William Judd admits he's got "massive shoes to fill" as he takes the reins at the Lions from two-time premiership winner, Ray Burgess.
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Burgess spent five years as Wollongong's head coach, with his legacy including senior title wins in 2017 and 2019. The Lions also finished runner-up in 2018.
Last week, the club announced Burgess was stepping away from the role, with his assistant Judd moving into the vacant Men's Premier Division head coaching role ahead of the 2022 AFL South Coast season.
"I'm absolutely stoked. I was just planning on being the reserve grade coach this year, but then the opportunity was there and I was happy to take it," Judd said.
"It's massive shoes to fill, that's for sure. He's a dual premiership winner with the club so success has been there when he's been there. I feel a little bit of pressure to follow on from him, but I will give it my best crack possible."
Judd steps into the role following a tough 2021 campaign for the Lions. The side were battling to make the finals before the season was cut short early due to COVID.
"We've gone through a couple of years of transitioning from the older, experienced players into a younger team, so the plan is to keep building on that. I don't want to change too much because I think we're heading in the right direction," Judd said.
"The club has been like a family to me since I moved up from Albury. They took me in as a 17-year-old coming out of country NSW, and I haven't looked back. They've given me every opportunity to play for the club. I've played premier division football, I've played reserve grade, and I've helped do some coaching.
"They've given me so much opportunity since I moved here and I just want to keep giving back to them."
Burgess has now moved back to Victoria for family reasons, but is keen to do some coaching in his local area in 2022.
The man whose been dubbed a "super coach" says he looks back on his time with the Lions fondly, but he was optimistic about the club's future under Judd's guidance.
"We had over 100 blokes play seniors during my time there. A large number of players came directly out of the Lions' junior program and there were 33 premiership players over two seasons," Burgess said.
"'Juddy' was my senior assistant coach last year and will be taking the reins moving forward. He is an excellent young man with a really good footy brain. He's passionate about footy and people, and has a strong focus on junior development and already has the respect of the playing group.
"He will do an excellent job coaching the club."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
