It will be his fifth season in the role, after joining the Lakies as playing-coach at the end of 2017.

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Willox told The Courier he was excited to see his young group develop next season after experiencing a lot of senior footy in 2021.

"This year, with the new, young group that we had was a building year and an experience year for us and I think we got out of it what we needed to which was good," he said.

"We'll see some natural improvement next year straight away."

The Lakies are coming off a 3-8 season where they finished 13th on the ladder.

The side's competitiveness shone through, however, despite the losing record.

Learmonth lost to eventual top four side Rokewood-Corindhap by two points in round one, it lost to Clunes by three points in round four and was competitive against Bungaree and Newlyn.

All four were games the Lakies felt they could have won, which would have changed the fortunes of their season dramatically.

"We started 3-2 and then ended 3-8 ... if we can pinch two of those (close losses) and finish 5-6 it's a lot more respectable for our record but for actually how we're going about our footy," he said.

"The form lines are there and I think we got out of the year exactly what we needed to."

Club president Stephen Griffin said adding to this competitive youth with some experienced campaigners would be objective one in the off-season.

"He's (Willox) been coaching with us for a number of years and there's a lot of players that he's seen come up through the juniors ... for us, a no brainer to keep that continuity with those younger players ..." he said.

"We are looking for a few more experienced (players), a few more players that have got hardened bodies so to speak and a few more games under their belts to compliment the younger guys."

More help for Willox with assistant coaches is another objective in the off-season for the club.

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