The two-time Copeland Trophy winner and Magpies hall-of-famer guided the under 14 and under 16 Hawks through their paces at training on Tuesday night after being invited by club secretary Paul McLaren, whom he met through work.

Licuria runs an online education business, Alffie, which has dealings with job provider Western District Employment Access where McLaren works.

“We were just speaking one day and he said would you mind coming out here one day and taking the kids for training, which I enjoy doing and I do a fair bit in Melbourne,” Licuria said.

“So I thought I’d come out and give them a quick training session.”

Licuria had the undivided attention of the Hawks as he took them through training and imparted some handy tips and advice for the budding footballers.

The 39-year-old, who retired from the AFL in 2007, said it was beneficial to occasionally have “another voice” train the players.

“They’re probably used to having the same coach for so long, and just get them excited for round one with another voice,” he said.

“It’s more just a change of face, really ... and just give them a few little pointers that they can do at home or before training; some of the stuff that I guess the professional athletes are doing at the moment.”

Hawks club president Wayne Promintz said having the former AFL star on hand for training had been a great benefit for the young footballers.

“Having ‘Lica’ there, especially with his fitness and the way he played was amazing,” Promintz said.

“He was a very professional footballer.

“It was great and they (the players) would’ve got a lot out of it.”

The Hawks launch their 2017 Hampden Football Netball League season this Sunday when they take on Cobden at Cobden Recreation Reserve.

The Under 16 netballers will unfurl their premiership flag ahead of the match against the team they defeated by one goal in the decider.

“We’re pretty excited (about the season starting) – last year in netball we won the under 16s and got beaten by a goal in the under 14s,” Promintz said.

“Our goal is just to be competitive, really – we want to make sure we give a good contest.”

Promintz said the club had made a strong start to the season, with a community dinner when Geelong Cats footballers came to Warrnambool for their annual community camp boosting the club’s finances.

McLaren numbers were looking good across the under 12, under 14 and under 16 levels, but said the door was still open for anyone not playing football this year wanting to have a crack.