By Wil Spence
With an 0-3 record on the cards, Brett Gatehouse’s Glen Waverley Hawks held off a gallant Ferntree Gully (FTG) to provide a pulse for season 2022.
The Hawks led at each break, and coach Brett Gatehouse was very pleased with his side’s fight and response against a surging FTG outfit.
“We probably missed a few opportunities in front of goal, we knew they [FTG] were going to respond and I was very happy with the team’s effort to hold on.”
A 1-2 record sounds a lot better than an 0-3 record; Gatehouse emphasised the importance of the win for their club and their higher aspirations for finals football.
“0-2 start makes it a little bit harder, but we will still be pushing for top four, it looks like a pretty even comp, any team can beat any team on any given day I reckon.”
Max Holmes proved vital for the Hawks kicking three majors in a change of roles and Glen Waverley had changes all around the ground after casualties throughout the week.
The Hawks senior personnel stepped up when the game was in the balance and were the driving forces in their maiden win for the season.
“There were a few positional changes before the game, with a couple of injuries during the week, we had Max Holmes play forward for most of the day out of necessity, we chucked him in the midfield in the last quarter and helped us hold on,
“Couple of the senior boys, Mitchell Potts, and Jesse Dunne showed their leadership qualities, we didn’t really have a weak link on the day, it was a good solid performance from everyone, everyone held the nerve.”
Gatehouse was quite pleased with his side’s depth, with both the seniors and reserves winning together for the first time in 980 days.
“The belief is there after a rough couple of years, and both the one’s and two’s won for the first time in three or four years,
“There’re some pretty handy players that are playing reserves, I’d say we’re in a pretty good position, we just have got to bank a few more wins in the seniors.”
When the siren sounded for Gatehouse’s outfit, there was a sense of both relief and hard work finally paying off.
“Definitely relief on my end, we put in a lot of hard work, and we were disappointed to be 0-2, we felt as though we could’ve been 1-1 after 2 games,
“The boys were ecstatic to get their first win, there was lots of new players singing the song in the middle.”
Gatehouse believes with more games under a relatively different outfit, and a better understanding of a new game style, the sky is the limit for the Hawks.
“We need to continue to gel with lots of new players, but once we click, we’re going to be pretty tough to beat, hopefully that’s sooner rather than later”.