ByJosh Ward.
Vermont’s men’s side will look to build on a year where they surprised many while the women’s program begins a new era.
The Eagles senior men’s outfit bounced straight back to the top and finished as Premier Division minor premiers after 2022 saw the side miss finals for the first time in more than a decade.
Following a loss to Rowville and a win against Doncaster East in their first two finals, Vermont met the Hawks once again on the final day of the EFNL season, falling 10 points short of adding a 24th premiership to their cabinet.
Senior coach Adam Parker says the grand final loss is one of many factors that has seen much work put into them this preseason.
“Anyone who’s been in a losing grand final, whatever sport or level, you just want to go one step better the following year, but a lot of hard work has to go in to make that happen.”
Parker says Vermont’s preseason has been one of the hardest physically for the players since he joined the club, with the young group well prepared for the season ahead.
Majority of last year’s young playing group has also signed on for another season, with Vermont’s football department putting a specific focus on retention ahead of 2024.
“With the player points restriction and salary cap, you’ve got to invest in the players that are in your football club otherwise they’re pretty hard to replace.”
Vermont has still managed to pick up and bring players back to the club, including Wantirna South’s 2023 leading goalkicker Kye Barlow, Tyler Dobay from Croydon, Port Melbourne VFL-listed player Angus Curry and Cooper Leon from South Bendigo.
“The pleasing thing about our recruiting is that they’re all connected to our club whether they were past players that have moved on and have come back to challenge themselves or whether they’re close mates with some of our players.”
While the side has a much more known proposition and continues to improve, Parker says the competition is going to be as tight as ever as it returns to just 10 teams after having 12 compete in the past two seasons.
“Teams who don’t turn up with the right attitude this year will lose regardless of who the opponent is and I think that’s pretty exciting because it means it’s unpredictable and sports that’s unpredictable to watch is exciting.”
The Vermont men’s side kick off their season away against Blackburn before two consecutive home games at the refurbished Vermont Recreation Reserve against finalists Balwyn and premiers Rowville.
Vermont’s women’s side comes into 2024 after missing out on back-to-back finals appearance in the hotly contested Premier Division women’s competition, with the side’s depth tested throughout the 2023 campaign.
This year will see a new era begin once again for the women’s side, with Chris Clark replacing Greg Walker as senior women’s. Clark says the side is set to have a slightly different look this coming season.
“We’ve got some new kids that are fresh talent and are VFLW or Coates Talent League listed players, some good Under 18s have also come up from the juniors,” Clark says.
Despite being involved with the junior program in recent years, Clark says he’s now gained a better understanding of what the junior girls coming up into the seniors are capable of in 2024.
“When you get a player who’s playing at the right speed all of a sudden they evolve into something new, we’ve already seen that with a couple of the juniors.”
The coaching group has also gained a better understanding of the playing group throughout the preseason, with Clark looking to set his game plan and structure that allows each player to play to their strengths.
“Because we’ve had a good look at everyone, we’re pretty confident that we will set up structure around what our strengths are, there’s no point playing against them.”
And while Clark is confident that his side’s best team can take it right up to the likes of the Eastern Devils, South Croydon and South Belgrave, his main objective is to help the side continue to grow and develop their game.
“We’re in a growth phase where we’ve had a change in personnel, we’ve got ideas as to what that looks like on game day. In saying that, we’ve got plenty of talent, it’s just about getting that all together at the right time.”
The Vermont women will kick off their season against reigning Division 1 premiers Boronia Brown a Tormore Reserve on April 20th before facing Mount Evelyn at home in Round 2.
