After a winter without football, Shane Lenon is raring to go for a fifth year as coach at Marrar.
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The architect of the Bombers' back-to-back premierships of 2017 and 2018 has confirmed he'll be in the hot seat again in 2021, with freshly-minted plans to keep the message fresh.
Lenon was every chance of wrapping up at Langtry Oval this year but after the Farrer League was abandoned, and the Bombers opted against the AFL Riverina Championship, he said it would've been a hollow finish.
"I'm excited. I can't wait. With this year, not having a season, it wouldn't have been a good way to finish up. So I'm rapt to be offered the job again and can't wait to get into it," Lenon said.
"I'm always keen. I'm excited by the fact that the players were all keen to stick around. When they all showed that, it certainly made my decision a whole lot easier."
The Bombers retain most of their players from 2019 including those who went elsewhere for a game this year.
Zach Walgers, Rhys Mooney and Jack Reynolds played at Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes but will be back in a big way, taking on extra responsibility, along with Toby Lawler.
"We're going to do things a little bit different. We've got a couple of younger blokes who'll be in the leadership group and give the players a bit more ownership and input into training and things," Lenon said, introducing a plan that was successful at Collingullie six years ago.
"You've got to come up with different ideas and things to keep the playing group excited and enthusiastic... it worked a treat when I did at Collingullie, we ended up winning the flag in 2014, and it was really good for those young blokes and the side. And it was good for me as a coach as well.
"So I've tried it before and it worked and I think the young blokes I've talked to at Marrar will fit the bill and they're really excited to be able to do it."
Lenon said the chance to work with emerging young players, including Sam Emery, Blake Walker, Wilbur Moloney and Harry Reynolds, as well as established senior footballers still on the up, is the big appeal.
"A lot of our young blokes had a lot of experience in first grade two years ago and I'd expect they'll be able to take a step up and play good footy. That's where our improvement will come from, within our group," he said.
"Even guys like Jack, Zach, Rhys and Toby, they've played quite a bit of first grade and performed really well but their best footy is still in front of them."
The Bombers have signed Josh Connellan from Osborne, where had had some first grade experience in 2018 and 2019, and aim to replace assistant coach Cal Gardner who has moved to Queensland.
But the priority has been to make sure their Bombers stayed at, or returned to, the hangar.
"We're really happy with our retention and we were lucky that the players that went to other clubs, we got a commitment out of them that they'd come back," Lenon said.
"But we're thankful to Mangoplah for giving so many of our players an opportunity to play footy."
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