It started with a premiership at Kerang in 2004, followed him when he coached Irymple in his first season at the helm in 2006 and continued at Heidelberg last year when the Tigers were undefeated.

Eaton, 26, admits he has been one of the lucky ones and hopes his run continues in the Ovens and Murray.

“I have had a pretty good run,” Eaton said.

“Last year we had a great side at Heidelberg but a job came up in Albury and I’m really happy to be playing at Lavington.

“It’s difficult to gauge where we’ll be at but training has been intense and the workload heavy, and I know Lavington expects to play finals.

“Like everyone, I can’t wait for it to start.

“There are a lot of really good young players around and hopefully we have a good season ahead of us.”

Eaton has played mainly as a midfielder before being pushed onto a back-flank and centre half-back last season, with players of the ilk of Jess Sinclair, Justin Murphy, Josh Houlihan and Anthony Franchina running rampant.

He is likely to play alongside skipper Kade Stevens, who has been one of the preseason stars.

Coach Tim Sanson expects the Panthers to rotate heavily with opportunities to open up following the departure of Bill Neely, Luke Schilg, Luke Garland and Myles Aalbers.

“Brad’s fitted in well and he will more than likely have a role to play in there,” Sanson said.

“We’ll keep our options open.”