Coach says promoted Tigers can cover departures
THE outs are significant, but new Thomson coach Sam Stoneley remains confident he can plug enough gaps to push his side towards another finals campaign.
As the freshly promoted Tigers enter GCA2 this season, Stoneley has been forced to find a host of replacements following the exit of key players.
Star all-rounder Jayden Hicks headlines the depar- tures, while captain Adam Bliss, Jhiah Baxter and Hamish Coulson have also left in a blow for Thomson.
Veteran Grant Dew will also drop down a grade or two to play with his son.
“There’s a few missing but we’ve picked up a good player from St Kilda, Phillip Toyne. He’s a fast bowler and he can bat a bit,” Stoneley said.
“We’ve also picked up a guy from St Joeys, Shaun Trenorden, so we’re not doing too bad on the recruiting side. We’ve just got to deal with what we’ve got.”
Coulson and Bliss have both joined GCA1 club Leopold and have gone with Stoneley’s blessing.
“They just want to go and play in Division 1,” Stoneley said.
“If they want to chance their arm, we’ll back them all the way. Good luck to them and hopefully they come back in the future.”
Hicks’s departure is a bitter blow for Thomson, having belted 673 runs and snared 34 scalps in a GCA3 premiership season. As the Tigers’ No.1 gloveman, Baxter is also a crucial loss.
But Stoneley remains steadfast that his side will be competitive.
“I think we’ll go all right,” he said.
“There were a few blokes who did well last year — ‘Hicksy’ played a massive part and so did ‘Dewy’ — but we’ve still got high expectations that a few of the younger kids will step up and play a role, players like Corey Bell, Tom Cockerell.
“We bring Phil into the side and Chris Fulton is back up to full fitness and he’ll be opening the bowling in the ones. I think we could finish mid-table.
“It’s everyone’s dream to play finals and to win a granny, and if we can get there, we get there, but if we don’t, we can’t be too hard on ourselves.
“We’ve had a bit of a rebuilding year, so we’ll just take it on the chin.”
Stepping into the coach’s role for the first time, Stoneley admitted this pre-season had a different feel to it.
“You feel like you’ve got a bit of pressure on your shoul- ders, but everyone’s backing you and wants you to do well, which is a good feeling,” Stoneley said.
“It’s challenging, but when you’ve got a good bunch of lads that you’re coaching, it basically runs itself. I just start the mechanism, give them something to do and they go and do it.
“I thought it would be more challenging than what it is so far, but again the season hasn’t started yet.” LOCAL CRICKET SPECIAL: 12PAGE LIFTOUT THURSDAY