WRFL: Ex-AFL defender Brian Lake appointed as Caroline Springs coach
Brian Lake is set to take on his first senior coaching job at local level but he finds himself in the role a year earlier than expected. Here’s why.
Western
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Brian Lake has had another job to add to his already impressive footy resume – local footy coach.
The three-time premiership star has been named the new senior coach of Western Region Football League premiership contender Caroline Springs.
Lake replaces Brodie Holland who has moved into the senior mentoring role at VFL stand-alone club the Northern Bullants.
Holland’s departure was only confirmed last week but the Lakers acted swiftly to get another former AFL player into the top job.
Caroline Springs president Terry Azzopardi revealed there had already been a plan in place for this exact situation.
“Brodie’s move was 12 months earlier than we probably expected,” he said.
“We were always aware he had ambitions to go on at coach at a higher level and we’re fully supportive of his move because he’s given us great service over the past several years.
“We had contingency plans in place and we were fortunate to have someone of Brian’s experience already at the club. He’s held various coaching roles within the senior and under 18s program since being with us.
“This is an exciting time to be part of our club.”
He is still a key player in the Lakes side and this season played at both ends of the ground.
‘Stability’ was a key reason for his appointment according to Azzopardi.
“We didn’t want to be changing too much,” he said.
“Brodie helped set the platform, in terms of discipline, professional and culture, Brian is going to continue to build from.
“We’re pretty fortunate that we tend to retain a lot of people who come into our club and that’s what we’ve been trying to build. It’s been a slow burn but we’re getting to where we want to.
“We’ve got a lot of experienced people around the club who are helping guide us.”
The Lakers were eliminated from the Division 1 finals series in straight sets after finishing the home-and-away season as minor premier in 2022.
Despite a disappointing end to the year, Azzopardi was confident the playing group would take plenty of lessons forward.
“We might have overachieved,” he said.
“At the start of the year we targeted playing in the second week of finals and eventually made a preliminary final. There’s a lot of factors behind how it all ended but we’ll learn.
“We’ve managed to re-sign most of the playing group and we’ll look to add three or four to plug some gaps. Then it will be exciting to watch our younger guys develop even further.”
Caroline Springs is still advertising for a reserves coach with applications closing on November 11.
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