Josh Lanciana will lead the Williamstown Congs as they aim to rebuild their program in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association Russell Pollock Shield season.
Lanciana has been appointed coach for next season, replacing Reg Mustafa.
The appointment comes as the Congs attempt to rebound from a tough season while building off of strong form at the end of the season that saw them win three of their final four games.
Lanciana described the appointment as exciting and is looking forward to what he believes will be a better season for the club.
He said there was lots of room for improvement in all areas of the game, but particularly pointed out the top-order and middle-order struggles with the bat.
“Our middle to top order was a bit of a problem and we could never build on that, so that’s something that we’re definitely targeting.”
Lanciana said the Congs goal for the season would be to make finals, but also said the club would need some smaller goals along the way to reach that main one.
“Some minor goals would be having better results, more consistency after some rough seasons and gaining some stability.”
A big focus for the Congs during the offseason has been in the recruitment and retainment of players.
The club struggled with numbers last season fielding just the two senior teams, with the club holding a meeting about the issue and the Congs future late last year.
At times the Congs struggled to have enough players to field both teams.
“I’ve managed to recruit two or three local names so far,” Lanciana said.
“We’ve managed to retain just about everyone, so we should be able to build a much stronger core group.”
Lanciana believes that with the core group they had last year and a bit more focus in key areas across batting, bowling and fielding departments the team is capable of a lot.
