Football
6 April, 2026
WFNL 2026 preview: Fisher steps up to shape team
After joining Minyip Murtoa in 2020, Luke Fisher has levelled up this season, assuming the role of coach of the senior footy side.
Having previously coached at Donald and Horsham Saints from 2015 to 2019, he was also assistant coach to Tim Mackenzie in the Burras' premiership in 2022.
In his first gig at the Burras in the senior role, Fisher said he was looking to build relationships with his fellow players and, as a player, lead by example on the field.
He said, being a teacher, he also hoped to continue to grow and mentor the Burras' developing group.
"Having coached in the past, I always looked forward to having another crack at the role," Fisher, an assistant principal at Horsham Primary School, said.
"I've been able to reflect and sit back and watch others go about it, which has certainly helped me with the way I will approach things going forward."
Last season Minyip Murtoa only just missed out on finals, and Fisher said although he didn't want to blame injuries, it certainly made playing consistently good footy hard.
"Key players continued to be injured at overlapping times and we struggled with continuity as a result," he said.
"We never played with the same side two weeks in a row for two years and never with a full side.
"Otherwise, our connection between our mids and forwards could have been better.
"Where we had similar inside 50s in games and sometimes more than the opposition, we would lose these games.
"Hopefully (this season) we can be more efficient going forward."
Not one to dwell on the negatives, Fisher said he hoped last season was a blessing in disguise for players who had to step up because of injuries.
"I hope those opportunities help them grow to make the most of more senior roles in 2026," Fisher said.
"Of course you can’t help injuries, but I want to develop a team that does not rely on individual players or groups of players and we can use the depth to uphold our game plan."
Despite it being still quite early for the announcement of recruits in social media, Fisher has confirmed the arrival of a few players who will join Minyip Murtoa this season.
"I can confirm that Zak O’Shannasey (Nyah Nyah), Lachie Page (Penshurst) and Tom Burrows (Ballarat Swans) will all be playing with us in 2026," Fisher said.
"They all attended Longrenong College and trained with us last year."
The Burras' preseason started on January 21, and the coach said the side would be looking at refining their game-plan and getting all players on the same page.
"The next 12 weeks will be a start and we will continue to chip away at our improvement throughout the whole year," Fisher said.
But what's Fisher's end goal for the side for season 2026?
"Every side wants to play finals, of course, but we'll focus on getting a positive start to the season to ensure we give ourselves every chance to be there in the top five," he said.