Truganina is set to make the move into senior football for the first time next year in the Western Football League.
The Thunder has announced the intention to field a side in the thirds competition, a first step in setting the pathway from juniors to seniors.
Ross Innocenti has been appointed the Thunder’s thirds coach and brings more than 30 years of experience to the role.
Thunder president Nick Ladbrooke said this was a huge milestone for the club.
“It’s a step forward as having seniors is really difficult,” he said. “There’s only a limited number of players in the pool.
“The ability to get them to come from other clubs is difficult. For us, having a thirds team is a good stepping stone in building a senior program.”
The club had previously attempted to set up a women’s side without any luck, but this is the first time trying to get a senior men’s team up.
The thirds play on Friday nights, which Ladbrooke said meant there was no crossover with junior matches.
“We want to make it a big social night,” Ladbrooke said.
“We want it to be a pathway. We’ve looking at under-16 boys footy in 2026 and that is a big goal for us.
“The older age groups suffer in our demographic as AFL [Aussie Rules] is at the bottom of the table.
“When they get to the older age group the talented players are ultimately poached by other clubs.
“We’re working hard to keep those players at the club and the number one thing is to have a pathway.”
Innocenti will also coach the under-16 boys, having coached the under-14 boys side last season.
The club is aiming to field under-8, under-9, under-10 teams, under-12 mixed and girls, under-14 mixed and girls teams, along with under-16s.
Ladbrooke said they were putting out interest for under-16 girls team as well as having a boys team and the senior thirds as new sides.
The Thunder is still searching for players for all of its sides for next season.
Details: 0418 998 082 or president@truganinathunderfc.com.au
