Portland coach Lochie Huppatz shaping 2024 playing list

Lochie Huppatz had settled at Broadbeach on the Queensland coast when the opportunity to kick-start a new chapter in his football career arose.

He decided to jump in, signed on as Portland coach and has recently returned to Victoria, determined to shape the Tigers' fortunes.

Huppatz - who at 25 will be the youngest senior coach in the Hampden league in 2024 - is aware of the task at hand.

The Tigers collected the wooden spoon in 2023 - just 12 months after making their first finals series since joining the league a decade earlier.

"I already have a lot of trust in the group that we have on the park at the moment," he told The Standard.

"If I didn't have that belief in the group it would've been a big call to come back and take on the coaching role.

"I have faith in the group we've got and it's just about adding players to help them out now."

Huppatz, who has been back in Portland for less than two weeks after 12 months away, is already working towards achieving that.

Top-liners Jake Wilson - one of the competition's premier defenders - and the dangerous Toby Jennings have recommitted as has the experienced Marty Curtis.

"It feels real now. I am putting my head down and trying to do as much as I can and be proactive along with the rest of the recruiting team to get the best side on paper we can," Huppatz said.

"I think the culture is still there and it makes my job really easy when the group still wants to be there, work for each other and play for each other.

"To be honest I haven't had any dramas signing up and retaining the group as well."

Two major pieces of the puzzle have committed to playing in yellow and black too.

"Benny Malcolm and Tom Sharp are going to play a full season, this year they just played dribs and drabs with young kids on the way and new business ventures, but they're fully committed to next year so that's two big new recruits really," Huppatz said.

"I am really excited to have them back on the park."

Ruckman Malcolm made just eight appearances in 2023 while Sharp, who kicked 82 goals the previous season, was limited to 10 matches.

The Tigers have lost three seniors regulars - Sam Hampshire is going to Western Australia for work, David Denboer is moving interstate for work and Jackson Dunlop is relocating to Geelong for university.

Hampshire is a chance to play at some stage, according to Huppatz.

Portland will start pre-season training on November 15 with a catch-up and barbecue to help "build team spirit".

"You end up working hard for each other because you can see that bigger picture and building that environment where you're wanting to work for that person beside you just as much as you are yourself," Huppatz said of a focus on team morale.

But the first-time coach, who will slot into the Tigers' midfield, knows there will be highs and lows in the job.

"I am trying to go in with the kind of mindset where I am going to make mistakes but I just have to embrace them and come out the other end bigger and better for it," he said.

Off the field, Huppatz is busy working as an exercise physiologist.

"It's what I went to uni for so I am working a couple of days in a clinic and starting up my own business with NDIS and aged care," he said.

"It has opened up a new little venture coming back and being able to do something like that as well and it's first time working for myself."

But he admits he is thinking yellow and black.

"From the coaching side of things I couldn't be more excited. It's the only thing that's been on my mind lately," Huppatz said.

"There's worse things than to be thinking about football all day."

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