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By: Joseph Arthur
HEATHMONT is out for redemption this season following its first-week finals exit in 2019.
After jumping out to a four-goal lead over Mitcham early in the first semi-final, the Jets only managed six points in the second half and were run over by the eventual-premier to the tune of seven points in extra-time.
“It was a pretty disappointing result for everyone involved, so there’s a bit of a steely determination to make amends,” Heathmont assistant coach Andrew Smith said.
“We certainly threw one away that’s for sure.”
In wake of the disappointing loss, both Smith and senior playing-coach Kyle Emely have made their expectations clear.
“To get back into finals and win a final would be the aim,” Smith said.
The benchmark is set.
In order to achieve this goal the club is embracing is youth, identifying it as the driving force for last season’s success.
With the departure of some of its older legs through retirement, the door is wide open for the young kids to take over.
“Brent English, Matt Decler … we’ve had a few retire and I think there’s just a real hunger,” Smith said.
“I think that’s how we got there (finals) in the end, through our young players, and they’re driving that again this year … the atmosphere is really good.
“They haven’t got those older players with a lot of experience around, so they’ve got to create something now, so it’s a really exciting time for the club and these young players.”
Heathmont has also welcomed its fair share of fresh faces to the club, along with some returning ones.
“Jordan Haynes was Box Hill-listed last year, so he’s back as a full-time Heathmont player and he’s been super on the track,” Smith said.
“Joel Burleigh we recruited from over at South Croydon, he’s only 19-20 and he’s been really good … Chris Allen from over at Surrey Park too.
“We’ve also got six to 10 under-19s coming through and they’re pretty exciting, so the signs are really good, we are going to be young and we’re putting the onus back on the playing group to drive it.
“These are the guys, as I said, they’re going to be the future of the footy club, they’re driving the standards and they’re driving the enthusiasm.”
After Andrew Smith joined Kyle Emley in a season review late last year, both coaches analysed what did and didn’t work in 2019 and are set to implement some structural changes this upcoming season.
Heathmont senior playing-coach Kyle Emley.
Reiterating their desire to let the players drive the club’s direction, the coaches said they are hoping to take on more mentor-focused roles, acting as guides opposed to directors.
Smith said this approach is already paying dividends as the club is ahead of where it was at this time last season.
“Where we were at this time last year, I reckon we’re probably a month, six weeks ahead in the game-style that we’ve established,” Smith said.
“We got the players to have a real input into that (game-style) so they’ll buy into it.
“We are a young group, we’re going to back our pace, we’re going to back our skills and through natural development, that’ll just get us that step further.”
Meanwhile, following a tough 2019 season in Division 1 the Heathmont women’s side is looking to be more competitive in Division 2 and really threaten the League’s top teams.
“We’ve dropped a division and we’re looking to be more competitive this year,” senior women’s coach John Haynes said.
“Last year was a tough year in Division 1 but we’ve got some new recruits, looking forward to the challenges of Division 2 and hopefully we’ll be super competitive.”
The recruiting route the Jets took was to take in athletes of different sporting backgrounds and utilise those skills to foster a successful transition into footy.
Haynes said he has high hopes for a number of recruits and identified some key players to watch this upcoming season.
“We’ve got some people from different backgrounds, Lauren Repolus is a successful netballer in the past … but this is a change from netball into footy, so she’ll be one to watch,” Haynes said.
“We also brought on a very good ex-runner in Renae Steer, who’s coming in for her first year of footy but is very quick and pretty skilful.
“We’ve also got all the skill from last year in the Heathmont girls returning.”
From the get-go the atmosphere around the team has been positive, with good numbers at training and the girls currently preparing for a pre-season camp in Phillip Island with the senior men’s squad.
Haynes identified his keys to season success and said he’s looking forward to the year getting officially underway.
“For me, I want to make sure the girls have an atmosphere of fun and to enjoy their footy, but with that, to build a great culture that we can actually get some success,” Haynes said.
Heathmont opens its season to South Belgrave away on Saturday April 4, while the women’s fixtures are set to be released at a later date.