Great Western will have a new man, but a familiar face, leading the club in 2022 with a new senior coach to take the reigns.
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The club has confirmed Matt Delzotto will be the senior coach of the Lions for the 2022 Mininera season after premiership coach Will Bell announced he was finishing his time in the role earlier in 2021.
Delzotto has been around the club for a long time and said he was excited to get started in the job.
"Great Western is in my family and is in my blood," he said.
"My grandfather and father are both life members at the club and I saw it as an opportunity that was too good to turn down and pass up and I wanted to really continue on what Will had started.
"It is a bit of a family tradition and with grandpa and dad being life members, it is just an innate love of the club.
"I am extremely fortunate the club has backed me in and the more I can do to help this club to succeed, I am all for it.
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"At the moment that is the senior coaching job, which is as important as any within the club and it is something I can't wait to get into and help the club continue to grow."
Delzotto's playing days ended after a series of serious injuries. This caused him to take up some of the off-field roles, which have ultimately led to the senior coach's job.
In 2018 he took on the football managers position and had a major impact on recruiting for the 2019 premiership team.
He coached the Reserves to runner's up in 2019 and took on the assistant coaches position in 2021, which saw him work closely with Bell.
Delzotto has been a part of the recent highs and lows at the Great Western FNC and said he wants to continue to build on the club's momentum.
"We want to continue the sustained success we have been searching for and that is a huge part of it for me, to carry on that legacy with an aim to develop a strong culture of sustained success," he said.
"It is a really strong family club that has a really strong culture that lends itself to people not just wanting to be part of it for a year or two, but for periods of time.
"And that is as valuable as anything when you are trying to create a strong country community club and thrive in the current environment."
On the field, Delzotto said the club will be working hard to develop their existing talent with an eye on 2022.
"I have always had my own ideas about footy and the way I'd like to have a group play," he said.
"Recruitment and retention are key focuses for this time of year.
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"We have some really good young kids coming through with Logan Cooper, Ajay Shalders and the Thomas brothers, Riley and Jackson.
"It really excites me to be able to work closely with those guys as well as adding to some knowledge for our group.
"Going into a preseason and looking ahead to next season, there will be a strong focus on our growth from within.
"We will put a lot of focus into our younger guys and making sure we are ready for senior football come round one."
The club also confirmed Nick McCartney will be returning as the Reserves coach for 2022.
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