By Davis Harrigan.
Once a Pioneer, always a Pioneer
It comes as no surprise that the Whitehorse Pioneers are ready to bounce back after last year’s Division 4 Grand Final loss. They’re coming back hungry, prepared, and with a desire to develop.
Andrew Haining, the man leading the Pioneers in his third season at the helm, is optimistic that the increased lead-in time and preparation by the players has created a new level of excitement.
“We’ve got more numbers than we did last year, which is a great sign. Pre-season has definitely been better than last year, so we’re really building well,” Haining said.
“Off the back of the year before, getting relegated, it’s always harder to get everyone to completely buy in. After having a team that lost in a grand final, and a team that made a prelim in our reserves, everyone’s really excited and keen to take that next step.”
Numbers on the training track are also a major positive, which has allowed for a greater emphasis on depth and players pushing harder to make it into the senior side.
“We have reserves players pushing for selection, both in the seniors and in the reserves, because of the depth and the amount of numbers we have on our list, just makes training all the more competitive,” Haining said.
“What’s really exciting is the list is younger this year than it was last year. We want to build and grow like Scoresby and Surrey Park before us; they had really long lists and strong reserves sides.”
The Pioneers culture is emphasised by being part of a team that is not only inclusive, but a club where people want to remain, and then keeping that going through the club’s strength and success.
“I have a big philosophy of once a Whitehorse player, always a Whitehorse player. We’ve got a real strong philosophy that the door is always open, and we want to be a place that people want to come to, not a place that people want to leave,” Haining remarked.
“What’s easy to forget is how strong a season we had as a club last year. Our women’s team played finals in Premier, and they’re shaping up to have another really strong season. Our senior team made a grand final, and our reserves played off in a prelim. From a competitive point of view, the club’s in a really strong position.”
The loss to Scoresby in last year’s grand final is now in the past, with Haining focused on the future, highlighting that 2024 was a tremendous season overall.
“A lot of times, teams will get relegated, and it can be really hard to keep people wanting to contribute. The fact we were able to reset, continue to grow, and improve, that really shows the strength of our committee and our off-field leadership, and helps support me in taking care of what I need to do.”
Crucially, the list that came so close in 2024 has been bolstered by youth, and hasn’t seen any departures to another team.
“We haven’t lost anybody that’s gone to another club. We’ve had a couple that have chosen not to continue with football, but we’ve also been able to bring over 15 players into the club. Most of them are under 25, so the real focus when we were recruiting, was about how they fit in to the long term future,” Haining said.
“My focus is to develop and improve all of our players, so if I can see improvement in every single player on the list, and they can personally see improvement in their game, then as a coach, I’ve been successful in that ambition.”
Whitehorse has got into the game early as well, placing an emphasis on match simulation to try and replicate game conditions as closely as possible.
“I love match sim. I’ve introduced a lot more than I have in previous pre-seasons; I just enjoy throwing the magnets around,” Haining said.
"Also having a real focus on our main forward line playing on our main backline, so we can continue to develop, with new players coming in this year.”
The leadership will see a new face as captain this season, with current skipper Mitch Ward handing over the reigns, giving the opportunity for a fresh, young group to make their mark.
“Mitch Ward, who’s been our captain for the last two years, we had a conversation, and Mitch decided that it’s time for him to step down. We’re going to be bringing on a younger group,” Haining said.
“I don’t think leadership is something that you just have to be given, it’s earned. Anyone can be a leader within a club; I’m really big on that if someone’s not holding up to our team values, that they’re letting someone else know.”
Despite the absence of Nunawading from the competition, there is still a very strong belief that the division will be hotly contested. As for the newcomers in Bulleen-Templestowe, being a relative unknown, and the addition of Warrandyte, making sure that the focus stays on the team is the priority.
“For us, it’s control the controllables. We don’t really know much about Bulleen, but we’ll learn a lot about them really quickly…Warrandyte’s (also) coming in, and we haven’t played them for over 12 months,” Haining said.
“They were probably unlucky to get relegated, I think they’ll come back and be strong. Chirnside finished second, and Kilsyth played finals, they’re both going to be strong sides.”
Commitment and effort come part and parcel of a footy season, but with a chance to hit reset and go again, Haining and his Whitehorse cohort are raring to go.
“It will be quite a strong division again. We’re focusing on improving our list, and all of our players, through fitness and skills. We’ll worry about our opponents as we get to them,” Haining said.
