Lions finalise coaching staff
The Brisbane Lions have finalised their coaching structure for Season 2010 following the full-time appointments of Beau McDonald and Manny Lynch.
Former dual premiership ruckman Beau McDonald will continue with the Club in 2010 as a full-time Position Coach. McDonald played 91 games - including the 2001 and 2002 Grand Final triumphs - in ten seasons with the Lions before chronic injuries forced his retirement at the beginning of the 2008 season.
"I really enjoyed my part-time Ruck Coach role with the Club in 2009 so I'm looking forward to working more closely with the players and spending more time on their development," McDonald said.
"I've already been able to develop some good connections with the players and I played a lot of football at this Club alongside Michael Voss and (new Player Development Manager) Craig McRae."
"It's certainly an exciting group to be part of in a full-time capacity now," he said.
Manny Lynch joins the Club as its Leadership & Development Coach after previous coaching stints with LaTrobe in the Northern Tasmanian Football League (NTFL), the Tassie Devils VFL team and the Tassie Mariners' U18 TAC Cup side.
Lynch - the brother of former Club Co-Captain and triple premiership forward Alastair Lynch - will take on a development role and will be responsible for implementing the Lions' leadership programs.
"I'm really excited about this innovative opportunity," Lynch said. "I have been coaching part-time for around 20 years and now I'm doing it as my full-time job which is great."
"I did my level three coaching course with Michael Voss and Jade Rawlings so there is already a pretty good relationship there."
"After listening to Michael Voss describe where he wants the team to go, I believe we have a similar vision. It was quite inspiring to actually hear him talk about how he wants to develop the group," he said.