INGLEWOOD premiership player and life member Jon Starr has put his hand up to take on one of the region’s toughest coaching gigs.
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Starr will coach the Blues in the Loddon Valley Football-Netball League next season, taking over from Isaac Douthie.
And Starr is under no illusions about the task at hand of trying to lift the Blues off the canvas.
The Blues haven’t played finals since 2003 and have finished on the bottom of the ladder the past four years, during which they’ve won just three games.
“Our aim for a start is to win a game and to be very competitive,” Starr said on Saturday.
“The way the club has gone the past 10 years, you can’t just come in and say you’re going to get them into the finals... to be competitive is our number one aim.
“You’ve got to be realistic about it and hopefully, we can get a few of the locals back to the club.”
Starr played in Inglewood’s last senior premiership in 1986 when the Blues defeated Bridgewater by 25 points.
He won the Blues’ best and fairest in 1987 - the year Inglewood last played in a grand final when it was beaten by YCW by 28 points and denied back-to-back flags.
This is Starr’s first senior coaching role at the Blues, but he has previously had three stints as coach of the under-17s - 1993-95, 2005-06 and 2010-12.
“I know it’s a big task, but hopefully, we can pick up four or five players and straighten up a bit of our structure,” Starr said.
“We need some forwards because they get enough of the ball in the forward line, but can’t kick goals.
“And a ruckman would be good, but they are hard to come by.
“I am passionate about the club and have been thinking about the senior coaching for a while, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck into it.”
Since the start of 2011, Inglewood has now had six senior coaches.