”
Atkins steered Whittlesea in Division 1 for three seasons from 2016-2018.
He also held the top job at Kinglake and arrives at the Power after a stint as a senior assistant under Garry Ramsay at Montmorency.
Atkins played more than 200 senior games with Whittlesea, Hurstbridge and Kinglake, and was a member of premiership sides with the Eagles in 2013 and Bridges in 2003.
He has been locked in for one season but Walker said he ultimately expected the union to last beyond 2021.
“Based on where we’re at as a club and our needs for the future in terms of a senior coach … we just felt Jimmy was the perfect fit,” Walker said.
“Moving into an uncertain 2021 … he’s got to galvanise a group, bring them back into football mode, which won’t be easy.
“We really felt Jimmy, based on the way he approaches his coaching, his philosophy, his view of his football club, our community and how we could integrate those and bring everybody back to football, it was just first class.
“It wasn’t an easy decision because we had some really quality candidates, but Jimmy was the one we felt really suited our needs.”
Walker said Laurimar expected to retain its key senior players for next season.
“We had a disappointing end to 2019 given we went out in straight sets, but certainly our list hasn’t diminished in any way. If anything it had improved this year, as have other lists,” Walker said.
“But we’ve got a great list and based on discussions we’ve had, they (the players) are still fully committed.
“We’re not expecting to lose anybody going into 2021.
“I’d think we’ll be right up there and challenging. There are of course a couple of other teams in the mix as well … but we’d like to think we’re in with a chance.”
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