“I reckon we’re going to be competitive, we’ve got a great young side together,” he said.
O’Neill has coaching experience at A-grade Goulburn Valley League level, but is returning to the top-tier caper for the first time in a while.
“I coached Ky (Kyabram) A-grade a fair few years ago now and been involved with the juniors at Lancy,” he said.
“But probably more in the football the past few years.”
Caddison Mulholland and Bridie Whitford have joined the Wombats from Tongala ahead of the new campaign, adding to a stable squad.
O’Neill’s focus will be to get the basics right to lay a platform for success – in the short and long term.
“We’ve kept most of the squad together which is good,” he said.
“The goal for us is to just be competitive, the last few years we’ve been around the 10th spot mark, so we want to push up from there and aim for fifth or sixth.
“We’ll try and fix the skills and the rest will come.”
COACH: ROD O’NEILL 2019 FINISH: 10TH (6-10)