Dookie’s 2022 senior captain Andy O’Connor will write the next chapter of his footballing journey at the Thunder, signing on to coach the club’s senior side in 2023.
O’Connor, who played all of his junior footy at Dookie, has spent the past six seasons at his home club after stints at Sandhurst in Bendigo Football League and Shepparton in Goulburn Valley League.
The new coach said although he was still getting a feel for the role, it felt like a logical next step in his football career.
“It hasn’t really sunk in too much at the moment,” O’Connor said.
“I’ve been in leadership roles within the team before, but this is the first time coaching.
“It was an easy decision in the end, I played all my junior footy at Dookie before I went away with uni and whatnot.
“I went away when I was 23 and have been back for the last seven or eight years now, my family is really involved with the club and they know everyone involved.”
O’Connor said past experiences at Bendigo and with Shepparton had put him in good stead for a coaching position, as he looks to help usher in a new crop of Dookie youngsters next year.
“I’d previously thought about coaching, but had never really been in the right space with work and stuff outside of footy, but when the club approached me after our presentation day, I knew it was the right opportunity,” he said.
“I’m getting to that stage of my career — I’m turning 30 next year, I’ve been able to play at higher levels and I feel as though I’m at the stage where I’ve learnt enough and played with some really good players and under good coaches.
“I’d really like to feed that on to the younger blokes coming through.”
With an exciting young brigade ready to step up onto the senior stage and with the right recruits in the right places, O’Connor said his side would prove a worthy Kyabram District League finals contender next season.
“I think we’ll have a bit of natural progression next year, the players recruited this season have had a year of playing together in the same group, we’ll get a bit of natural progression anyway,” he said.
“We’re definitely chasing a bit more midfield depth and a few talls.
“I don’t think we’re too far off, this year we were a little bit up and down, there were a few frustrating games where we lost by under a two-goal margin.
“There’s just a few little things we can tidy up within the group and with a little bit of depth, we’ll hopefully be pushing for finals this season coming.”
A team-first attitude was something he would be eager to impart on his group, as it looks to build on this year’s 10th-placed finish.
“I’ll try and lead by example and there will be an emphasis on playing as a team,” he said.
“A champion team is usually going to beat a team of champions, having that mentality across the board and having everyone working for each other — that’s something that we’re going to work on in pre-season to set the tone early.
“I’m just looking forward to getting stuck into pre-season, that’s when I’ll be able to put my best foot forward.”