James Murphy
THERE will be some added sentiment for North Gambier’s Justin McConnell when he takes to the park against South Gambier this round in his 150th game for the Tigers.
His time in yellow and black has aligned with a successful period for the club.
He joined North in 2010 and coached the Tigers to their three-peat of premierships from 2012-2014.
The first of those titles broke a 23-year drought and holds a special place in McConnell’s playing and coaching career.
He departed North after the 2015 season, before returning as coach in 2019 where he led the side to another premiership.
“I have been fortunate and lucky enough to be at a really good club with a hungry group and have had some success,” McConnell said.
He also topped the league goal kicking in 2019 with 51 for the year.
McConnell remained in the top job for the following two seasons before stepping down at the end of 2021.
Outside of North, McConnell reflects highly on his time competing at state level.
He played and coached for the Northern Ballarat Roosters in the VFL, while also played 73 games for Glenelg in the SANFL.
“I have been pretty fortunate in my footy career,” McConnell said.
“I have played at VFL and SANFL level and made team of the years in both of those competitions.
“That probably is my proudest achievement.”
However, he could not look past the premiership success when reflecting on his career.
“Premierships are the ultimate,” he said.
“Especially in 2012, to break that drought was pretty special.”
McConnell has embraced the freedom of focussing solely on playing this season and under coach Ben Hardy has found himself out of the forward line for a change.
He has played a defensive midfield role in recent weeks and comes of a best-on-ground performance in that position.
“It has been quite refreshing actually,” he said.
“Ben has come in with a new plan and some new ideas.
“I have been re-energised to some extent by his enthusiasm and new philosophy.”
McConnell looks forward to tomorrow’s game and expects it to be a good spectacle against a traditional rival.
