The Brisbane Lions are proud to announce that Lions AFLW Coach Craig Starcevich will join the Club’s ranks on a full-time basis.

Starcevich will commence his new role as AFLW Head Coach/Brisbane Lions Hyundai Help for Kids Academy Director of Coaching soon.

“It will be tremendous on both fronts,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to adding a bit of value to the great Academy system that Luke Curran and Josh Hunt have driven for the past few years.

“The new role will also allow me to devote more of my time to our AFLW team.”

Starcevich comes to the Lions after spending more than six years at AFL Queensland in a variety of roles including North Qld Game Development Manager, NEAFL Operations Manager and most recently, Female Football High Performance Coach.

Prior to that he worked for the West Australian Football Commission and was the Brisbane Roar’s Physical Performance Coach.

This is the second time he will be employed by the Lions full-time. During Brisbane’s three-peat premiership era Starcevich was the Physical Performance Manager.

As a player, he won the 1990 premiership with Collingwood and finished his career with the Brisbane Bears.

Lions Women’s CEO Breanna Brock said the women’s program will be boosted by Starcevich’s presence at the Club full-time.

“It’s fantastic for our program to have our coach on board full-time,” Brock said.

“Craig’s strong involvement with the Academy can only hold us in good stead to continue to develop our young female players into ready-made AFLW players.”

General Manager of Football David Noble said Starcevich’s role in the Academy structure will focus on female development growth and coach education for the Lions Academy coaches.

“Craig has great skills in education, relationships and encouraging people to get better,” Noble said.

“His skills and background make him a perfect fit for us to continue to progress our Academy structure into the future.”

Starcevich is entering a busy time for the women’s season with nominations for the 2018 NAB AFLW Draft opening last Monday, 3 September.

This Saturday they will host a Rookie and Talent Search Day, in which close to 100 women will try out.

“It’s really pleasing to see that so many female players view the Brisbane Lions as a place they want to be,” Starcevich said.

The 2018 AFLW Draft will take place on Tuesday, 23 October, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.