Community football in 2020 was at a standstill, the cheering spectators and sound of the siren sorely missed, but that hasn’t stopped preparations for season 2021 going into full gear at the Blackburn Football Club.
The season landscape looks unpredictable, and the premier competition perhaps more even than ever after last year, however Blackburn still very much has its sights set on a flag and a first premiership since 2002.
The run of momentum the last few years with Brendan Allen as coach looks to have the Panthers in a strong position as the new season draws near, bolstered by a list that will closely resemble that from 2019.
A renewed sense of excitement has permeated the atmosphere, clubs eager to resume battle for premiership points.
Looking at the season as a whole, Allen is very keen to see the competition gear up again, but at the same time acknowledged what’s to come is a mixture of excitement and uncertainty.
“It’s an unknown quantity at the moment, with the ins and outs of some of the clubs, and key figures who have switched leagues or gone elsewhere,” Allen said.
“It’s not the usual roll into next year and know what you’re going to get, you’re going to have to be on your toes early and the whole year to be up there.
“It’s exciting, everyone’s chomping at the bit to play local footy. Hopefully, with a reset, everything returns bigger, better and stronger.”
Allen has a strong belief the club can again strive for an EFNL flag after the 2019 Grand Final loss to Vermont and highlighted the measures that the players have taken upon returning to the club, as well as the position Blackburn is in during the heart of the pre-season.
“The (strongest) indication is how our players have come back after a 12-month layoff, all our testing and training numbers have been through the roof,” Allen said.
“We’ve got blokes running personal bests after a year off footy, and we’re feeling pretty comfortable at the moment.”
“February’s a big month us, but we do a really good base (of training) before Christmas,” Allen said.
“Our players are professional enough to trust we can have extra week off after Christmas and hit the ground running now.
“We’re well and truly ramping up the kilometres and intensity on the track, and ready for our first practice match in March.”
With Berwick set to make their entrance into the Premier Division come round one, that level of comfort could be shifted a little, and strategy put to the test, but it’s just another element of the season, with Allen unfazed about what Blackburn might encounter when the two teams line up in round eight.
“They’re someone we don’t know much about, but we know they’re pretty successful,
“They’ll be a surprise packet early until a few sides play against them and we can get a chance to watch tapes and see how they play,” he said.
“It’s Premier Division though, if you’re not 100% on the day, you’ll get rolled, and won’t be going home with the four points.”
Blackburn has only lost two players during the COVID-induced break, with Lachlan Howe back to Yarrawonga, and Jackson Hood, who’s moved back to Bendigo.
The strong player retention heading into 2021 will only serve to maintain the strength and depth seen in season 2019.
“Lachlan’s gone back to play in his hometown for personal reasons, and we hope to see him back in 2022.
“We’ve been able to retain everyone else and have added to the list, but it means nothing unless you put it together on game day,” Allen remarked.
“We’re quite happy with where we are at, we would’ve hoped to have picked up and continue where we left off, but with the calibre of players with we’ve got, we just have to get back out there and start winning games.”
The leadership group will remain the same too, with Pat Contin to captain the club in his fourth year, with the selected 2020 leadership group also retaining their roles.
“It’s exactly the same for us this year, and the group selected for last year didn’t get a chance to go out and lead, so we haven’t seen a need for change.
“It’s good, they’ve had 12 months to get around the other side of their leadership roles in supporting other players, given them time to grow in the role even if they haven’t played a game of footy.”
Focus on the community will be an essential part of the local football culture, not just for the spectators and club legends, but to give back to everyone who’s been craving a toast of local footy and donning their club colours.
“It’s about getting back to the community, we’re all playing for the one thing at the end of the year, but there’s a lot more to footy than that,” Allen said.
“There are so many more machinations to a sporting club than just that two hours on a Saturday.
“Whether it’s a supporter coming down to watch his local team, or club legend Ron Eade watching his beloved football club play, that’s the big buzz out of it.”
The approach being taken for 2021 will feel and look very familiar to supporters, with plenty of responsibility to be handed back to the players to carry out the strategies and tactics entrusted upon them.
Much of the groundwork is done during training, but nothing can account for the clash against your opponent, even with perfect planning.
“You have to put a lot of work into your training, that’s where 95 percent of the work is, then let the players play on the weekend,” Allen said.
“As a coach, if you think you’re going to affect the game more than 20 percent on game-day, you’re kidding yourself.
“It’s up to the players to understand what you want them to do, and that’s through repetition, training and learning on the track.
“When they get out there in the heat of battle, they know how to execute and they’re confident in how to do it.”
This lends itself perfectly to Allen’s mantra of wanting to atone for the 2019 Grand Final loss, a belief held strongly by many at the club that it is possible to go one step further.
“It still hurts that we were runners-up, but I think that’s why we haven’t lost any players,” Allen said.
“They have some unfinished business to attend to, albeit there’s some luck to win a flag, and they’re hard to get.
“We have a really good base, and it’s what we’re aiming for.”
Blackburn women’s coach Leanne Gill is also uncertain about what lies ahead on the football terrain, but after making it nearly all the way in their debut season in Premier Division, there are still high hopes the side can step up to the plate in 2021.
With strong numbers showing interest throughout the COVID lockdown, the platform is already there.
“There’s a little bit of apprehension we might all put in the hard work again, and maybe something happens to the season,” Gill said.
“We’ve retained 95 percent of the players from last year, and we did a lot of things to stay connected online.
“When we were in the hard lockdown, I made sure to send a text message every three weeks to check in.
“I think that kept us going, and we were getting over 40 players to the sessions even though we didn’t have a game.”
Those player numbers have been enhanced by the recruitment of several from other clubs, and Gill highlighted there’s an understanding developed between players and coaches that allows for the right type of life balance, whilst still able to enjoy and make a commitment to football.
“The ideal is to have everyone at every training, but it’s not a reality.
“There’s an understanding that they love their footy, but they also have parts of their life to attend to.
“I don’t think we’ve lost anyone because they’ve just given up football, they want to be back here.”
It’s a mentality that flows into the football itself, where some of the original core of players are beginning to spread their wings and demonstrate their presence and passion on the field.
“We made a point of saying and doing, that we were going to keep going from where we left off, not start all over again. It’s sort of been like a two-year pre-season,” Gill said.
“The teams will be more even, and it will filter right down to the other sides,” Gill said.
“Those that started in 2018 have two full seasons under their belt, and they’ve just gotten better, with the players coming in.
“That was a good thing to look at and wanting to be ahead of where we were in 2019, rather than behind.
“We weren’t the prettiest team on the field, but for a team to beat us, it was going to be a hard slog for them.
“We want the opposition to say they have to bring their A-game this week, we want them to know that we’re taking the field to win and be as competitive as we possibly can.”
Blackburn travel to Premier Division debutants Doncaster East on April 17 to start their 2021 season, whilst the Women’s fixture is still TBC (at time of writing).