by Nicholas Duck
New coach, new era for Garfield as Eddie Morris looks to get the club back to a state of competitive football.

Morris joins his old junior club after more than 10 years away playing at Drouin, Casey and even in the Northern Territory.
Now taking up the reins for his first year as a senior coach, the electric midfielder/forward is ready to tackle his first year in West Gippsland with a priority on getting the Stars challenging the competition again.
"It's been good being the main man in charge after a few years of assistant coaching. I've got a good group of assistants and we're setting up a competitive list and a good brand of footy that can compete. It's been good," he said.
"It took them a bit to start clicking with what I was trying to get through to them. To be honest it only really clicked maybe a month ago so there were a few stressful weeks for me there. They've come a long way since Christmas, that's for sure. They've shown some good signs."
Number one on Morris' checklist? Getting Garfield goaling again.
At times last year Garfield seemed allergic to kicking the ball through the big sticks, finishing the year with an average of 4.6 per game. They kicked four goals or fewer on eight different occasions, with a season high of 10 in round one against Bunyip.
They were hardly the worst in the league when it came to their efforts in contest and through the middle, but when you don't get that reward for effort it's tough to win any games of football.
It meant they ended the season with four wins to their name, matching their efforts in 2023.
For Morris the cure is changing how the side moves the ball, particularly the speed they put on the footy to catch opposition teams out and give their forwards a chance.
He said while it had taken some time, his group was now taking his teachings on board very well - at times, even too well.
"They've actually responded really well to it, I've had to actually go the opposite a bit and teach them how to slow down because they were going too fast."
Some of the club's recruiting has been based around giving their ailing forward line a boost, with former Southport Sharks spearhead Mitch Johnson.
Johnson, who played for the Sharks in both the NEAFL and the VFL, spent 62 games at the club, booting 153 goals in that time and is sure to provide the Stars with a target they've been lacking for some time.
Also assisting in the forward line will be James Symons, another big body that Morris will be looking to utilise on the Stars' attacking end.
Other recruits include the return of Lachlan Sauze and ruck Cooper Reilly from Pakenham, as well as young gun Jed Pinkerton following a two-year stint at Warragul Industrials.
One shouldn't discount the injection of Morris himself into the Stars' engine room and forward line either. Morris, a two-time Gippsland Team of the Year player, will bring some serious class to his new side no matter where he plays.
While few of the Garfield mainstays have exited the club, there will be some who will be unavailable for stretches of time such as Will Cole and Zac Soutar.
Despite the Stars' struggles to work their way up the table over the past few years Morris is confident that his side can make inroads in 2025.
"I think somewhere around the eight to 10 win mark is probably a pretty good pass mark," he said.
"This is a multi-year project. You start this year, you go 'alright well let's get competitive, play some good footy and push for finals.' It'd be great if we make it but I'm not putting too much expectation on that just yet."
Time well tell whether the green and gold can come good, but until then round one against Warragul Industrials - and Morris' old Drouin teammate Bob McCallum - awaits.