Zane Littlejohn’s son thought they were going to die the day his dad was stood down

It was the former North Launceston premiership mastermind’s dream to coach in the AFL system. Now he’s not sure if the Brisbane Lions will take him back.

Tasmanian Lion Kings - Zane Littlejohn, Mitch Robinson, David Noble and Chris Fagan in AFL club Brisbane at the Gabba. Pic Annette Dew

IT was hard enough to hear that he no longer had a job as midfield development coach at the Brisbane Lions so imagine how Zane Littlejohn felt when his five-year-old son thought that meant they were going to die.

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan saw the writing on the wall and told his assistant-coaches to get their “Plan Bs” in place to help them ride out the coronavirus crisis before the AFL season shut down arrived last month.

Littlejohn, whose dream it was to move into AFL ranks after making his home club North Launceston a TSL powerhouse, fell back on teaching, picking up a job at a school near to his house in Brisbane only this week.

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TSL: Hobart City vs. North Launceston, North Hobart Oval: North Launceston coach Zane Littlejohn addresses his playing group Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

It had been a dream job for Littlejohn, who added to Brisbane’s strong Tasmanian influence along with Fagan, the senior coach, David Noble (general manager of football), and key player Mitch Robinson.

The day Fagan told Littlejohn and the others they had been stood down, Zane will never forget what happened next.

“I remember picking up my son Boyd after we got the news. He’s only five and in prep. I told him ‘daddy’s not working at the Lions for a little while mate’,” Littlejohn said.

“He said ‘we’re going to die’.

“I said ‘why mate’.

“He goes ‘we won’t have any food’.

“I said ‘we’ll find our way through it’.

“Luckily my wife Kat picked up a full-time job so my main focus has been the kids [Boyd and Alba], being daddy daycare and going for bike rides, jumping on the trampoline, playing footy and cricket in the back yard. We’re lucky enough to have a pool so we’ve also been swimming.

Zane Littlejohn with his family - (L-R) Boyd, Alba and Kat.

“That’s what it has been like in isolation until this week when I’ve been lucky enough to pick up some work at Balmoral State High School, which is just around the corner.”

In what little spare time he has, Littlejohn has been adding to his coaching know-how.

“I’ve signed up for Andrew Raines’ course One on One Football. At the moment you can still work one-on-one with an athlete, so I’ve had some players book in to do some one-on-one sessions with me, which is fantastic.

“That keeps my footy itch scratched, I guess.

“I’ve also been doing a leadership course with blokes like Corey Enright, Robert Harvey, Lisa Alexander, who coached the Diamonds, John Morris, who coaches the Cronulla Sharks, so that is keeping my mind switched on for being a coach and a leader.”

Littlejohn may have to get used to being a sports science teacher.

“I miss footy,” he said.

“There’s no guarantee I’ll get back to the Lions.

“I’m sure the club would like to keep everyone but their hands are tied with what the AFL put in place. So I’m not 100 per cent sure and that’s just the way it is.”