New North Albury coach Isaac Muller will dump last year’s game style and implement a bold attacking brand.
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“Obviously last season it was pretty well known man-on-man, pretty defensive footy and no real excitement,” he said.
“Going into 2019 we’ll play high risk, high intensity, looking to travel both ways.
“It will probably look a lot more modern and that’s what we need to do because we’re young, quick and fit.
We’ll play high risk, high intensity ... it will probably look a lot more modern and that’s what we need.
- Isaac Muller
“We don’t have those great big blokes that we probably need, we’re looking at using our fitness and I suppose our smarts with our coaching panel to get the boys where they need to be.”
Muller have two-time Albury Morris medallist Tim Scott, former Lavington assistant coach Brendan Roberson, ex-North premiership player and North Melbourne defender Mark Hilton and highly-rated junior mentor Paul Azzi in the box.
He became the league’s youngest stand-alone coach when appointed in late September after turning 22 the previous month.
The ruckman-forward was an assistant to co-coaches Clint Gilson and Chris Schmidt last season.
West Adelaide premiership captain Schmidt was one of the club’s few high-profile players in 2018 and a number have left, including the co-coach, Richmond VFL player Shaun Mannagh and long-time star Dan Leslie.
The Hoppers have signed Albury fringe player Tristan Mann and Riverina duo Jackson Weidemann and Isaac Walton.
“I know there’s probably been a little bit of a pattern forming where we’ve lost a couple but, in all honesty, I reckon we’re in a much better position because when I took on the job, our greatest improvement’s going to be by the players we’ve got (internally),” he said.
However, Muller says he’s recruited a gun.
“We have signed a higher profile guy, but I can’t release it until he’s told his club,” he said.
“He’s played VFL.”
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