Boronia football operations manager Ashley Johnston spoke to EFL.org.au ahead of the Hawks’ 2017 campaign…
2017 Leaders
President – Kristan Wood
Senior Coach – Peter Brown
Senior Captain – TBA
What is the club’s ethos/focus in season 2017?
To continue improving on last year on field and also providing a safe and enjoyable environment for all to be associated with.
What has the pre-season been like so far for the club? Is there any group that has really impressed (younger players, veterans, new recruits, etc.)?
We have seen a huge improvement over all age groups on this time last year.
Complemented by an injection of new recruits, our young group are driving high standards and we are seeing exciting numbers consistently on the training track.
Off the field has there been any changes to the structure of the club? And how are you situated heading into the 2017 season?
Off field the club has moved from a committee to board structure.
We believe this will allow us to spread the workload across more volunteers and become more productive as a club.
This should also eliminate some ‘burnout’ in volunteers that we have seen in previous years.
Thanks to the support of our loyal sponsors and tireless work from volunteers, the club is in a healthy financial position.
We also have plenty of members willing to volunteer their time and help the club out.
If you could take one thing you learnt from the 2016 season to improve this year, what would it be?
Getting the whole football club to realise that there is a huge opportunity upon us to create some sort of dynasty here!
From an on-field viewpoint, instilling belief and taking your chances when they arise.
Who are the players who you think will have a break-out season, who may have gone under the radar in the past as far the being known across the EFL community?
Our senior side finished the year off with an average age of 21.4 over the 19 games.
A lot of the boys went under the radar hopefully some of our young talent can once again step up and become our next Ryan White who now is part of the TAC Cup program as an overage player after a standout 2016.
Where does the club see itself in 3 years’ time?
On-field, the club’s goal in three years’ time is to be at least challenging for Division 2 finals.
Finally, who in your Division do you feel is the greatest threat to your chances of success in 2017 and why?
2016 was a very even year. We feel it will be even tighter in 2017 with word filtering around that most clubs have recruited well – everyone’s a danger.
