Ryan Long
The race for the Division Four premiership is wide-open in 2022 and Chirnside Park is hoping to be one of those sides come September to be in contention for the flag.
After a long run of consecutive losses that stretches back to 2017, the Panthers made a major breakthrough last season, breaking the streak and putting themselves in a position to make the Division Four finals series.
With six wins from 11 games in 2021, the confidence of the boys from Kimberley Drive has finally returned.
Senior Coach Dave Newlands acknowledged just how important it was to break the dreaded losing streak for the group mentally.
“The belief was the biggest thing for the boys, knowing that they’re good enough to compete with the top sides,” Newlands said.
“Also, how we’re judged on and off the field by others helped as well.”
The club has made some significant changes to their list this year to give them every chance at making a deep run in September.
This includes some experience from Division One with multiple recruits from Mooroolbark to help boost their depth in the middle of the ground and up forward.
Aaron Puckering, a young ruckman from Croydon also joins the Panthers with Newlands highlighting the importance of an extra ruckman to work alongside Grattan Stephens.
“Another ruckman (Puckering) to help out sticks who had a great year but sometimes you need a bit of break as well so we looked at that.”
“They all approached us which was great and they were all mates with the boys on the playing list so it made it a lot easier that they wanted to come across and play footy.”
The club has also managed to retain most of their list from last season. One big loss for the club is the experienced wingman Sam Cannon who returns to Yarra Junction in the Outer East Football Netball League, where he won the 2018 Premiership.
However, the addition of their recruits from higher divisions along with their newfound confidence has the Panthers setting their expectations high.
“Now that the belief’s there and we know we can be there right up at the pointy end of the season, every level has just lifted.”
“Last year, we’d knew we’d be okay but I think the players had to know that and now they well and truly believe it and they’re ready to be right up there at the end of it so that’s where our fitness levels and everything has increased.”
Newlands has committed to the club and wants to set up the side for an extended period of success rather than focus simply on the short term.
“My goal as a coach is, I’m not a one-year coach, I don’t try to win a flag and then destroy the club the next year.”
“I try to set a club up for five years and that’s what we’re doing here and we think we’ll be very good for a long time.”
The Chirnside Park Women’s side will also be looking at a different line-up in the senior side with the program moving from two teams to one.
After coaching the Division Three side, Dave Stewart has been given the task of head coach of the senior side after the program changes.
Stewart is excited about the challenge for himself along with the opportunity that awaits the girls in the year ahead.
“The season can’t come quick enough for us,” Stewart said.
“We’re training well, a lot of the team from my reserves team are with us, most of the retirements were from the senior side but now we become a senior side ourselves so we’re very, very happy.”
“What we will focus on is getting our brand of footy right, I think our brand of footy is good enough to go well this year so no expectations this year.”
The new senior squad will consist of many of the girls who were a part of the reserves side last year that finished on top of the ladder with eight wins from ten matches.
Stewart has seen some quick improvement this pre-season from multiple players from that side who will be out to impress in a higher division.
“Tegan Carney has trained really well, Alice Darcy who won our best and fairest last year, she’s put another string to her bow with her running, quite a lot of the girls have really stepped up realising their senior players now.”
With the club going from two teams to one due to retirements, there’s a big focus at Kimberley Drive to solidify the current group for the benefit of the future.
“There are quite a few teams who have gotten into the same sort of situations as what we have and there’s a couple of teams that may not even get their teams up this year.”
“So, from that point of view, we really need to, as a group, to consolidate the groups that we’ve got and support them.”
