ROB POPPLESTONE
FOOTBALL
MID GIPPSLAND By ROB POPPLESTONE Yinnar v Newborough WITH the official season opener this weekend in the Mid Gippsland Football-Netball League following a standalone match last week, there is no better way to begin Round 1 than with the clash between the two teams that fought out the previous Grand Final. Reigning premier Yinnar hosts Newborough, and excitement is palpable as the new MGFNL season gets underway. Magpies coach Daniel Taylor is more than aware of how tough it will be to back up after the success of 2022. “Coming off the premiership, we expect to be competitive every single week like we were last year, we aim to be playing finals as most premiership teams would,” he said. “At this stage we’ve lost a couple to retirement. We’ve got seven young blokes up from last year’s thirds and there’s three or or four thirds kids this year that will be really pushing for selection … it’s a very exciting time for the club!” Newborough counterpart Craig Skinner said he was aiming to get off to a promising start. “With a competition so even we know every game will be a challenge, with all clubs looking to have improved their senior squads from last year,” he said. “I feel like we have recruited to fill all our needs and look forward to seeing some new faces with the Bulldog jumper on. “Our first is a tough start but to be the best we have to beat the best. We’ll know early whether it’s been a good pre-season or not”. Excitement will become a reality this week, with both coaches keen to send a message to the league, whilst also reinforcing to their players that all the hard work that has been done, has the team and the club on the right pathway for an opportunity of further success. It’s a long, tough, demanding year, but every result counts from this week. Morwell East v Hill End WITH a game under their belt and the chance of back-to-back wins on their home ground, Morwell East will be keen to improve on last week’s win over Foster. Hawks coach Paul Henry was hoping to continue the winning ways. “It was great to get the win after the long and hard preseason we did, but now we have to back it up against Hill End, which will take the same amount of work and effort as we produced against Foster,” he said. The experienced and cunning coach from the Rovers, Mike Santo, will be doing the best he can with the artillery he has. “Things have been ticking along out at the Hill,” he said. “Fitness has been a key for us in the preseason thus far, although usually being the more talented team last year we lost games we shouldn’t have due to lack of effort so that’s the main thing we are trying to address.” Hill End will be without a few key players, who have decided to explore other avenues. “We lost some of our best talent to the Gippsland League (Tyler Pratt and Luke Mulqueen to Moe) which wasn’t ideal but we support them as they will be playing a higher level of footy, and we also lost some fringe senior players to the Warragul area,” Santo said. It is hard to gauge just where Hill End might sit in 2023, but a Hawks side with a game already under their belt will be a good indicator. Boolarra v Thorpdale BOOLARRA made many in the league sit up and take notice in season 2022, the Demons savvy recruiting coupled with experienced coach Tony Giardina’s guidance had a finals position secured for the first time since 2014, only to fall a little short when it mattered most. Entering 2023, the Demons’ goals are much the same as the season gone, and that’s to put themselves in finals contention once more. “Preseason hasn’t been the best, but then it hasn’t been the worst either,” Giardina said. “We have had a really good core of players who are doing all the hard work and putting in the effort, and improvement has started to show. “After last years finals berth and the fact we have come out of players lost and gained pretty much even, the goal is again to be part of the finals”. Thorpdale might not have finals on their mind, but improvement is absolutely paramount for the dual coaching team of Ray Pickering and Jason Winderlich. Winderlich will no doubt bring a great buzz to the club, as the former Essendon player gets to work coaching his home club. “We have focused on getting previous Thorpdale players back to the club but have also added Travis Patten from Glengarry,” he said. “We have also been focusing on getting some extra run into the legs. We were able to have good quarters throughout 2022 but couldn’t maintain that for full games. “We view 2023 as another development year with the focus to be more competitive for full games. We feel as though four to five wins for the seniors would be a good result as we look to build the playing list up over the next three to four years.” The Blues should be respected for their resilience, but I’m sure they would be equally satisfied with being rewarded