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READ MORE - Angus Monfries sticks by battling Magpies
BE COMPETITIVE for longer - that's the mantra new Castlemaine coach Angus Monfries will be looking to instill into his players in 2020.
Castlemaine this week announced Monfries would be taking over as senior coach of the Magpies, who are coming off a winless 2019 where their average losing margin was 105 points.
"For us next year is going to be about trying to be as competitive as we can be," Monfries said on Thursday.
"For periods during games this year we were able to win quarters here and there and show that we could be competitive, but we weren't able to do that for nearly long enough.
"We might have been competitive for a quarter and then got absolutely blown out for the next three, so next year is going to be a matter of being a lot more consistent and competitive for longer."
Despite Castlemaine's struggles on-field this year, Monfries says he enjoyed his first season with the Magpies, in which he was the side's leading goalkicker with 29 and finished runner-up in the best and fairest to midfielder Matt Filo.
"The vibe around the club and the people involved were really good... I enjoyed it and that's why I'm coming back and trying to build on it for next year," said Monfries, who played 211 AFL games for Essendon and Port Adelaide between 2005 and 2017.
"It's still early days, but part of our recruiting strategy will be to try to get some local players back and increase our numbers on the track.
"If we're able to train with more people each week and lift our standards then that's going to translate to being more competitive."
While this is Monfries' first senior coaching position, he spent some time as a development coach at the Western Bulldogs while playing with Footscray's VFL team in 2018.
Meanwhile, having experienced the BFNL for the first time this year, Monfries said he wasn't surprised by Strathfieldsaye winning the premiership.
Monfries and the Magpies twice copped the full brunt of the Storm, who beat Castlemaine by 222 and 217 points in their two meetings.
"I thought it was a really good standard of competition," Monfries said.
"When we came up against the premiers Strath they gave us two hidings, so I wasn't surprised that they went on to win it.
"But the top five sides in the Bendigo league (Strathfieldsaye, Eaglehawk, Gisborne, Golden Square and Sandhurst) were all very good."
At this stage Monfries joins Nathan Thompson (Kyneton) as a new coach in the BFNL for next year.
Premiers Strathfieldsaye, Kangaroo Flat and Maryborough are also set to have new coaches for 2020.
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