By Caitlin Arnold - @caityclaire
Seeing his teams’ talent go to waste in the 2014 season was UTS Bats’ Kaizaad Mehta’s biggest disappointment.
Despite a team that looked good on paper, the UTS Bats’ Premier Division side was unable to turn their talent into success as they finished the year in last place on the ladder with a 3-14 win loss comparison.
Adamant that his team had no excuse for their lack of execution in 2014, Mehta says that the club has upped the ante over the pre-season to ensure they are in a better position come September.
“The first move was to appoint an experienced new Senior Coach in Nic Fosdike to add an extra layer of professionalism and proven capability to the coaching team,” Mehta said.
“Additionally, we have seen some fresh faces on the track with a lot of younger kids making their mark on the pre-season.
“As a baseline lift, we have focussed on our fitness and in particular, match-specific fitness which is well up from 12 months ago. And structure too, with a lot of time going into understanding our game plan and being very disciplined to execute.”
Furthermore, the Bats have a new club President with Justin Kurenda taking over from Nick Haslem who has moved to Melbourne to pursue an opportunity as North Melbourne’s General Manager of Strategy and Business Development.
“Firstly I would like to thank Nick for his work at the Bats during his time as President. He built a strong footing in terms of club stability through key sponsorship and attracting the right personnel.
“Justin has been great so far in building on these foundations and taking the club to the next level. He is very well respected amongst the playing group and committee, and has already made some big decisions.”
Decisions such as pulling UTS from the Division Two competition and moving ‘The Bat Cave’ to the Royal Oak in Double Bay as their sponsor pub for 2015.
“Taking into account that we need to strengthen the teams that we put on the park each week, and to ensure that we have the resources available to support them, the assessment was made to pull our Division Two team from the competition.
“I think this is a move that will improve the club’s performance instantly, and sets up the opportunity for some exciting prospects in the future.”
Away from the Premier Division squad, the Bats’ 2014 was not all doom and gloom. Taking out the Division Four premiership and losing by just 16 points in the Division One Grand Final, the Bats were happy to add to their trophy cabinet at seasons end.
“We absolutely had some real success last year both on and off the field. The Division Four premiership was a highlight with the boys performing strongly all year and taking home the silverware on the big day.
“Division One just fell short on grand final day, however it was a great season by the boys and they will be looking to go one better this year.
The Bats’ sister team, the UTS Shamrocks were also semi-finalists in the Women’s Division Two competition and will this year go in as one of the favourites to take the title.
“The Shamrocks have been a big part of the pre-season and are looking very good for 2015.
“However, despite all these great results, I think you are judged as a club and we judge ourselves through the results of the senior team, and to finish last in Premier Division was a bitter pill to swallow.”
Looking forward, Mehta is excited by the Premier Division’s prospects this season. Having partaken in two practice matches in the pre-season, Mehta says that it is the work he has seen during the several intra-club games that puts his side in good stead.
“Although we have only played two formal trial games this pre-season, it feels as though we have had a lot more match-style practice. With numerous intra-club trials as well as game-specific training drills, I think we will go into the season with a strong base.
“The two things that we will take away from the trials against Sydney University and St George are that we have come a long way from last year but have some way to go.
“We need to improve on our structural awareness and we need to get some more game time as a group. There were certainly promising signs in terms of pressure and attack on the ball, which is what you really want to see at this time of year.”
Harrison Callahan from the Wangaratta Tigers (Victoria) and Tom Larby from the Deloraine Football Club (Tasmania) are the Bats’ big recruits for 2015. Callahan is being touted as a formidable wing prospect while Larby will be looked to as a strong-handed key position player.
Most interestingly, Ryan Kirkhope joins the Bats as a Rugby League convert and is already impressing Mehta as an excitable on-baller.
While these new Bats pave the way for a season turn around, it is experienced Bats James Caica and Gavin Murray who take the cake for Mehta as those standing out at pre-season training.
LAZIEST, CRAZIEST, PATRICK SWAYZEST
Laziest person at the club?
“Ben Moyle. He hates getting to training and working hard. In all seriousness, he is probably the opposite, first guy out and last in!”
Craziest person at the club?
“James ‘Howey’ Tuan. It’s just a vibe I get.”
Patrick Swayzest person at the club?
“Damon Collina. He is the closest to Patrick’s vintage and is booked in for some Botox for the Friday night Round One clash at Henson Park.”
Last Modified on 15/04/2015 15:31
