By Tara Murray
The timing is right for Tom Waters to return home to Lancefield Football Club.
Having made his name for himself at the Tigers before playing at Gisborne and Macedon, Waters will take on the senior coaching role at Lancefield next season.
Waters said the plan was always to come back home to Lancefield, it was about getting the timing right.
He said he told Macedon when he signed on for 2019 that it would likely be his last year at the club.
“It’s good and I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
“It’s a long time coming and it’s finally done now. I was always going to come back.
“When I left Gisborne I hated footy and was going to walk away from football.
“I ended up at Macedon and fell in love again. I was there for a couple of years, I didn’t want to win a premiership and walk straight away.”
With the Tigers getting things right off field at the club, Waters said it was an exciting time to come back to the club.
He said coaching was something that he had always wanted to do, having been an assistant coach at Macedon under both Jeff Andrews and Ben Tankard.
“My body is slowing down now and my playing is dropping off a bit,” he said.
“I didn’t feel ready to go out on my own a couple of years ago, I wanted to learn more.
“When Jeff [Andrews] stood down [at Macedon] he asked me straight up, did I want to coach.
“I wanted to stay as an assistant coach and part of the deal with the new coach, I had to be an assistant coach.
“I’m better positioned than I was a couple of years ago.”
Waters said the reaction to his appointment had been positive one and he was hopeful that they could recruit a few players to help strengthen the squad.
He said some of the existing playing group was already keen to get pre-season training underway.
“A lot of the boys are super keen, they’ve been here during the hard times and they now want to get some success.
“I’ve been talking to a few players who have left the club in the last couple of years. No one has signed yet, but so far it’s all positive.”
One area Waters is looking at focusing in on, is bringing the through the juniors at the club.
The Tigers had under-19s this season for the first time in a number of years.
“Even though many were doubling up, they’re better in the long run,” he said of the under-19s.
“I’ll do a lot more work with the juniors and seniors together.
“We want to make sure they keep coming through.”
Waters, who won two league best and fairest awards while playing with the Tigers, said he would continue to play for the next couple of years, before focusing on coaching.
“I might play a bit more forward or back more and watch the play a bit more.”
