Junee's succession plan rolls into motion with Daniel Foley installed as coach

Foley returned to the club this year after the Diesels spent two years without a first grade side.

Foley's departure for Southcity in 2021 was one of the biggest blows leading to their withdrawal from the first grade competition.

He then played with Kangaroos the following season before returning to his hometown club as an assistant coach.

It was part of a three-year succession plan with Damion Fraser, who was at the helm last season.

Now Foley is looking forward to putting his own spin on the things.

"It's something different to what I'm used to but I'm really looking forward to it," Foley said.

"It's something I've always wanted to do later in my career and even now I can't really do it on my own as with my work I'm a bit all over the shop.

"It took a bit of time to find the right person to help me do it but once we got that sorted we're all good to go."

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President David Holt is thrilled to have him on board as head coach for next season.

"For Daniel to take that next step as a good local Diesel is great," Holt said.

"He just stepped up to the plate, put his hand up for the top job."

Damian Willis has also come in as Foley's assistant.

Foley is looking to help Junee in their rebirth.

He was part of their run to the 2015 grand final before being part of a number of tough seasons leading to their withdrawal from first grade.

He's pleased to be back helping the club get back on its feet.

"It never really sat all that well with me leaving in the first place but I do feel a lot better now coming back in to coach," Foley said.

"I just want to see the club succeed."

Junee finished last on the Group Nine ladder with just two wins to their credit.

They came in successive rounds, including a win over minor premiers Temora.

Despite their ladder position, Foley believes there is plenty to build on in 2024.

"I was really happy with it even though we only got the two wins, we weren't far away for a lot of the games," he said.

"There were probably only one or two games that we were never in.

"A lot of the guys in our side hadn't played any first grade footy before and they were able to step up to the mark when they were needed.

"I thought they all went really well."

Foley isn't expecting a great deal of turnover from the squad for next season.

The club has also been working on bringing in some more new faces.

The 30-year-old is unsure whether he will play in his usual fullback position or move into five-eighth.

Regardless he's looking for a new style of attack.

"I want a little bit of a different style of play for us," Foley said.

"A lot of our wins come from scraping away and fighting to get a win and I think we need to be a little more methodical with what we are doing.

"We need to play high-completion footy to be any chance of beating these other sides so if we can do that this year I think we will go a long way."

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