For AFLW coach Scott Gowans, there’s little time for rest.

As Melbourne Uni’s season officially came to a close, he quickly has to re-adjust his focus; the North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos’ return to pre-season just around the corner.

Of course, the coaches can take plenty from the VFLW campaign, with the MUGARS making it to a semi-final, and a raft of North players getting more valuable time together as a group.  

“As far as AFLW preparation goes, it was perfect,” Gowans told North Media.  

“But as a coach you also want to win, so not making it all the way was definitely disappointing.”

The likes of Kate Gillespie Jones (14 games) and Ash Riddell (10) were among the North-listed players to get significant game-time under their belts.

“We did get to try a number of different things in the VFLW this year which was a really great opportunity,” Gowans said.

“We tried some new tactics, and some worked and some didn’t, so we take that knowledge away, watch that vision, and improve on that.”

After a 5-2 win-loss record in the club’s first AFLW campaign, but ultimately missing finals, Gowans and his team have plenty to work with heading into 2020.

“I actually spent the last couple of weeks watching every AFLW game from last season again,” he said.

“I thought about what we are thinking of doing, and if it would have worked in those games. I’m presenting this to the other coaches, and we’ll take that away and over the next month or so develop the final game plan.”

Now, the countdown continues to pre-season training.

“The AFLW players will have an off-season program just to maintain some fitness, but basically it’s their own time,” Gowans added.

“We hope that they get to mentally refresh as well, so that when we come back in October, we’re ready to go across all fronts.”