Incoming Castlemaine player-coach Michael Hartley has entered Camp Reserve with a fresh attitude and positive mindset.
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While the Magpies haven't made the finals since 2005, Hartley isn't letting the past weigh down his lofty ambitions.
An expected glut of recruits over the next few months and growth from within has the first-time senior coach confident his new club can make their mark on the BFNL next season.
"We'll bring in a few players and have some plans in place to improve around that, so I'm absolutely happy to say we're aiming to make finals next year," Hartley said.
"I know we haven't won a lot of games for a while now, but in 2024, I think that will change because we'll be striving for much more."
Hartley has signed a two-year contract with the Magpies and met the group for the first time as senior coach on Monday night.
Nearly 40 players ranging from juniors to seniors attended the 'meet the coaches night', leaving Hartley satisfied his new charges are keen for the challenge he'll present them with.
"There was a lot of under-18s there, so it was really good and a much better turnout than I expected," he said.
"The weather was nice, so we went out for a bit of a kick, then came back in for a feed and a chat.
"I gave them a presentation on what I was thinking, and there were a few blank stares, so it's all foreign to them, but we're going to drip-feed it, and if they want to be a part of it, they'll jump on board."
The Magpies' first of a dozen pre-Christmas training sessions will be held on November 13.
Hartley said while he wants to build a culture based on positivity, he'll be riding the Magpies playing group hard this pre-season.
"Me and the other staff have made a plan for pre-season and what we're striving towards," he said.
"Off-field, I'm a pretty jovial guy who likes a laugh, and I want to build an environment where people enjoy training, but we're coming from a fair way back, and I want us to bring heat and intensity.
"We've got to get better in a short space of time, so when we're out there this pre-season, we'll be going at full speed.
This will be Hartley's initiation into senior coaching, with his only previous experience in the ranks coming with Collingwood's VFL and AFLW programs in 2022 as a development coach.
He moved to Bendigo at the beginning of 2023 to become the competition manager for the upstart AFL Central Victoria under-18 league.
Although his experience of being the leading man is minimal, his eight years in the AFL system, which included 44 games with Essendon and five at Hawthorn, has him well-placed to translate the lessons he received from some of the sport's most prominent coaches to the young group at Camp Reserve.
"I've been taught by some pretty good coaches, including Nathan Buckley, Alastair Clarkson and John Worsfold, so I've seen how the best go about it," he said.
"I always felt like being a bit older than everyone else in the VFL, that I was an on-field coach and from the backline, you see everything and communicate, which is what I hope to bring here being a playing coach."
Since leaving the VFL in 2021, Hartley has been plying his trade for Seymour in the GVFL, where he played as a swingman.
With a need for both a tall forward and defender, Hartley expects himself to play a similar role for the Magpies, saying it will be opponent-dependent.
The Magpies finished ninth in 2023 with a 2-15 record.
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