The Brisbane Lions have finalised their AFLW coaching staff for 2022 with the appointment of Daniel Webster and Damien Richards.
Neither coach is unfamiliar to the maroon, blue, and gold, with Webster and Richards both having coached in the Brisbane Lions Hyundai Academy.
Midfield coach Webster steps into the Lions’ engine room fresh from his 2021 VFL campaign with the Aspley Football Club where he was Head Coach.
He will bring over a decade of NEAFL and State League coaching experience to the defending Premiers coaching lineup.
“Daniel is great addition to our team,” AFLW Head Coach, Craig Starcevich said.
“He’ll fit in beautifully when the players get an appreciation for his passion for coaching.
“He’s an excellent communicator, builds relationships quickly and easily and is very much across the key technical aspects involved with elite level coaching.”
Richards joins the AFLW program with wealth of experience coaching women’s football, including back-to-back QAFLW flags with Coorparoo.
His appointment as Development Coach sees the new recruit reunite with Starcevich who he worked alongside as an Assistant Coach on the Queensland Women’s State team in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
“Damo has always had a strong interest in the female talent program,” Starcevich said.
“I enjoyed working with him when he assisted in with the Queensland Women’s Academy in preparation for the AFLW and I’m looking forward to working with him again.
“He’s already familiar with many of our playing group through coaching them either in our Academy or at Club level with Coorparoo or UQ and I have no doubt he’ll slot right into the team.”
The pair are the final pieces of the puzzle in the Lions AFLW coaching lineup.
Forwards coach Phil Lovett will return for another season, while Simon Black and Clark Keating will continue with the defending Premiers as specialist craft coaches on a part-time basis.
Keating was previously Midfield Coach, but has taken a step back to focus on his business and family.
Retired Premiership Captain Emma Zielke has also joined the 2022 coaching lineup, taking on an assistant coaching role for her former squad.
The appointment makes Zielke the first woman to be an Assistant Coach at the Brisbane Lions.
