After consecutive grand final losses in the last two years, the region’s women’s Australian rules team is desperate for success. 

Ward has taken over from Dan Lloyd, who stepped down after last year’s 30-point loss to Molonglo, and the first-year coach is open about expectations at the Lions.

“The club’s been established for 14 years and we’ve never won a premiership so that’s the big goal this year – to try and take the cup,” Ward said.

The former North Wagga player, who also had AFL Sydney experience with UNSW-Eastern Suburbs, jumped at the chance to get involved with the Lions. 

“I’ve played footy pretty much most of my life and the last couple of years I’ve taken a step back,” he said. 

“The opportunity was there and I wanted to get back into the game as a coach, not as a player.”

A part-time personal trainer, Ward said he hopes to draw on his experience of motivating people to get the best out of themselves.

His first impressions of the Lions have been positive and the buzz created by the fledgling AFL Women’s League makes it an exciting time to be involved. 

Impressed by the skills and fitness of the players at the top level himself, Ward said the impact of an elite women’s competition has been noticeable already.

“The enthusiasm and commitment’s been good and we’ve seen an increase in numbers just due to the previous weekend’s (AFL Women’s League) games,” he said.

“There are girls from netball and basketball backgrounds coming along to training purely from seeing the games. We’ve got a good range of numbers and ages, from 14 through to 30s, some regulars who have been there for years and some new ones.”

Ward was a North Wagga junior who learnt much of his footy under Rob Margosis. His focus at the Lions will be on the basics, as well as fitness.

“We’ve just been training, developing skills and getting them fit,” Ward said.

“It’s about getting enjoyment out of it, working on fitness and building a good skill base to be competitive.

“We really want to chase that premiership.”