Henwood Park have turned to a loyal club servant to lead the Hawks into their next chapter.
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Chris Hart has been appointed senior men's coach at Henwood Park, replacing Michael Babic and Matt Menser, who stepped down after a year in the role.
The Hawks again have been late to appoint a coach, with the season only two weeks away but Hart is confident that won't be an issue, having taken the pre-season anyway.
Hart, 28, has been an integral part of Henwood Park's Pascoe Cup defence for years but sat last season out after shoulder surgery.
He used the year to get some coaching experience, looking after the Hawks' reserve grade team.
Now, with Babic and Menser gone, and no other suitable options coming forward, Hart will step up and take the reins of the Pascoe Cup squad.
"I've been coaching all pre-season but until I was appointed, I was hoping for someone to come knocking," Hart explained.
"I'm happy to do it. I've had a small amount of coaching experience and I'm the type of guy that I like to do anything for the club. I've been around the club for a long time."
"Personally, I still like being coached. I still think I've got stuff to learn. I didn't get to play last year under Mick (Babic). I think with good coaches, I've still got a lot to learn so I still like being coached."
While happy still to be coached, Hart also has the confidence that he can step up and do the job required.
"I am excited, yeah. It will be interesting to see how I go, and see how the team responds around me," he said.
"Regardless of how it goes, I'm pretty keen for it. I think I go about it in a pretty good way, I can see the positives in anything."
Hart will return to the field this year and is looking to slot back into his central defensive role. It will be a timely return too, given the departures the Hawks have experienced since last season.
Menser is not playing again and is soon to move, while the top two from last year's best and fairest, Matt Cain (Canberra) and Ash Woehler (Tasmania), plus the experienced Isaac Tancredi (Melbourne) have also departed.
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The biggest blow was still to come when evergreen goalkeeper Nathan Trinder informed the club of his intention to take a step back this year.
"They're mostly guys who have been in the team a fair while," Hart said.
While they have lost plenty of experience, Henwood Park were sitting in third position before COVID brought the season to an early end.
Hart is confident they can still be thereabouts.
"Our goal is going to be to make the finals," he said.
"New team, learn possibly a new game under me and stick it to the teams that have been up there for a few years."
Henwood Park have welcomed defender Mitch Herts on board, via the defence force.
The club is still on the hunt for players, hoping to welcome up to 10 more players across the senior grades.
"Even in first grade, there's some possible holes for the right player," Hart said.
"I'm at the point where I can field a team in every grade, and I've got a full fourth grade team, but I can go with a bench in the other grades."
Either way, Hart is confident Henwood Park will again prove more than competitive in this year's Pascoe Cup competition, which will now get underway on April 10.
"I think if we can manage to find a goal keeper, that's what I'm struggling with at the moment, we've got enough goals in us, and a good enough core that we can definitely hang around," he said.
"It's just going to be whether we can keep our net clean, that's going to be a big target for us. I still think there's definitely competition in us, no doubt about it."
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