vfl.com.au recently chatted to North Ballarat senior coach Marc Greig about what could lie in store for the club on the field in 2017.
FACT FILE:
2016 FINISH: 14th (3-15)
2016 BEST AND FAIREST: 1. Luke Kiel / 2. Nick Rippon / 3. Rowan Marshall
2016 TEAM OF THE YEAR: Nick Rippon
2016 DRAFTEES: Rowan Marshall (rookie pick no.10 to St Kilda) / Matthew Eagles (Category B rookie signing by Brisbane through ‘The Recruit’ television show)
OTHER FORMER PLAYERS CURRENTLY ON AFL LISTS:
- Selected in 2010: Isaac Smith (Hawthorn)
- 2012: Dean Towers (Sydney)
KEY 2017 INS & OUTS:
- In: Lane Buckwell (Lake Wendouree) / Jacob Cooke-Harrison (Horsham Saints) / Ben Cox (South Colac) / Jay Moody (Portland) / Brenton Payne (St Kilda AFL) / Toby Thoolen (Swan Hill)
- Out: Matthew Eagles (Brisbane AFL) / Sam Hooper (Essendon VFL) / Rowan Marshall (St Kilda AFL) / Coleman Schache
DEPARTED PLAYERS WHO'LL BE MISSED:
Coleman Schache: “Coleman’s one of my really good mates and he’s gone back home to the farm. He’s played over 70 games of senior VFL footy and he’s a ripping bloke you can’t replace. He wasn’t just a footy player, he was a leader and someone who set the standards around the place.”
Rowan Marshall: “I’d love to have Ro in every position on the field. His drafting is a credit to him and the program we’re running here – that he’s been able to develop over a couple of years and get an opportunity. It’s a weird one, I suppose: When you play, it’s all about premierships, but when you’re in the coaching shoes at state-league level – while you still want to win premierships – to see a young kid get drafted is nearly the equal of that.”
RECRUITS WHO COULD MAKE AN IMPACT:
Brenton Payne: “Brenton went to school at St Patrick’s in Ballarat a few years ago and was on St Kilda’s rookie list for a couple of years. He’s 193cm and a good runner. He’ll play forward this year, whether it’s high forward or deep forward. He’s a young fella who possibly wants to get picked up by an AFL club again but his focus is just on playing good footy.”
Jacob Cooke-Harrison: “Jacob will play mainly forward for us and at times on the ball. He won the Wimmera league goalkicking title last year as a small forward/midfielder and was best-on-ground in a grand final and runner-up in the league best-and-fairest award. He’s not the (Hawthorn’s) Cyril Rioli-type – the little whippet – because he’s pretty strong, but he’s creative and clever and he’s got a few tricks.”
Toby Thoolen: “Toby had two years at Collingwood in 2008-09 and spent time at Port Melbourne and Frankston. He played at Swan Hill last year but wanted one last crack at VFL footy and to be able to play with his best mate Luke Kiel. He’s got a big body and he’ll be able to give Orren Stephenson a chop-out in the ruck and play deep forward at times.”
Ben Cox: “Ben kicked 80 goals for South Colac last year and I think he kicked 100 the year before. He’s 187cm so he’s not a genuine key forward but his one-on-one marking is really good and he’s really strong. If we can get it in his hands inside 50 three or four times a game, he’s a really nice kick of the footy too.”
Lane Buckwell: “Lane will get an opportunity down back. I’m not sure whether we’re going to call him a key back – he’s 188 or 189cm – but his calves are as big as you can think of! He’s a different type of player than the standard VFL lad because he’s just so much of a brute, but his closing speed on a lead is as good as I’ve seen.”
Louis Herbert (not exactly a recruit): “I see Louis as a recruit even though he was on our list last year. He’s been in rehab for a long period of time but has got his body right now. We won the only game he played last year (against Coburg in Round 1), so I like his strike rate! He’s got a bit of height about him (187cm) and he’s super quick. He’ll play as a high half forward or deep forward, but he can also play half back.”
