Lavington premiership captain-coach Steve Wright to coach Howlong for next two seasons

But the newly-appointed Howlong mentor took a liking to the Spiders during a clash against his lifelong club Lavington last summer.

"I went to a game last year where Howlong played against Lavington in second grade in the finals and I was blown away by how many people were there supporting them," Wright said.

"It made me think the club was obviously in a good position and it was probably the only reason I went and had a meeting with them."

The two-time Lavington premiership captain-coach and NSW Country representative has been at the Panthers since he started playing more than three decades ago.

He only met with Howlong this week and was appointed on the spot for two years as a non-playing coach.

Wright said he considered putting his hand up for the top job at Lavington after Daryl Tuffey stepped down at the end of the season.

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"I hadn't spoken to the club (Lavington) about it and they appointed Dylan (Weeding), who I think is a great choice for them," Wright said.

"That was the end of it and I hadn't really thought about coaching again, but the Howlong guys got in touch.

"I haven't had any official involvement at Lavington for the last couple of years and Howlong reached out to see if I was interested and thought it can't hurt to have a meeting with them.

"I was really impressed with their vision and where the club is headed."

Howlong will remain in CAW Provincial second grade in 2021-22, but Wright said the goal is to have an A-grade side in the top competition in the next two years.

"Another thing that attracted me to the role was the chance to build something," Wright said.

"We'll be looking to bring a few more players in because to get to that level we're probably going to need a little bit more talent.

"They've got a lot of good people involved out there and the players seem fairly excited about me coming on board, so hopefully I can do some good things out there."

Howlong finished third on the Provincial second grade ladder last summer.

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