Southern league: Lyndhurst coach Jamie Gaspero to step aside

Jamie Gaspero will be bowing out at the end of the season. Before then his Lightning team will keep pursuing the unbeaten Carrum Patterson Lakes.

Kaine Bundy marking for Lyndhurst. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Lyndhurst senior coach Jamie Gaspero will be standing down at the end of the season.

In the meantime, his Lightning team and others in SFNL Division 4 will continue their chase of Carrum Patterson Lakes.

The Lions are unbeaten after 10 matches, no surprise to Gaspero, who watched them defeat his side by 55 points in Round 10.

He said CPL moved the ball quickly and skilfully, and was “definitely’’ the team to toss.

“They’re well drilled, they’re well coached, Rohan (coach Rohan Bleeker) has them playing a brand of footy that is very entertaining to watch. They flick the ball around very well,’’ he said.

But he’s not ready to concede the premiership.

Lyndhurst is second on the ladder at 8-2 and Gaspero believes the Lightning has more depth than in 2019, when it reached the grand final.

“We’ve added in probably eight new players who have pushed us through, and lost only one or two,’’ he said.

“This year is a different sort of year, I reckon. I think the buy-in from the players is different.

Lyndhurst coach Jamie Gaspero addressing his players. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Having a year off has changes peoples’ outlook on football. It’s good. But, yeah, I think we’re better off than what we were.’’

The newcomers include half forward/midfielder Tyson Sparkes, inside midfielder Travis Jarvis and assistant coach Kaine Bundy from Doveton.

James Gardiner can also be counted as a recruit given he’d missed so much football with a knee injury.

“He’s in the best shape he’s been in for a long time,’’ Gaspero noted.

“Normal culprits’’ Charlie Gardiner, Hamish Browning and David Ford have showed the way for a team that has at times missed Kevin and Jason Twite, Jarrod Murphy and Jackson Post with injury.

Young players Abraham Gardiner and Brody Kiss have displayed sharp improvement.

Gaspero told the club at the start of the year that he would be stepping aside at the end of the season.

He took over in 2019 and had previously coached the reserves.

“I’ve been there six years … the club and the personnel need a shift,’’ he said.

“Five or six years at one footy club is enough, the same people telling you the same messages and modifying things as you go. I think they need a freshen-up, a change, regardless of the result this year.

“I made it pretty clear I wanted to finish on a high and get some buy-in from the boys for one last red-hot crack at it and then hopefully a new coach can come in and bring some new players. I’ve always thought that when a new coach comes in with five or six new players it changes the dynamic of the whole footy club.’’

Carrum Patterson Lakes coach Rohan Bleeker marks against Lyndhurst. Picture: Valeriu Campan

He said he believed the Lightning needed a non-playing coach.

Can Lyndhurst go one better than 2019, when it lost to South Yarra?

“I believe so,’’ Gaspero said.

“There’s a side undefeated at the moment that will say differently but we can definitely give it a shake.

“Every team is beatable. If you had spoken to me two years ago after Round 10 I would have told you to give us the cup now. We all know how that worked out.’’