New West Preston-Lakeside coach Luke Giles discusses his plans for 2023 season
Luke Giles knows he’s not Robbie Maiorana but is looking forward to building on and adding his own spin to keep West Preston-Lakeside’s successful.
Northern
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New West Preston-Lakeside coach Luke Giles believes his club will remain a premiership contender in 2023.
The Roosters reached the NFL Division 1 semi-final last season but will have a fresh look under the first-time senior coach.
Giles takes the reins from two-time premiership-winning coach Robbie Maiorana, arriving after six seasons as an assistant at NAB League club Northern Knights.
Giles hopes to build on Maiorana’s foundation of success and bring through the next generation of talent.
A strong focus on defence will be Giles’ first priority.
“To be honest, and I’ve said this to a lot of people, I’m not coming in trying to be Robbie,” Giles said.
“I’m looking to build on what Robbie put together, it’s obvious he drove some really high training standards and that’s been obvious from day one.
“I’m a young and hungry coach and got my own way of doing things, so part of my spin – and the players have seen this – training has been shorter and sharper and more condensed.
“We know the Northern footy league is super competitive, it’s all contest related.
“Our contested work, I think it’s been the mantra of West Preston for the last 10 years, we’re super competitive and that will always be the way we mark our game.
“I think what I bring to the table is coaching defence, I think ball movement is really instinctive and I’ll back the players in to make the right decisions in the moment.
“From a team defence point of view, that’s where I’m going to put my own spin on things and I think that’s where you can resonate with players.”
Meanwhile, West Preston reached the Under-19s Division 1 preliminary final last season, falling to eventual premier Montmorency by 12 points.
The Roosters will have holes to fill following the departure of key players Joel McDonald, Jackson Barling, Chris McCabe, Daniel Costanzo and Daman Aujla.
Positively, co-captain Ahmed Saad is eyeing a Round 2 or 3 return after rupturing his ACL mid-last season.
The club also possesses the reigning Rosbrook Medallist in ruckman Matthew Harman, who became the club’s first league best-and-fairest winner since Nick Meese in 2010.
Xavier Saviane finished second in the Under-19s Division 1 league best-and-fairest count.
Coming from an under-age coaching background, Giles is confident he can bring through the club’s youth.
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“As much as it is under-18s footy, they do replicate AFL programs so some of the things you learn are really good to bring back to local level,” he said.
“I’m really optimistic about having a couple of under-19s kids having a breakout season.
“Our 19s had a really successful year in Division 1 last season, they were competitive in a prelim, so with new additions and young kids there’s no reason we can’t have a tilt again.”
Giles and West Preston-Lakeside will kick off its season on April 15 with a trip to Hurstbridge.
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