At the end of the 2009 season there was significant change at the Panton Hill Football Club with the departure of long serving senior coach Garry Ramsay. Reserves coach Jon Manzoney and assistant coaches Justin Whitcher and Rob Lamb also departed and a number of senior players either retired or pursued their football at other clubs. This placed the club in a position where it had a significant challenge prior to the 2010 season but also created a great opportunity to develop a new coaching setup and player group. The introduction of a third division provided an opportunity for the club to improve it’s competitiveness and ensure that the players enjoyed their football. John Garrard was appointed as senior coach in October 2009. John is a former Panton Hill player (2002-05) and assistant coach (2004-05) who has coached at Ivanhoe Amateur Football Club and Eltham Collegians in recent years. Jayson Burleigh was appointed as reserves coach and senior assistant and together with John set about re-establishing the player group during pre-season. The pre-season training was not well attended despite a focused fitness program and some excellent skill development opportunities. The pre-season player numbers in the weeks leading up to the first practice game were very poor which made the Committee and local community very concerned. However, a renewed focus on recruiting players led by John and with the support of Brad Brennan and Jayson Burleigh brought significantly improved numbers. By the time Joffa Byron was recruited as an assistant coach in Round 5 the senior side was finalised and there was pressure on players to keep their spot both in the senior and reserves sides. The first game of the season was at Panton Hill against newcomers St Mary’s which proved to be a boosting 172 point win. However, the next 3 games were all losses against the other three teams that ultimately played off in the finals (Hurstbridge, Parkside and Reservoir), but the side then went on to win the rest of the games in the home and away season except for a loss against eventual premiers Hurstbridge in round 15 which ended an eight game winning streak for the Redbacks. The great second half of the season enabled the club to finish in third spot heading into the finals just behind Hurstbridge on match ratio. The reserves also had a fantastic finish to the season sneaking into the finals in fourth spot following a narrow 3 point win against Parkside in the final round. This was the first time since 1992 that Panton Hill had both sides in the finals and the first time the seniors had played finals since 2004 and reserves since 2000. The senior second semi final was against Parkside. The game was very close and competitive for the first half but Parkside played the better of the two teams in the second half to eventually win by 20 points and go on to play in the grand final. This was a disappointing finish to a season which offered so much but no doubt will provide motivation for the players to perform better next year. The reserves played against South Morang and despite a very good start were comprehensively beaten. The new coaching panel at Panton Hill and wide range of high quality new players ensured that the Redbacks had their best season for many years. New recruit and centre half forward Brendan O’Connor ultimately won the best player award for the club narrowly ahead of Joffa Byron and club legend Will Box. Matt Sherwood was significantly improved as was ruckman Chris Sansom. The depth of the reserves also significantly improved with ruckman Daniel Keen receiving the reserves best player award. The club also recognised the important role of the vast majority of volunteers. Steve Parsons in particular received the prestigious ‘best clubman’ award for his significant contribution to the club this year. Life membership was awarded to Will Box for his leadership, loyalty, dedication and enthusiasm for the club and Scott Walker current President and still playing in the reserves who also received life membership for his outstanding work both on and off the field, in particular his key role in the new lighting project and the on going battle of bring our ground up to standard. . There were extensions undertaken to the trainers room to continue to improve the facilities, the junior club continued to expand and thrive and a netball team was set up which competed in the NFL netball competition. The club also had another successful year financially which places it in a secure position for the future.
