Hampton Park coach Luke Bull signed on the dotted line last September; now 12 months on the Redbacks have re-appointed the two-time Noble Park premiership player for 2026 after leading the team to the minor premiership.
In his first year as a senior coach, the Redbacks have gone 14-4 and are firming as one of the hot flag favourites when Southern Division 2 finals commence this weekend.
Bull brought along plenty of recruits and a sense of professionalism, making it clear from the beginning that the goal was to advance to Southern Division 1 – a goal that remains well and truly alive.
He was a legend at the Bulls, playing 230 games, winning two flags and serving as vice-captain for six years – experiences which set him up for success.
“It has been really good, I have to give credit to my team who make coaching a lot easier,” Bull said.
“This was my first coaching role, so I went straight into it, I was thrown right in the deep end.”
Bull said one of the most important things this season has been building strong connections with the players.
“You can have as much knowledge about the game as you want, but being personable and having good relationships with your players helps more than anything,” he said.
“If you have their backs, it will go a long way to building camaraderie and that is probably my biggest learning out of it all.
“Especially being a playing coach, you have the opportunity to lead from the front and do what you are asking the players to do, that definitely helps.”
Despite it being his first senior coaching role, Bull quickly earned the respect of the players and everyone at the club and was grateful for the support behind him.
“My coaching mentor Brad Coller has been awesome and super helpful, he has 15 years of coaching experience, so I have learned a lot from him,” Bull said.
“I was also pretty lucky with my coaches at Noble Park, Mick Fogarty and Steve Hughes are great coaches and I listened to them very closely.”
The Redback rise has continued steadily for a number of years now and Bull was hoping he could continue that into 2026.
“Back in the day, 10 plus years ago, Hampton Park used to get smashed against those clubs (like Cranbourne) by more than 200 points,” Bull said.
“Hampton Park has slowly come back up and once the club won that Division 3 flag in 2019, it started bringing more players in.
“We are not necessarily a powerhouse club right now, but we are on the right track to becoming a really solid club with the netball and footy both thriving.”
When he signed on with the Hampton Park last year, Bull said “I’m not looking too far ahead, but I’ve got the aspiration of getting them to Division 1”.
He wanted to earn respect through “having a good club and winning” and he has completely stuck to his word thus far.
“Despite having the week off, we will have a hard week on the track and hopefully next week we can win and go straight through to the grand final,” Bull said.
The Redbacks will play the winner of Chelsea Heights and Highett in the second semi-final next week.
