Jordan Harrington returns to Lockhart as an assistant coach under Tom Keogh

Harrington returns to the Hume league after a two-year stint with Dederang-Mt Beauty where he has enhanced his reputation of one of the premier midfielders in local district football.

The prolific ball winner was also assistant coach of the Bombers this season.

Harrington was looking forward to returning to his former club and playing under coach Tom Keogh who was named Hume league Coach of the Year this season.

"I spent six years previously at Lockhart, if you include Covid and am close to reaching my 100 match milestone with the club," Harrington said.

"I was assistant coach at Dederang this season and enjoy the challenge of coaching.

"I'm looking forward to playing under Tom and I've spoken to a few of my old teammates and they can't speak highly enough of him as a coach.

"Tom was able to improve the club dramatically this year and it is a fairly young list that will be better for the experience.

"I've been talking to a few prospective recruits as well and if we can land another couple of signings I think finals next year is a realistic goal."

Harrington is set to boost a midfield comprising Azzi medallist Abe Wooden alongside Angus Grigg, Luke Argus and Keogh in the ruck.

Keogh was stoked to be able to sign Harrington and felt his leadership qualities could improve invaluable for the Demons' young list.

"I haven't seen Jordy but everyone you speak to rates him highly and as a player that has dominated in the competition previously," Keogh said.

"He has previously spent a lot of time at the club and to get him back while he is still in his prime as a player is a massive win for us.

"I don't think there is anyone who doubts his football ability which is awesome for me as a coach to have another player who is a similar age to me and can lead by example.

"Jordy is exactly the type of player we need to help bolster what we were able to achieve last year."

The Demons were one of the most improved side's in the competition, going from a winless wooden spoon the previous year to eighth with a 7-11 record.

They remained a huge chance of snaring a finals spot until the final few rounds.

Keogh was proud of the club's achievements this season and had laid the foundations to improve further next year.

"The club obviously didn't win a game last year and we sort of set ourselves the goal of winning half-a-dozen games this year," he said.

"So to win seven matches and be a realistic finals chance until the last couple of rounds, sort of exceeded our expectations internally.

"We probably dropped a few matches late in the season that we arguably could have won but I was happy with our season as a whole.

"We had a few guys who had to leave in the back end of the season which robbed us of a bit of manpower.

"But I'm confident that we will have a lot more depth next year and should be able to announce further signings in the coming weeks."

Harrington is the third high-profile Bomber to depart the club since the end of the season.

Former skipper Josh Kable and Cody Hewat will also play in the Hume league next year after recently signing with grand finalists Holbrook.

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