By Steve White
Boronia are looking for post-season redemption in 2021.
After a strong finish to their 2019 campaign which saw them finish as minor premiers, the Hawks went out in a straight sets following consecutive losses to Ringwood and Mitcham.
But that’s ancient history now, and the slate is clean for the club, who are priming for another tilt at Division Two and a chance at promotion.
Senior Coach Matt Clark has had his players ready to go since the end of the 2019 season, despite the numerous obstacles posed by the numerous COVID shutdowns.
“We think we’re really well set as we were heading into season 2020. We attacked it as if it was a normal pre-season. We were lucky that we had a high engagement with the players over the whole COVID break,” Clark said.
“We thought the best way was to address COVID straight up as a group and build on our match fitness and skill level. Through our players we were able to set challenges and drive really high engagement where every player was posting weekly what they were doing. It was never the same as playing, but it was a good way to stay connected and fit.”
“As we sit today, we’re confident that we’ve had a good pre-season that will set us up for season 2021.”
The Hawks celebrate back in 2018.
The big news at the club during the 2020 hiatus was the un-retirement of club great Jess Bolton.
Bolton will don the brown and gold for the Hawks once again this season, after hanging the boots up at the end of the 2019 season due to injury and an increased work schedule.
The now 33-year-old has over 150 games at the club, including a 2018 premiership and numerous individual honours, and will provide valuable experience and leadership to a team already filled with talent.
“He brings leadership and he’s worked with a lot of younger players through his coaching when they were at junior level,” Clark said.
“He’s a great footballer. Even at 33, he’s been recording times in our fitness trials that are in the top five,”
“On and off the field he’s a great mentor and sets a really high standard and example for the rest of the players.’
Boronia has retained most of their 2019 list, with 2020 ex-Wantirna South additions Taylor Leggate and Sean Young re-committing for 2021. Brayden Bowes and Jack Hare have also committed, after originally intending to travel interstate in 2020.
Clark says they will be key to adding the finishing touches to an already strong squad aspiring for a premiership.
‘We’ve been able to keep our list together and retain a few guys that we thought that we’d lose last season,” Clark said.
“We were very good defensively in 2019 and I think we were ranked number one that season. We were sitting around the top 4 or 5 in attack. We were trying to work on the way we move the ball better and more aggressively when we have it.’
“We think if we can get a better balance between defence and attack, it will set us up for a stronger tilt at playing finals.”
Clark also acknowledged the strength and depth of Division Two football this year.
“This year there doesn’t seem to be a weak link. I think every week is going to be a challenge and I think every team in the division has the potential to play finals. The side with the best depth will be the key this year, as well as the team that can manage their list the best,” Clark said.
“The draw this year is somewhat weighted where you have to play four teams, three times. However, I don’t see any club in the division this year taking advantage of that.”
After a fourth place finish that ended with a nail biting two-point semi-final loss to Ferntree Gully in 2019, Boronia will again be contesting the women’s competition this year with two teams set to take the field.
Scott Nicholas and Ray Lacey will again be guiding the women’s program in 2021, which has seen excellent growth and found ways to keep the squad motivated despite no football on the park.
“Going into the 2020 season we had about 15-20 new players, we were set to field two sides for the first time, and we had a lot of enthusiasm within the group. Because none of those new players had had the chance to play football last year, we were conscious of trying to keep all the players engaged,” Nicholas said.
“We did a lot of online stuff to keep a little bit of normality through that first lockdown and engagement was really good. I guess heading into the 2021 season, we considered waiting a little bit longer to start preseason. However, we asked the players and they wanted to get straight back into it, so we kicked off end of November and the numbers have been great.”
Aside from the new additions, many returning faces will again wear the brown and gold this year.
“Retention is a big focus for us, we’re lucky we have kept the majority of our squad. Our last two best and fairest winners Kath Buzinskas and Amanda Cellante are on board and training the house down. Bec Allen, who missed all of the 2019 season, will be back and they’ll help to guide those we’ve recruited who will be playing their first game of football.”
Other than finals and a premiership, Nicholas says the club is also focused on other goals, including coaching development in the women’s ranks.
“Another big focus for us is developing players transitioning out of football into coaching roles.”
“Candice Wright, who is still playing this year, is also one of our assistant coaches and we’re working with her to develop her coaching knowledge and skills so she can hopefully move into a head coach role in the future, as well as some other players we have identified.”
“We’d like to develop a love of the game for all of the players. We really just want to focus on everyone improving themselves and feeling connected to the club, that’s what success looks like to us.”
Boronia open their 2021 EFNL season away to Knox at Knox Gardens Reserve on Saturday April 10th, with the women’s fixtures to be confirmed at time of writing.