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ANDREW Collins says he is leaving Sandhurst with a sense of regret that he wasn't able to help lead Sandhurst to a flag, but at the same time is invigorated by the chance to play a role in trying to get Bridgewater back to the top.
Having contemplated his playing future for 2021, Collins has chosen to return home to Bridgewater for what he anticipates will be the final move of his football career.
A Bridgewater local, Collins returned to the Mean Machine in 2014 post his 36-game AFL career with Richmond and Carlton.
Collins coached the Mean Machine's 2014 and 2015 premierships and also played in the 2016 flag before his move to Sandhurst in 2017.
The cancelled 2020 would have been star midfielder/forward Collins' fourth season with the Dragons, whom he coached to a preliminary final in 2018, but he departs with a BFNL flag having eluded him.
"It does feel like there's unfinished business at Sandhurst and I do walk away feeling a bit dis-satisfied, but there's not always fairytales in sport," Collins said on Wednesday.
"I wasn't able to achieve all I wanted to at Sandhurst, but when you get to the last few years of your career you just want to enjoy them as much as possible and my closest friends are playing at Bridgewater and to be able to, hopefully, have some success with them would be a great way to finish.
I wasn't able to achieve all I wanted to at Sandhurst, but when you get to the last few years of your career you just want to enjoy them as much as possible and my closest friends are playing at Bridgewater and to be able to, hopefully, have some success with them would be a great way to finish
- Andrew Collins
"I doubt I'll be changing clubs again after making this move. Hopefully, we can have a lot of fun and get Bridgewater competing back at the top again and bring through the next generation of 150-game players for the club."
Last time Collins, 31, returned to Bridgewater the Mean Machine was well on the way to establishing a new Loddon Valley record for consecutive flags of seven in a row.
The Mean Machine had already won the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 premierships before Collins took over as coach.
This time he is headed back to Bridgewater with the Mean Machine coming off back-to-back seasons out of the finals, having finished seventh in both 2018 and 2019.
"That's quite attractive... there was always a lot of pressure on us to win the flag every year last time I was there and there was a lot of relief once we were able to do that," Collins said.
"Now we're a club that's back on the hunt and that's exciting.
"We know what the feeling is like when we were successful and to get back chasing that in my early 30s, I've definitely still got the hunger to do that."
Included among Collins' previous three seasons at Bridgewater was a stellar 2015 when he won the Loddon Valley league's Harding Medal and was also the competition's leading goalkicker.
An added bonus for the Mean Machine is that Collins is a one-point player.
"It's fantastic for the community and the club to have Andy coming back," Bridgewater co-coach Jayden Donaldson said.
"I don't think there's too many players in central Victoria more sought-after or highly-rated than Andy. He is the complete package with what he can produce on the field, his senior coaching experience and also his AFL experience.
"I'm looking forward to running out alongside Andy rather than against him because there's doubt he gave us (former club Strathfieldsdaye) a few headaches."
With Zeb Broadbent also returning to Bridgewater after co-coaching Natte Bealiba's Maryborough-Castlemaine District league premiership last year, the Mean Machine will have two Harding Medal winners back in their line-up next year.
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