Season 2016 was one to forget for the Clunes faithful.
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Dale Cowell’s five-year deal as senior coach lasted just a handful of matches before he exited and a long-running dispute between he and the club only ended after the matter reached the lawyers.
Upon Cowell’s departure, Ryan Hudson-Morgan led the way in an interim capacity, but was only able to guide the team to two victories and 16th position on the ladder.
Now it’s Nemani Valucava’s turn to take charge.
A former Clunes junior footballer, Valucava won the Magpies’ senior coaching job and arrived at the club after a stint with the North Ballarat Rebels in the TAC Cup.
The non-playing leader has a long coaching history around Australia and has been busy preparing for the 2017 campaign.
“It’s about giving back to grass roots. Clunes is where I started 25 years ago. I lived in the town and I grew up in the town,” Valucava said.
“When I sat down with the committee, some of the committee members who haven’t seen me for 25 years still knew me. People still knew me in the town.
“They say there’s a bit of a feel around the town and everyone is really positive and there’s a bit of hype. I’m just focused on getting the basics right, developing the youth and hopefully the systems that will be implemented will make us a little bit more competitive.”
Valucava said there isn’t any major recruits for the senior group this season.
”The biggest focus that we’ve got at the club is about development,” he said.
“I just want to focus on the juniors and really concentrate on their development.
“There is some good juniors and if we can keep them and develop them, they should be really good for the club.”
Valucava said he isn’t overly concerned with the win-loss tally this year.
“My general focus is to be competitive in all facets of the game and to develop and provide feedback for the younger members of the club,” he said.
These youngsters include the likes of Joel Nevill and Lachlan Hull, who have already made the step up to senior football.
The retention of big man Mark Paramonov – last season’s best and fairest winner – is also great news for the club.