The Pioneer resilience
After just being pipped in last year’s finals by South Belgrave, the women’s Premier side is building nicely ahead of their season start on April 12th against Boronia. Paul Beven is ready to see what’s in store, and like his senior counterpart, has a similar approach to the new campaign.
“It’s shaping up okay, we’ve had a bit of a turnover of players, and you’re always going to get a bit of a turnover, but we’ve managed to bring some other girls in as well,” Beven said.
“Finals are obviously the goal; obviously a disappointment to lose by a point. I think the girls have taken that on board, that they are good enough to actually be there, play finals, and be up the top end of the ladder.”
Now 10 years into the program, the Pioneers side continues to foster strong relationships within the side. Beven said it doesn’t go unnoticed.
“They’re a pretty good group, they all generally get along and welcome new faces in. Just making sure the girl’s know each other’s names, especially the new ones.
“Once they’re here, they’re together and work as a group. The way they draw new players in, and welcome them in, they don’t segregate girls, and they act as one.”
Beven took the job on to shift his own coaching dynamic, and has thoroughly enjoyed his time with the Pioneers, citing it as an exciting change.
“I’ve been in men’s footy for 12 to 15 years. I spent a year with Tassie as their runner in the NAB League program, so that gave me an inkling of what it was like,” he said.
“It’s a new challenge for me and something different. What’s kept me here is the girls are a fantastic bunch, very welcoming to my family, and my kids, it’s the environment they create.
“They’re sponges for information, they just want to learn, and understand the game.”
Park Orchards make their way into the fold after a stunning 2024 season. It’s a club Beven is familiar with from previous coaching stints, and a combination of experience, familiarity, and embracing the challenge of a new opposition, essentially with a clean slate.
“You haven’t got that expectation that comes from playing the Devils or South Croydon; there’s certain girls that are hard to play against or top end players. Here, there’s no expectations, because they don’t know the girls, so they can go out and do what they do, rather than worry about what the opposition are going to do. They can just concentrate on their game,” Beven said.
Even new opposition won’t change much overall - its will simply be a matter of adaptation.
“It’s the same strategy - you change your game plan to suit. Last year was a bit of a learning curve in terms of new structures and process and what I brought to them, and they all bought into that really well,” Beven commented.
With the women’s competition becoming stronger across the board with talent, skills, and results, Beven definitely knows what’s needed to make sure the side stays the course with fitness and recovery.
“In Premier, they need a level of fitness to compete. If you haven’t got that level of fitness, you get found out pretty quickly,” Beven said.
“I drill into the girls to just do some recovery, whether that’s after the game, going to the gym, pools, beach. Some of the girls are playing VFL as well, and they’ll have that process through the VFL system to recover after the game.
“It makes a difference to your training standards, and it helps to close that gap, with those lesser skilled working with higher skilled (players).”
There’s also been a strong translation and successful approaching to imparting information and instructions to build on success as the season progresses.
“I try and get them to buy into my experience, and trust the information we’re giving them is correct. No-one’s perfect, we get things wrong, so I give them the opportunity to pull me and Chris up on stuff with that communication side of things,” Beven said.
“One thing I drive is communication on and off the ground, from them to me, me to them, to the other coaches, because as long as that communication is right, everything else sort of falls into place.”
Much like the men’s team, the leadership group hasn’t quite been finalised, but there’s definitely room for plenty to have their opportunity.
“I haven’t (yet) finalised the group. Last year, Fish (Georgia Fisher) had an outstanding year, and showed her quality, especially in the final, where she took the game apart by herself and lead from the front,” Beven said.
“Sarah Cowley will be around the mix again, and the more experienced girls that have been around, getting them into the leadership group as well.”
Starting the season well is a classic idiom, but Beven and the Pioneers aren’t getting too far ahead of themselves at this point in time.
“It’s the old cliche, one game at a time and work from there. Wins early in the season are important. If you’re chasing tails towards the end of the year, to actually make finals, it’s really hard,” Beven said.
“Last year, we knew we would play finals three to four weeks in advance, so we had that luxury and didn’t have to push to win every game, and we could try a couple of different things.”
With the ambition and desire to go further again, Beven is confident that the foundation of 2024 can be replicated and enhanced in 2025.
“They’re hungry enough to do it…there’s a few changes here and there, but that’s okay. Now they’ve had a taste of it, they know they can do it, as long as we’re putting the right things in place for them, they just need to execute, come game day.”