FOOTBALL
MID GIPPSLAND
Tony Giardina knew taking on the top job at the Boolarra Football Club was going to be one of the biggest challenges of his coaching career.
In fact, Giardina admits it’s been a struggle to improve the on-field performance but it’s a challenge he’s committed to conquering.
But perhaps it is Giardina, a father-of-two and an onion and potato farmer from Mirboo North, who is best poised to take on the role of coach having raised the Demons from the ashes once before.
Incredibly his tale and how he came to coach Boolarra in 2009 and then again more recently – and what he did at the club the first time round – is one of the great Mid Gippsland success stories.
The journey at the Demons started in 2009 when he took over the club when it was in “dire straits”.
Back then the Demons were in an arguably worse position than now – bottom of the ladder and struggling to field a senior team, relying on more than half-a-dozen thirds to fill the void in the club’s main side.
It was a tough task which tested the patience, persistence and confidence of the Mirboo North resident.
“It was hopeless. There was absolutely nothing there as in player-wise,” Giardina admitted.
“It was a bunch of kids back then and I remember playing a bunch of thirds’ kids every week.”
However, only three years later the club was playing in its first grand final in 15 years and flying the premiership flag that afternoon.
“This time around I think we’re in a better position on field. We’ve brought a lot of new and young talent to the club,” Giardina said.
“Last year they struggled a bit in getting numbers to the club both on Thursday nights and even to the game on Saturday.
“This year my aim was to get people back at the club first – in other words get the off-field right – and then the rest would take care of itself.”
One might say that challenge could be crossed off list, with the Demons attracting about 100 people to their weekly Thursday dinners, despite not winning a senior game since round 18, 2016.
“People can see where we’re heading, you can see the young kids we’ve got and we’re building on that. There’s no point coming in and spending a lot cash and still ending up in the same spot,” Giardina said.
One of those young blokes is Giardina’s son, Jesse – Boolarra’s co-captain, who’s been coached by his father since he was a little tacker.
“Me and Jess get on really well, we’re like two brothers but I’m pretty hard on him. But the day he tells me I’m done, I supposed I’m washed up,” he said.
“We want to win one or two games this season. We’re not stressed if that doesn’t happen because we can see where we’re heading. We’ve already got plans in place for next year which relate to the kind of players we need.”
A big forward, a couple of onballers and a strong backman – that’s what the club needs.
“Our median age would be pretty low because we’ve got a 15-year-old, four that have just turned 18, three 19-year-olds and three or four blokes who are 28 or 29,” Giardina said.
“The morale is pretty good and even though it’s cold and your numbers normally drop off in June and July, the numbers at training are strong and we’re still getting in the mid 20s at training.”
While Giardina had stints coaching at clubs including Mirboo North and the Allies in the Alberton Football League, he admitted this could be one of the biggest challenges he’s faced.
“I took the job in in 2009 when they were at rock bottom and finished on the bottom. Two years later we won the flag so I’m no stranger to it,” he said.
“People can kick us in the guts all they like but it’s nothing I haven’t done before and we’re not scared of it.”
