Norwood to be bolstered by the return of Coburg star Lochlan Dickson
Despite winning Coburg’s VFL best-and-fairest in each of his two seasons at Piranha Park, Norwood premiership player Lochie Dickson has confirmed his return to Mullum Mullum Reserve.
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Lochlan Dickson has confirmed his return to junior club Norwood.
The back-to-back Coburg VFL best-and-fairest winner will step away from state level football in 2020 as he pursues his professional career away from the field.
A defender turned big-bodied midfielder, Dickson was on the cusp of landing a spot on an AFL list but was surprisingly overlooked.
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Instead, he’ll be back at the EFL Premier Division club next year under Marty Pask.
“I would have loved to keep playing footy at Coburg,” Dickson said.
“They were really good to me and hopefully I paid them back a little bit.
“I’m spewing I won’t be a part of what’s looking like a pretty exciting season next year.
“I’m starting a new job and wasn’t going to be able to fulfil my commitments for state league footy.”
Dickson was a member of Norwood’s 2014 Premier Division flag and represented the Eastern league in 2017.
He claimed Coburg’s Jim Sullivan Medal in both seasons he spent at Piranha Park.
Norwood finished sixth this season with a 10-8 record, missing finals by just 7 per cent.
Dickson hopes his signing and Blake Pearson’s full-time return from VFL club Port Melbourne can help lift the club back into September action.
“I’ve got a lot of mates there that I’ve played juniors or seniors with,” Dickson said.
“Hopefully, we can get back to finals football and have some wins. That’s the goal, just to win as many games as possible.
“In my first stint at Norwood we had a bit of success and since then it’s been a little bit lean.
“We feel we’ve got the list to win some games and hopefully get into finals. Premier is a pretty even comp.”
At 190cm and after two strong VFL seasons, Dickson was touted as a chance to be snapped up late in the national draft.
However, after missing out, he has already moved on to the next phase of his life.
“It doesn’t really worry me, I haven’t really spoken to my manager about any feedback,” he said.
“It’s not something I’m really interested in, to be honest.”
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