with a win early in the season. Toora v Mirboo North THERE has been plenty of talk around Toora, and even beyond, that the Magpies are keen to chase the success achieved at reserves level in 2022 at senior level in 2023. Toora coach Jack Weston has recruited some exciting talent. “We welcome Chris Gardiner, Josh Toner, Majok and Chotnyang Puok, Brendan Weston and Jean Bezzene to Toora this year. All players are hoped to support our senior side push up the ladder,” he said. Assisting this talent will be a seemingly abundance of reserves players capable and needed to step to the next grade. That off season and off field work will be fully tested against an opponent ready to bounce back from last season’s disappointment. Mirboo North had a very rare finals miss last year, and will be out to prove it was a once-off. New coach Peter Mongta, who coached the Tigers to premiership glory in 2007, takes over from Josh Taylor. “With new coaches across all football grades and new ideas there will be a shift for the playing group in 2023,” Mongta said. “The club have a good mix of players which range from 18-22 and some quality mature age players that will play key position. “The club’s expectations will be to play finals in 2023 after missing out for the first time since 2003. The list has shown its capability after a great back end season under Josh Taylor which is always a positive.” The benefit of a first round win can be hard to gauge, but in a match like this, that can seemingly fall either way, having the premiership points alongside your name on the league ladder will be enough to make all the preseason demands worthwhile. Tarwin v MDU TARWIN were very match the benchmark team for most of 2022, before some wobbly wheels saw them bundle out of the finals quicker than they would have liked. But Sharks coach Troy Hemming has indicated some subtle changes to his team preparation for the season ahead. “We have changed a few things up game plan wise which is going to be exciting for the lads and also our supporters watching,” he said. Hemming was also aware that improvement is an absolute key if they are to be a contender. “It looks like every club in our league is picking up more players so that makes it exciting that every week should be a good spectacle,” he said. “I can’t wait for Round 1 against MDU at home, who are confident they have recruited to go all the way.” The Demon’s coach, Nathan Alle, might not be so vocal about his team’s potential to go all the way, but he remains confident they will be a tougher team to beat this year than last. “The senior team hasn’t played finals for some years so with some new recruits we hope that our senior and reserve teams can do that in season 2023,” he said. Certainly the quality of recruits picked up by MDU appears to be most impressive, but just how much so will be tested on the home ground of Tarwin this weekend, with one coach or maybe even both having a clearer understanding of just what they will be working with and against. Stony Creek v Fish Creek TWO sides that found themselves outside the finals race in 2022 have unashamedly set their sights on a return to the real stuff in 2023. Both sides have new coaches and as a result carry reinvigorated enthusiasm that is sure to gain momentum with a first round victory. For Chris Verboon at Stony Creek, the initial priority has been to strengthen the foundation or fabric of the club off field. “Preseason at Stony Creek has seen players, families and supporters from the netball and football work together to complete not only the normal training sessions but various social events to build comradery,” he said. “The coaches from the football and netball collaborated to run a successful boot camp in Sandy Point, everyone involved worked hard and had a great weekend. “The club hopes to build on last year’s performances with all teams striving to make finals. “We have seen previously that anything can happen from there. The other focus is to build a great club culture and make Stony Creek a club that families, players, and supporters want to be involved in. “Success will grow from there.” Fish Creek too, with Jarrod Walker at the helm, has been positive with some talented recruits and a satisfactory preseason. “New recruits are Harry Smith from Mt Eliza and Jarrod Livingston from St Mary’s in Darwin. Preseason so far has been encouraging, solid numbers on the track with everyone pretty hungry to improve on last year,” he said. “Expectation is to get back into finals and premiership contention. “Hopefully be able to keep a fit and healthy list throughout the year to give us the best chance of success.” That’s probably the key for all clubs in an even competition, and as much as a solid preseason and careful recruiting is key, a little luck to keep a healthy list can make a difference between success and failure.
