vfl.com.au recently chatted to new Box Hill Hawks senior coach Chris Newman about what could lie in store for the club on the field in 2017.
FACT FILE:
AFL ALIGNMENT: Hawthorn
2016 FINISH: 10th (7-11)
2016 BEST AND FAIREST: 1. David Mirra / 2. Sam Iles / 3. Teia Miles
FORMER PLAYERS CURRENTLY ON AFL LISTS:
- Selected in 2001: Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn/West Coast)
- 2010: Ed Curnow* (Carlton), Cameron Pedersen* (North Melbourne/Melbourne)
- 2011: Sam Gibson* (North Melbourne)
- 2015: Sam Collins (Fremantle)
KEY 2017 INS & OUTS:
- In: Vincent Adduci (Oakleigh Chargers) / Harrison Burt (Sandringham Dragons) / Tristan Davies (Eastern Ranges) / Billy Evans (Brisbane AFL) / Jake Godwin (Eastern Ranges) / Will Hams (Essendon AFL) / Jordan Haynes (Eastern Ranges) / Thomas Jacotine (Eastern Ranges) / Michael Knoll (basketball) / Nelson Lane (Eastern Ranges) / Thomas Maloney (Sandringham Dragons) / Andrew Moore (Richmond AFL) / Sam Parsons (Oakleigh Chargers) / Lachlan Walker (Oakleigh Chargers)
- Out: Tom Gordon (Doncaster East) / Sam Iles / Liam Kidd (Coburg) / Patrick Lawlor (Coburg) / Marc Lock (Old Carey) / Ryley Monkhorst (Sandringham) / Jake Summers (Doncaster East)
DEPARTED PLAYERS WHO’LL BE MISSED:
Experienced leaders: “Sam Iles was really respected within the organisation and the way he went about it set the example. He was a real leader around the group and Marc Lock was the same. He was just a really good person to have around the group and he has a good football brain. Tom Gordon is also in the same category.”
Young forwards: “Pat Lawlor and Jake Summers are both quality players so their departure leaves a bit of a void for us in the forward line. I think we’ve managed to recruit fairly well in the off-season though, and we’ve got some smaller forwards that can play down there as well as some bigger guys that can take a catch. It just presents an opportunity for younger guys to step into their shoes and fill the void.”
RECRUITS WHO COULD MAKE AN IMPACT:
Andrew Moore (55 AFL games for Port Adelaide from 2010-15 and five AFL games for Richmond in 2016): “Andrew’s a really physical player, he’s a good size, he’s a natural leader and his fitness and his work rate is second to none. He’ll get some opportunity in the midfield but also with the flexibility of going back and forward if we need it. His versatility throughout games will be really important for us, but no doubt he does a lot of his best work at the centre bounces.”
Billy Evans (seven AFL games for Brisbane from 2015-16): “Billy is another bigger on-baller. He’s a bit of a work horse and he loves to get the contested footy. We also want to add a string to his bow in potentially throwing him forward to have an impact there. I think he needs to have that flexibility.”
Will Hams (13 AFL games for Essendon from 2013-16): “Will is another who can play as an inside midfielder, but we’re really keen for him to explore roles both inside and outside the contest this year. He might potentially roll through the wings and the forward line at times.”
BEST-AND-FAIREST CONTENDERS:
“We know how consistent David Mirra is. I’ve only been at Box Hill for a brief amount of time but the amount of passion he plays with and the amount of care he shows for his teammates and anyone that’s associated with Box Hill is outstanding. That passion filters through the team too. He’ll look to have a really strong season.
“I also wouldn’t put it past any of the guys that get an opportunity to play consistent footy (in the wake of experienced players leaving) to progress their own performance (see below).”
BREAK-OUT CANDIDATES:
“With forwards like Pat Lawlor and Jake Summers leaving, it gives guys like Chris Jones (pictured, right) a bit more of an opportunity and he’s been training the house down this pre-season. His work rate has really lifted and so has the way he’s marking the ball and demanding the footy. I’m really excited to see what he can bring this year.
“Some of those experienced guys that have left the club will open up opportunities for guys like Sam Switkowski, Nick Evans and Anthony Brolic too.”
BIGGEST TEAM STRENGTHS:
“We’re hoping we can really compete – it’s been a bit of a theme throughout the pre-season. We want to be competitive in all games, and we felt like we were last year but probably not consistently enough throughout four quarters.
“I hope I can also build on what (departed senior coach) Marco Bello has left in his time at Box Hill, in terms of the way he wanted the players to play with a bit of flair and dash but also play team footy. I’ll try to continue on with that but I’m hoping to add my own sort of dynamic as well.”
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT ON 2016:
“I don’t think it’s a secret that our contested ball probably needs to improve. That might not correlate to being the best in the competition this year, but we certainly have to be better-ranked than we were last year (ranked 14th in the VFL for contested possessions per game during the H&A season). We feel like some of the personnel we’ve brought into the group might help with that and we’ve had a bit of a focus this pre-season of putting our guys in situations where they feel comfortable for it to be more of a contested game. In saying that, we don’t want to lose our ability to move the ball and play a really exciting brand of footy as well.”
COACHING PANEL CHANGES:
“At Development League level, (former Northern Knights head coach) Andrew Shakespeare will be the senior coach and we’ve managed to retain Michael Shmerling, David Knight and Damien Yze as assistants under Andrew. At senior level, we’ve had a pretty high turnover. Matt Adolph – who was the coach of our Development League team last year – will be our forwards coach this year, Max Bailey – who is in the development department at Hawthorn along with myself – will be the midfield coach and Ricky Petterd will be the back line coach.”
Next preview: Port Melbourne
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Last Modified on 21/03/2017 12:11