German appointed Collingullie-Glenfield Park netball coach

The club has made a number of grand finals in recent years with an experienced team under previous mentors Brigetta Hart and Jemima Norbury.

German, from Victorian country town Shepparton, has had previous experience as a council sports development officer, as well as assistant coaching and committee roles at Melbourne clubs.

The defender arrived at the Demons last season and volunteered to take on the role after Hart's departure.

"I've done a bit of coaching over the years at various levels, had a couple of committee roles and I was really looking to joining a country football-netball club. I'm really happy to give a bit back to the club," she said.

"I think it will be a good challenge. We've got a good little team together even though we lost a couple of key players from last year. We'll be rewarding a couple of juniors who have come up through our pathway and see what they've got this year.

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"We've got a really good culture and vibe happening, especially with the season finishing so suddenly last year it's been a long wait to get back into it."

Paige Guthrie, Paige Colenso and Hannah Finemore have also left the club, but German is confident under-17 players Katie Fawns and Tamsyn Goolagong can make the step up.

Both can play at both ends of the court, and Fawns is the younger sister of NSW Swifts training partner Sophie.

"They're really eager to learn and embracing the experience, and a couple of girls are guiding them along," German said.

"They've got a lot to learn and we're working hard to build our connections. But we've had a couple of pre season games which have gone well, and given us some things to work on.

"The team we had was there for a while, so it's going to time to figure it out and we're not expecting miracles. We're having a development year but I still feel we'll be quite competitive."

The Demons were set to play finals last year before COVID forced the season to be cancelled.

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