By Trent Callen.
Whilst the middle of the table Burners walked away from 2022 with a better than even ledger in the win/loss column, their 9-8 record ultimately was no match in challenging for a shot at glory.
On the other hand, there were glimpses of hope in a season of little to cheer about.
Casting an eye back to the Elimination final where the Burners headed in as outside chances, and rallied to create a half-time buffer in the Elimination final, leaving fans of the red and black daring to dream.
Before arch-rivals South Croydon nailed the door shut with a final-quarter flurry to put an end to the Burners short stay in September.
Under Coach Brendan Allen at their mercy for another go-around this year, Blackburn will be raring to go in proving the doubters wrong and re-writing their historically luckless finals script.
Following a welcomed summer of free reign, with the virus out of harms way, normal service resumed with a pre-season camp filled with team bonding exercises to build morale within the group.
“That really set us up hopefully going forward, learning the gameplay and getting to know all the new players including the 19’s coming up,” Allen said.
On top of the tight knit activities undertaken in the off period, Allen also commented on the physical state of the squad, with an ‘eye test’ suggesting that they’re bigger and better than ever heading into the new year.
“Obviously after the first full preseason with continuity in it after COVID, the boys are a lot fitter and stronger, numbers have been good and we’re ticking along quite nicely at the moment.”
Allen was admittedly outspoken in their surprisingly late search for new talent to be welcomed in at Morton Park, speaking on the make-up of their list still being very much in the fine tuning stage.
“Still talking to a few players, it’s gone unbelievably late the recruiting side of things this year.”
“We’ve lost a fair few of the depth players on the fringe, and generally you get that with 25-26 challenging to play regular senior footy, so that’s completely understandable,” Allen said.
“But in turn that gives the U19’s an opportunity to come up and cement a spot to fast track their footy.”
Following an Elimination Finals exit six months ago, the group has adopted the rear vision mirror approach and only focusing on the now, with Allen remaining bullish on their chances in 2023.
“Pretty much our target is just to make finals, and then anything can happen, you need a bit of luck, we were very young last year and obviously it helps now the list is a year older, Allen said.”
“We’ve recruited in some areas that we think we needed to address, with fingers crossed natural development takes us a little deeper as well.”
That being said, a message to the footy gods can’t hurt in hoping for an injury free 2023…
“Injuries you can’t plan for, they happen, you just have to be prepared and hopefully you have enough cover for when they do.”
The long serving Allen outlined the setup of the coaching ranks, with magnets being moved on and off the field, noting the switching of positions from a management standpoint.
“The personal is similar, but we’ve changed things around a bit, so Dave Bartlett will take the forward line this year, he’s been doing the backs for 8 years now, so the change there will be different.”
“Chad Neilson who had the forwards last year will take the backs, Ash Brown will head up our U19’s program this year, but besides that it’s the same personal just with a change of roles.”
With Good Friday limiting the amount of practice matches fitted in to the schedule, the Burners headed into last Friday’s season opener with only the two dress rehearsals under their belt.
Meaning, the testing opening month of their flag hunt carries more weight, with the likes of Berwick, Doncaster East, South Croydon are all to follow in succession to open their season.
As a powerhouse club in the EFNL, all eyes will be set on how they respond this year in pushing for a deeper finals run in 2023, with the Burners primed and ready to torch the league alight.
The Senior Women’s team will also be looking ahead to an important season.
The side will be in good hands with Jess Trend taking over as senior coach for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Trend has been a perfect choice to take over the reigns, with great experience at the elite level of the game, playing with both North Melbourne and Fremantle in the AFLW competition.
Her career at that level was cut short due to a significant ACL injury. Trend’s experience playing the game at it’s highest level means she’ll bring great experience and leadership to a very young group of players.
The side unfortunately weren’t able to win a game last season, having recently lost a lot of their star talent. However, they’ll be playing in a lower division in 2023, competing against the likes of other sides such as Heathmont, Montrose and the Waverley Blues.
With one of the best junior clubs in the competition, Blackburn will hope to push more of those younger players from the Under 18’s up into the senior level over the next few years. The club also fortunate to be one of the only clubs in the Eastern competition to have a Veteran Women’s side which speaks volumes to the culture of the club and their women’s program.