Former Leopold star Oli Tate will return to the club as co-coach alongside fellow premiership player Sam Hughes.
The Lions have signed the pair to a three-year deal.
“We are thrilled to welcome Oli Tate back to the Lions Den as co-coach alongside Sam,” a statement from co-presidents Lachlan Cartledge and Aaron Verlin said.
“We’re incredibly excited about what Sam and Oli will bring to the program and the opportunity to continue building on the strong foundations already in place.”
Tate played 39 matches for the Lions between 2019 and 2024, featuring in their back-to-back flags under recently appointed Geelong West coach Garry Hocking.
He joined Torquay last year, making 14 appearances, with his last game being the preliminary final loss to eventual premier Anglesea.
A Ballarat junior, Tate played at Talent League level with the North Ballarat Rebels before graduating to North Ballarat’s VFL team.
He played 56 matches with the Roosters before spending 2015 and part of 2016 with Claremont in the WAFL before returning to make another 28 appearances with North Ballarat.
Following the Roosters’ exit from the VFL, he had stints with Williamstown and Geelong for another 29 state league matches, bringing his overall VFL tally to 113 games.
Leopold, which faces Newtown & Chilwell at Jardo Oval tomorrow (Saturday), sits seventh on the GFNL ladder with an 8-8 win-loss record and will miss finals for the second straight year.
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