By: Hayden Tilbrook
NORWOOD coach Marty Pask has heaped praise on new recruit Tom Boyd, saying the high-profile recruit has already made a substantial impact on the form of his fellow Norsemen.
With Norwood sitting in sixth on the Premier Division ladder with a 4-6 record at the conclusion of Round 10, hopes for the club’s first finals appearance since 2015 looked to be fading.
But since Boyd’s introduction in Round 11, the Norsemen have won their last two games against North Ringwood and Noble Park to set up a mouth-watering clash with South Croydon that will have major implications on which club features in September.
The Western Bulldogs premiership hero has kicked four goals since returning to his junior club, but his coach says the effect Boyd has had attracting the attention of defenders from fellow forward Leigh Williams has been just as significant.
Leigh Williams and Tom Boyd celebrate a goal in Round 11.
“It’s nice from our view to have a couple of options up (forward),” Pask said.
“It’s no secret that we obviously want to manufacture multiple goal scorers in the front half.
“Leigh’s had a fantastic career at Norwood being able to do that and has probably taken the mantle as the sole leading goal-kicker in the last year or so.
“… When Tom indicated a desire to return at our footy club, no doubt it was going to be something we were going to welcome and work out a structure that suits both of them and have them both in the side together at some point in time.
“Early stages, they seem to be working well together and Leigh … he’s about winning games of footy and whilst looking at the scoreboard and seeing four goals next to his name, he’d be more than happy for someone else to be kicking four.”
Having made eight appearances for the Brisbane Lions in 2006 and now a player manager for some of the AFL’s top talent, Pask understands the importance of creating a balanced environment at the club not just for Boyd, but all of his Norwood players.
“Personally I can relate to it,” he said.
“I guess I was on the other end of the scale in the sense that, in my AFL career, I was on the bottom end of the list and survived every year one-by-one and probably didn’t have the career that I wanted, and (understood) how hard it was and the expectation and things that come with it in professional sport.
“I think a lot of that, Tom aside, that helps me with my coaching is that I enjoy and love building relationships with players and I appreciate what they’re trying to do.
“So for someone like Tom to come to our footy club, he’s 100 per cent safe and secure in the knowledge that, one, I have an enormous amount of empathy for what he’s going through … and also I understand that footy’s not the number one thing.
“We all love football, I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t love football and the players wouldn’t be there if they didn’t love it, but I think sometimes at local level, AFL level, or wherever you play, the actual enjoyment and the instinct that comes with football can be taken away.
“I’m very big on trying to create an environment where players want to be there, they want to hang their hat, they want to enjoy playing footy, because let’s be honest, at local level football’s not number one, football’s about number three.
“Family’s probably first, then they’ve all got jobs or study or something else they’re doing and footy’s what they do because they want the enjoyment.
“… That’s expressed to all the players and anyone that comes into our footy club.”
With the Norsemen facing a season-defining fortnight hosting South Croydon in Round 13 before a trip to Rowville in Round 14, Pask said his group were relishing in the opportunity to take control of their finals destiny.
“For us it’s a fantastic challenge,” he said.
“No doubt South Croydon have been one of the best teams in the competition for the last two years.
“They come and they play on our home ground, and we’re up for the contest and that’s something that our group loves at the moment.
“We really want to be a team that is up for the fight and up for the contest.”
EFL SUNDAY PODCAST | Listen to Norwood coach Marty Pask’s full interview here.
