By Dylan Smith.
It was a tragic end to the 2022 season for Scoresby, losing their final eight games of the season, culminating in a last-day defeat at the hands of Fairpark, leapfrogging the Magpies and sending them to Division Four in dramatic fashion.
Reeling from the disappointment of their fourth relegation in eight years and he crisis of the final days of the 2022 season created an opportunity for Scoresby, starting with new head coach Craig McKenzie, who says he was a new look appointment for the club.
“I was the first in quite some time to have come in externally to the club. I wasn’t a Scoresby person, and maybe they needed a fresh start and outside eyes to come in after everything that had happened,” McKenzie said.
The club took this new chapter in their stride and quickly looked forward to getting things back on track, something McKenzie admired when he arrived.
“There was no anger or animosity around the place, just disappointment for such a proud club. But I could see there was actually excitement and opportunity to turn it around too.”
Adamant that their problems were fixable through some cultural adjustments, McKenzie said a “shake-up” wasn’t necessary, adding some members of the previous coaching regime to complement the new faces he’d brought in.
The first step was improving engagement within the club.
“The club is strong and has so many great people, but at times they were only getting 20 players or less to training, and that means there’s a breakdown somewhere, and we had to fix that.”
“I don’t think the problems were game plan or anything like that; players just didn’t have ownership out there, and they weren’t able to make decisions on the field.”
The role for the coaching group was firstly about educating the players so that they could be more self-sufficient and more accountable, and secondly, handing over agency around the club that would encourage the playing group to be more involved.
McKenzie targeted the leaders where he saw room for improvement in the playing squad.
“Walking into the club, there was so much room for the leaders in the club to take on more responsibility. It’s not just about being a captain or vice-captain, but what does that role actually entail?”
Ultimately, the theory was about handing responsibility to the players, making them more involved in their work.
“Now, they set up their own meetings, they support the lower levels, and ultimately the culture can then be driven by them.”
“We do reflections after every game, and we adapt our training sessions according to what the players are saying, and that gives them the reins to the club really.”
The turnaround has been stark on the field for Scoresby too, winning six out of their first nine games this season. A turnaround that McKenzie credits to their numbers around the club and the group buy-in.
“Because we’re getting great numbers on the track, we’re able to progress our game style much faster. All the guys know what our brand is, and it starts on the training track.”
The season highlight, a win over the previously undefeated Surrey Park after facing their rival in back-to-back weeks, a quirk in the fixture that doesn’t come around too often.
“Yeah, it’s a weird feeling. I think the feeling is mutual that we’re sick of playing each other! But it was great to get a win against a quality team. We think our game stacks up against anyone.”
For all the heartache of the 2022 season, Scoresby has been a huge success story this year. They take on Forest Hill this Saturday in an important top-four battle.