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“Lachy was captain of Lexton the last five years and is just a really reliable defender and a more senior player,” he said.<\/p>\n
“He’s looking to challenge himself; he’s been wanting to have a crack at BFNL for a few years.<\/p>\n
“He’s been very loyal to Lexton, but now things have just aligned perfectly and he is coming into town to give it a go.”<\/p>\n
The Burra will be further boosted by the return of Liam Mason following a year off to focus on his Premier Cricket commitments.<\/p>\n
“He had a year of senior footy before he left, so it will be nice to see him back,” Lockyer said.<\/p>\n
On the opposite side of the ledger, the Burra have managed to limit the player losses to a few, with Jed Hill making his way to Learmonth while wingman Mitchell Johnson will play with Hampden league club North Warrnambool following a work transfer.<\/p>\n
Lockyer said Johnson was continuing to train at the club in preparation for the move.<\/p>\n
“We may lose one or two more. It’s a bit like the recruiting, it’s a work in progress over the next little while,” he said.<\/p>\n
“But I’m comfortable where we’re are at.”<\/p>\n
Two months on from the end of the Burra’s season, Lockyer has had ample time for reflection on their 2025 season efforts.<\/p>\n
He remains proud of the gains made in coming within one win of a finals appearance.<\/p>\n
The Burra were only eliminated from contention in round 18 following a 20-point loss to Bacchus Marsh.<\/p>\n
“We made some really good progress; 2024 was a bit of a shift for us and a fair rebuild, but we took real steps forward in the back half of 2024 and continued that into 2025,” he said.<\/p>\n
“There’s some really good signs there and there were some good performances against top six teams.<\/p>\n
“But we are under no illusions that we have some ground to make up and there’s some hard work to be done.<\/p>\n
“There’s a lot of improvement to come from our existing list.<\/p>\n
“This time of year, everyone just talks about recruits and who’s in and who’s departing, but the improvement comes from within and that group is sticking together.<\/p>\n
“I’m excited to see the group kick on.”<\/p>\n
The Burra returned to pre-season last week, with upwards of 50 seniors and reserves players on the track or in attendance in the case of those nursing injuries.<\/p>\n
“We didn’t have the (under) 18s with us, but there will be times when we will link up with them over the summer,” Lockyer said.<\/p>\n
“They actually came back a week earlier; they’re super keen. They train on alternative nights.<\/p>\n
“I was very impressed with the shape the boys came back in.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEBASTOPOL playing coach Tony Lockyer says sticking to the process will be a key in the Burra’s resurgence up the BFNL ladder next season. And a big part of that plan will be a patient and measured approach to recruiting. The Burra have unveiled a small number of new signings to date for 2026, with […]<\/p>\n