Football
6 April, 2026
WFNL 2026 preview: Saints' coach looks to earn respect
Angus Martin has the reins at the Horsham Saints for the 2026 season, and despite being new to coaching he says he's looking for his footy side to not only move up the ladder but earn the respect of opposition teams.
Martin joined the Saints in 2018, coming from Laharum Football Netball Club where he played firstly as a junior and then about 100 senior games.
He's also played a season with East Point in the Ballarat Football Netball League after completing the Greater Western Victoria Rebels program.
At the Horsham side he's been captain for a couple of seasons before moving into an assistant coaching role in 2024.
"As it's my first year coaching, I don't know if I have a certain style yet, but it will be all about engagement, in that I mean I want the players and my coaching group to all feel involved and respected in decisions," Martin said.
"I believe that a good leader is always open to new ideas and it should never be his way or the highway.
"I have a talented group around me that just needs guidance."
Martin said he felt like the club had an extremely talented core group of footy players in the seniors and a large and talented crop of youngsters coming up from juniors who needed development and guidance.
"This young crop of 17-21-year-olds excites me and I feel as a club we need to do everything possible to turn them into the best footballers they can be," he said, adding that that was the decision behind jumping into the role.
Outside of footy, Martin works as an agricultural representative for Crop Smart in Horsham, selling ag chem and fertiliser, alongside running a mixed farm south of the town.
"I have a wife, Erin, and a son, Archie, along with a baby girl, Lainey, born in December," he added.
"I enjoy the outdoors and spending time with family and friends."
Last season the Saints finished seventh, with six wins and 10 losses, and Martin said the season was a disappointing one.
"I feel we had the potential to be better than where we finished," he said.
"We lacked older, more experienced heads at certain times and some larger senior bodies to support our young group.
"We have actively gone out and recruited to our needs."
Joining the Horsham side next season are Bailey Brennan and Drew Harris (from Natimuk), Rory Taggert (Mypolonga) and Will Brennan (Hampden).
"We have recruited those four, as well as Zac Peake, a key forward, and Nathan Davey as a running defender/midfielder," Martin said.
"We also have Tom Vincent committed to play seniors this season, so he will be our number one ruck.
"With the addition of these recruits and the talent coming up from the juniors, our list is in a very healthy position heading into next season."
With a preseason focused on getting the fundamentals of the game right as well as learning a new game style, Martin said the players doing their own fitness had allowed the side to make the most of every session.
"I want to make every session enjoyable, and the players get something out of it," he said.
But longer term, what is Martin aiming towards?
"Our goals for 2026 are basically improvement on where we have finished recently," he said.
"We want to be hard to play against and have teams respect us.
"We are looking to push up the ladder as high as possible."