BEST-AND-FAIREST CONTENDERS:
“Luke Kiel (pictured), Nick Rippon and Tom Schnerring will be our main on-ballers. Andrew Hooper only played seven games last year and kicked 11 goals – if we can keep him out on the park, he might be able to kick 36 like he did two years ago. Oliver Tate finished the second half of last year on a back flank and he was in the best players for probably our last six or eight games. Tony Lockyer’s as fit as I’ve ever seen him – he’s the fittest at the club at the moment.
“A lot of our senior boys had injuries last year and while we rested them at times, they really wanted to push on. Kiel had crook groins for most of the year, Rippon and Lockyer had crook thumbs and Tate had a foot injury. We’ve looked after them during the pre-season so hopefully we can get even better seasons out of them.”
BREAK-OUT CANDIDATES:
Tom Schnerring: “It was Tom’s first year at the Roosters last year. He was a 19-year-old player for the Rebels in the TAC Cup the year before but he had a knee reconstruction. He’s 189cm but he’ll play in the midfield. For someone who’s just turned 21, he’s a big strong brute. You look at (Sydney’s) Josh Kennedy and (Fremantle’s) Nat Fyfe – they have that bit of height while playing on the ball and he’s that type of player. He was best-on-track before Christmas and then just had a little bit of a niggle with a back issue over the break. A lot of people say when you have a knee reconstruction your first year back is just working back into it, so fingers crossed his back holds up, he has a super year and gets an opportunity on an AFL list.”
Bailey Edwards: “Bailey played 10 games with us last year and the positive with that is when he didn’t get a game here and had to play local football with Lake Wendouree, he was playing in a midfield with Liston Trophy winner Steve Clifton, Nick Peters – he was a premiership player here – and Ben Taylor, who played with the Roosters years ago. That was good for his development because they’re great leaders on the footy field. While he’s still young and raw, his running ability is up there with AFL standards. He likes to play inside but with his speed and running power we want to play him on the outside as well.”
BIGGEST TEAM STRENGTHS:
“I really just reckon it’s the evenness of the team. If we can have 25 of our best players available most of the time, I think we’re a really even team. For example, if you look at a forward line including Shaun Lyle, Brenton Payne, Louis Herbert, James Keeble, Andrew Hooper, Jacob Cooke-Harrison, Toby Thoolen and Jay Moody, we won’t rely on any one of those guys and they’re all capable of kicking goals.”
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT FROM 2016:
“Hopefully with some more mature boys coming in this year, we can nullify the opposition just that little bit longer and keep games closer for longer. While the GWV Rebels are very important to us and we always put Rebels guys on our list every year, we didn’t want another 11 kids out of the TAC Cup on our list this year. We targeted some more mature boys who have played three, four or five years of local country footy and wanted to have a crack at it.
“We’re looking at the creativity amongst the forward line group as a big change from last year, because we probably relied on kicking it down to (tall forwards) Rowan Marshall or Matt Eagles. Now, I’m just not sure who the best opposition defenders would go to because I think all our forwards are capable.
“Ball movement-wise, last year we were probably more focused on holding onto the footy and trying to maintain possession. We’ve certainly focused on moving the ball quicker this year with running players through the midfield and off half back, particularly to get it into that forward line reasonably quickly. We’ve definitely done a fair bit of work defensively over the pre-season right across the ground too. I think the key back position is an area where we do lack a bit, so we’ll rely on the back six as a whole to get the job done.”
COACHING PANEL CHANGES:
“Leigh Hutchinson’s still coaching the back line, Paul Jennings – who has been doing the midfield with Orren Stephenson the last few years – has gone to do the forwards on his own and Nick Daffy – who’s been coaching St Albans the last couple of years – is coming in to do the midfield with Orren. Nick has experience playing in the AFL (165 games for Richmond and one for Sydney) and has coached for the last four or five years. He’s still got some good contacts that he’s in touch with and keeps throwing up ideas.”
Next preview: Northern Blues
Last Modified on 21/03/2017 16:55
