Times are changing at Wodonga Saints as the club seeks to move into a new era.
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They're set to move grounds from 2022 and will make juniors a priority in a bid to attract more families.
Saints, who are going through a strategic planning process, want to be more competitive on the field but also compassionate off it with mental health at the heart of their ethos.
"Everyone wants to win premierships but for now, we just want to be consistently competitive and winning games throughout the season in all grades," president Adrian Barry said.
"We're at the building stage, getting consistency across our list and we want to make sure we look after our people first and foremost.
"We're very big on mental health at our club and supporting our people.
"We obviously need some experienced coaches but we'd like people to be able to engage with families, talk to them on their level and if the kids are having issues, whether it be at school, football or in their personal lives, we'd like to be able to have those conversations and be a place where they feel comfortable and happy to keep coming back."
Zack Pleming has re-signed as senior coach but there will be some new faces around him.
"We let him down a little bit from a club point of view," Barry admitted.
"He didn't have the support off the ground on game days so that's why we're advertising for a non-playing co-coach or assistant to run the off-field stuff.
"Playing on the main Martin Park ground hasn't worked that well for us so we're looking to play on the number two oval from next year onwards. Having a home base will help us attract players.
"We've been, for many years, the club without a home. We've been leasing off other clubs and Wodonga City Council but this will be a step in the right direction."
ALSO IN SPORT
Saints failed to win a game in the Tallangatta league this season although Barry believes they're closing the gap.
"Rather than trying to buy a playing group, we've decided to recruit young guys and bring them through our system, to bring some loyalty to the club," he said.
"Our number one priority for next year is to get our juniors up and running. Families get involved because of juniors and we want to create a family environment that people want to be around.
"Perceptions outside are taking a little while to change, however we know where we're headed internally and we're pretty clear on where we want to be in the next three to four years.
"We'll probably change the make-up of our committee a little bit and there will be some specific roles in football management, junior football co-ordinators and things like that to improve the way we do things across the board."
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