New East Sunbury football coach James Strauss made an instant impact at the Thunder.
The former Melbourne player joined the Thunder for the last eight weeks of the season and stepped up along with Wade Lees to take on some of the coaching late in the season.
When given the opportunity to step up into the coaching role permanently for next year’s Essendon District Football League season, Strauss jumped at the chance.
“It is exciting,” he said. “I’m up for the challenge and put in a few things like implementing a game style and structures that they haven’t had the last couple of years.
“It’s pretty exciting and I’m looking forward to the opportunity and challenges that come with it.”
Strauss, who played 24 games for Melbourne, said he never had aspirations to step into a head coaching role but when the opportunity came up it was something he was keen to do.
“I’ve done a bit of coaching, I was an assistant coach at St Kevins Old Boys,” he said.
“The knowledge and level of footy I’ve played means I’ve always helped out with whatever team I’ve been with.
“This opportunity came up and I was lucky enough to get offered this opportunity.”
Strauss said he had enjoyed his first few months at the club and felt it and he were heading in the same direction with where they wanted to take the club.
He played eight games and kicked nine goals and was named in the best five times in the back part of the season.
Strauss had stepped up to help with the coaching when co-coaches Dave Morrice and Justin Belleville both departed during the season.
“For five or six weeks I helped out with the coaching alongside Wade Lees and we implemented a game plan,” he said.
“We were able to bring in our structure and see some improvement in the group and know they were headed in the right direction.
“I wasn’t there for the first half of the year, but from a scoreboard perspective the team got better.
“They were getting beaten by 10-15 goals and even more and we’ve been able to reduce that.
“The last couple of weeks the side was quite competitive and losing by three to four goals.”
Strauss said their first focus as a coaching group was to ensure they sign every single senior player for next season.
He said they wanted to continue making sure that local home grown talent stayed at the club and those who had left, wanted to return.
“The last couple of games, speaking to the group we said the talent is already in the room,” he said.
“It’s about executing the game plan, direction and structures and getting their head around that.
“In another five or six months, everyone will be on the same page.
“We want to retain all the players on the list and add as many as we can.”
