Lower Plenty didn’t have to look far for its new coach and senior assistant

After a “terrible” year, Lower Plenty has locked in a new coaching tandem it believes can rejuvenate the club and take it back up the ladder.

Lower Plenty's new coaches Travis Stephens and Chris Daw.

Lower Plenty has locked in its coach for 2024.

The Bears didn’t need to look far, securing experienced assistant Travis Stephens from Northern league neighbours Montmorency for the next two years.

Stephen will be joined by fellow Magpies assistant Chris Daw in a new look coaching team at Montmorency Park.

Stephens, who has coaching experience at VFL power Box Hill before moving to Montmorency, takes the reins from Phil Plunkett.

Daw started out at Eltham, coaching the Panthers to Division 1 Under-19s success, before switching to the Magpies this year.

The pair will look to rejuvenate Lower Plenty after it won just two games this season, narrowly avoiding relegation.

Bears president Michael Maloney was excited by what Stephens and Daw offered.

“We’re very happy, it’s been quite an exhaustive process.

“We interviewed about six different people but we liked Trav and Chris so much we took them both.

“The idea of building a strong coaching team that meets all our requirements, to the committee their skills and personalities complimented each other.

“We believe Chris can provide the development and strategy for our younger players and Travis can provide the strength and presence to help the older players and rejuvenate them.

“The thing I love, they’re both local, they’ve got support from family so no distractions to what they want to do.”

After a semi-final appearance in 2022, Lower tumbled down the ladder this season after several key players departed in the off-season.

While the likes of best-and-fairest winner Jordan Sacco, experienced ruckman Patrick Flynn, Josh Turner, Joel Leslie and Ciaran Porter remained strong contributors, the club’s depth was tested.

With opportunity, youngsters Felix Bell, Riley Alexander, Jed Wallace, Hudson Young, Brixton Timewell and Jasper Collins stepped up.

Maloney concedes the club struggled last season but is confident of a quick recovery.

“We’re making a big effort with our coaching team this year to make sure we come back from what was a very poor year this year.

“They’re very positive, they have a game plan in mind, they know what they need to do.

“I think the whole club is very upbeat about next year, we had a terrible year everybody knows that, but we’ve had a very positive end to the year.”

The Bears will now set about strengthening their list for 2024.

“We’re always looking for players,” Maloney said.

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“We’ve signed up our current list for another two years, we’ve got our Knights players ready to play next year.

“We’re on the lookout for players that couldn’t get a game this year and believe they’re up to the level, I’m sure our coaches will help with that.”

Lower Plenty parted ways with Phil Plunkett after two years at Montmorency Park.

Plunkett took the Bears to third place in the home-and-away season last year but crashed out in straight sets before the departure of several key players left the club in a difficult place this season.