FORMER Willaston Football Club A-grade star player and coach Shaun Baker has been scooped up by Virginia to coach its A-grade side after leaving the Donnybrooks halfway through the 2020 season.

Baker’s relationship with Willaston broke down after he was informed the club would be advertising the position for 2021, with the role being filled by Andrew Jarman after the season concluded.

Baker had interest from other clubs, but there was plenty to like about the situation he was potentially walking into.

“There were a few clubs that got in touch with me, but once I heard Virginia was looking for a coach through one of my brother’s friends, we sat down for a chat and it moved pretty quickly from there,” Baker said.

“The people at the club were so welcoming straight away – I’m excited by the opportunity and so is the family.

“I felt like it was a really good situation to come into – having lost after being six goals up at quarter time of a grand final – we’re able to have a look at what went wrong and see what we can do about it.”

Baker has brought some familiar faces with him too, with former Willaston coach Mal Greenwood joining him as an assistant coach, and A-graders Alex Barclay and Brayden Coombs making the switch as well.

“I’ve got a fair bit of mutual respect with a few lads at Willaston who I’ve stayed in touch with, and as soon as they found out I was coaching we had a chat and got a few of the boys on board,” he said.

“A couple of the younger lads just weren’t happy, so they got in touch with me as well and asked if they could come play as well.

“So that’s how we got Aiden Ponton, who captained Central District’s under 18s this year, and Nick Lehman, who was at Centrals as well, and played some A-grade footy for me when he was a 17-year-old.”

Baker said he hopes his recruits fill some gaps and address some of the issues from the 2020 season, such as kicking goals when star forward Brendan Niklaus is out, but maintained that he believes he is inheriting a very talented side.

“The club has been around the mark the past couple of years, so the prospect of adding a couple of players and having a crack at the ultimate success right away was hard to turn down,” he said.

“After big Brendan got hurt in the grand final, they didn’t really have a reliable avenue to goal, so I’m hoping Brayden Coombs can come in and be that for us, and Alex Barclay is a 100-game BL&G player and one of the best backmen I’ve seen in my time in that league.

“It’s just a good fit – it’s only down the road for me, and it’s the same deal for the guys that are coming over too.”