Coldstream had a strong 2019 campaign, but it ultimately amounted to disappointment.
The Cougars lost only twice during the season and finished in second place on the Division Four ladder and went into the finals off the back of ten straight wins, but the Cougars fell out of the finals in straight sets.
Coach Chad Rogers said that the disappointing finals series was a product of the Coldstream players hitting a figurative wall.
“It still hurts a little bit because we know we were in a strong position and we were improving quite well but…we’d probably run our race so to speak and we got found out (in finals) a little bit,” Rogers said.
The Cougars have been forced to wait an extra 12 months for their chance at redemption.
Rogers said that whilst the loss of momentum had stalled the club a little, he did highlight how strong its 2020 preseason had been prior to Victoria’s lockdowns.
“That’s probably the most disappointing thing, we were in a really good spot that (2020) preseason and then COVID took that away…the players missed a whole year of footy and aren’t as fit,” he said.
Despite the setbacks, Coldstream hasn’t lost sight of its promotion goal and has turned to the recruiting market in order to plug some holes.
Coldstream ran out of gas in 2019. Photo Field of View Sports Photography
The club has managed to retain all of its recruits from prior to the 2020 non-season, bringing back on-field leaders like Jarrod Witnish and Leigh Warne from Phillip Island.
Key forward Lachlan Koger and former Norwood player Darcy Fritsch are both set to finally pull on the Coldstream jersey for the first time too.
The club has continued to be proactive this offseason, adding to its recruiting stocks with the likes of Sheldon Smith from Bayswater and Luke London from Croydon North.
“We’re definitely in a stronger position,” Rogers said.
“We’ve certainly got a lot more depth which we needed, our reserves weren’t strong enough (in 2019) and weren’t putting enough pressure on the senior group.
“I think now we have a lot more depth going forward and if we have a bit of luck with injuries we should be in a good spot.”
Big name recruits aside, Coldstream’s numbers have grown even further simply from word-of-mouth and players bringing friends down to the club.
The extra bodies will be crucial to ensuring there’s enough internal competition for senior spots, helping the players to avoid complacency and ensure they aren’t running out of gas before finals.
“We’ve been able to build the right culture so that people want to be here,” Rogers said.
“We’ll give plenty of people opportunities to put their hand up and have plenty of competition for spots which is what you want.
“In the meantime, we just want to keep training with the right purpose and the right intensity so they’re ready to go Round One.”
It isn’t all new faces at Coldstream however, the core playing group remains the same and Rogers said he expects his club stalwarts to go from strength to strength in 2021.
“There’s a main group that came through as under 17s who are now 24-25-years-old,” he said.
“I just expect that whole core group to continue improving, they came to the club as under 17s and just stuck together and they’re really starting to hit their peaks.
“Players like Darcy Carrigan and Cam Shield are two prominent ones really starting to improve.”
With another season finally on the horizon, Rogers said he’s made some changes to his own coaching and training style to ensure the club doesn’t repeat past mistakes.
“It’s about maintaining that culture and making sure people aren’t getting complacent or happy where they are so we keep trying to improve throughout the whole season,” he said.
“Probably us coaches getting a couple things right with how we’re training throughout the season too.
“Our expectation is obviously to do the best we can and understanding that hard work is really important to mix up with the talent we have.
“We don’t know what the rest of the competition is like, we just need to keep doing the right thing ourselves and hopefully, if we can do that, then the rest will look after itself.”
Meanwhile, Coldstream Football Club is attempting to enter its first ever senior women’s side into the EFNL fray.
To help the club with its inaugural women’s season, the Cougars have brought on experienced women’s coach, Glen Murray.
No stranger to building a squad from the ground up, Murray has experience coaching women’s footy at Bayswater and Chirnside Park, among others.
“One of the girls that wanted to learn footy at Bayswater, but didn’t really get much of a chance because of injuries, rang me up and said ‘would you come down to Coldstream and just show us how to do a few things’ and I went down and they wouldn’t let me go,” Murray said.
“So I’m stuck here now and really enjoying it. It’s a great atmosphere, we’re all just learning and it’s all going really well.”
With reasonably strong numbers, Coldstream’s squad is currently made up of football novices with netball backgrounds.
In order to increase the side’s football experience and provide some player-to-player guidance, Murray did some recruiting early in the offseason.
“I’ve got a couple of girls to come across from Bayswater who played in its 2017 premiership side,” he said.
“I also got Chelsea Willis to come down who played for North Ringwood in its premiership side.
“Most of the others are netballers and haven’t played footy before, but they’re all really enthusiastic and have been really good.”
Still in need of some more bodies, Murray is hoping to recruit a couple more seasoned footballers to bolster his list and is encouraging anyone who is keen for a kick to come down to training and give it a go.
“We’re hovering at around 18-20 girls but we’re not yet consistent with 18-20,” Murray said.
“Once we get a firm squad I’ll start putting in some game plans for them with the actual positions they’re going to play in because most of the girls are still learning things like that.
“We haven’t got any expectations…all we want to do is get a team up and find out who we’re playing.
“I’m just excited about getting the girls out and having a kick.”
Coldstream will begin its 2021 season with a trip to newly relegated Chirnside Park on the 17th of April. Meanwhile the Women’s fixture is yet to be finalised (at time of writing).
