It was a rocky start to the 2022 season for Knox, but the club has recovered after pulling out two wins back-to-back to sit 5th in Division Two with a 2-2 record.
Star recruit Jackson McDonald continued his strong start to his Knox career after moving over from Rowville Hawks in the summer alongside Jackson Anderson and Jarryd Hall.
The 18-point win against Templestowe on the weekend followed the Falcons big win over newcomers Oakleigh District the week before.
McDonald was incredibly proud of the boys’ efforts on the weekend after making a comeback at the end of the third quarter to secure a big win.
“I think we were sort of harder around the contest during third quarter compared to the first half,
“We were obviously pretty hard at the ball but in that third quarter I think we did it a bit longer than they did, and it started to show on the scoreboard by us kicking a few extra goals.”
Along with McDonald’s, Harry Greaves, Jackson Anderson, and Jarryd Hall also stepped up on the weekend, with an even contribution making sure they didn’t leave that field without the win.
“Harry Greaves was great in the ruck; he seemed to dominate their ruckman and grab it out of the ruck and get it forward for us a lot,
“Jackson Anderson, he was good and really fit, running all day creating an option and driving our attacks and Jarryd Hall was in the midfield cracking in and he was getting his hands on the ball first and giving our runners plenty to work with.”
With the new additions and depth to Knox this season, McDonald believes they’ll be able to get a big turnaround on 2021 and improve as the season goes along regardless of the bumpy start to 2022.
“I see improvement coming from the group, we’re very young,
“We obviously started off not how we would have wanted to in round one and we competed in round two but obviously South Belgrave have a great side,
“Our aim is to be able to compete with the top sides and I’m sure we’ll be able to do that, and we’ll only get better each week,
“We’re a very young side to deal with and were even younger last year which means natural improvement, but we’re adding [players] who are a little bit older which complements the youth and makes them a little bit more confident out on the field.”
Knox is set to play against bottom of the ladder The Basin this weekend but with three key players such as McDonald himself alongside Anderson and Hall missing in action this weekend, the team will need to bring their best foot forward to ensure the win.
“I’m sure somebody else will step up,
“We’ll back in the next man up and I’m sure they’ll be able to play their role and compete hard.”
