Allansford's Ben Price says he's looking forward to coaching his team again on Saturday after serving a suspension which was "really tough for a person who lives and breathes footy".
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Price and Nirranda's assistant playing coach Isaac Templeton were banned from attending four matches each after a half-time incident when the sides met on June 1.
The Cats mentor said it had been a difficult two months.
"It's been really tough actually," he said ahead of his return game against Dennington.
Price, a second-year coach, said he had missed a lot of football because his team also had two byes during his suspension.
The Cats mentor said his ethos on football coaching centred around development and inclusion.
He said it had been difficult to be excluded from the game.
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But he said he had given his assistant coaches the opportunity to prosper during his suspension.
Price said the plan at the start of the year was to give assistants Robbie Hare and Nick Johnstone the chance to be senior coach for one-week each.
Both are playing assistants.
Price said his suspension coincided with the time they were scheduled to take the coaching reigns.
He said they ended up getting two weeks each as senior coach, instead of one.
The Cats leader said he gave them almost full control of the team.
He said he had been letting his assistants lead Tuesday night training.
"I would formally hand the reigns over," he said.
"I'd chat to the group and then hands the reigns over."
Price said he had still participated in team selection on Thursday nights.
The coach said he was excited to get back by the football ground on Saturday.
"I'm extremely excited," he said.
"Even tonight (Thursday) in the social rooms, there was a really good feeling about it."
Sixth-placed Allansford was knocked out of the finals race by Old Collegians last Saturday.
Price, who is signed for 2020, is looking forward to getting stuck into next season.
But first he'll be supporting his club's fifth-ranked reserves side as it pushes for a premiership.
"I think they can go pretty deep," he said.
Price said he'll get stuck into some recruiting during the off-season.
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