Falcons buzzing for first match
LAURA Gardiner and Darcy Moloney have not put a foot wrong. But it is the rise of unheralded teenagers Zoe Garth and Carly Remmos that has excited Geelong Falcons under-18 girls coach Brendan McCartney.
Garth and Remmos have been impressive in the preseason, adding a layer of enthusiasm ahead of tomorrow’s Round 1 clash with Gippsland Power.
“Laura Gardiner and Darcy Moloney are in pathways program, so they’re the obvious ones, but there’s been four or five that have just got better with every session,” McCartney said.
“Zoe Garth is really exciting. Carly Remmos is doubling between basketball and football, and she’s got attributes that she didn’t realise she had when she started playing.
“So quite a few of them are actually growing their games inside the program and I see little improvements in all of them every time I see them train because it’s such an empty canvas when they started.
“You can just see them putting little building blocks in place, but we’ll know more in the next three or four weeks when they get a batch of games under their belt.”
Fresh from a solid hit-out against Greater Western Victoria, McCartney is confident his team is battle hardened.
“It went pretty well,” he said.
“We played five quarters of footy and rested most of them at some stage, and had to look at them in different positions.
“But there were real signs of what we’ve been working on all summer, which is pleasing, and one or two things to work on, but we kept it pretty simple with them.
“Footy’s a pretty simple game, but when they outnumber and swarm and tackle and apply pressure, they’re a really good time to watch.”
In his first year in charge of the team, McCartney said the players’ enthusiasm for the game was infectious.
“They just really enjoy it,” he said.
“I probably wasn’t quite ready for how excited they get before a game. I’m used to people turning up with a businesslike approach, but there was a real freshness and enjoyment of playing footy.
“They’re relishing an opportunity that wasn’t available not so long ago and that resonates with them.”