Pies build for future

Kennedy out to nurture young talent

NEW Glenorchy coach Paul Kennedy is confident he has inherited a playing group determined to point the disappointment of 2017 in the rearview mirror and climb to the top of the TSL mountain again.

As revealed by the Mercury on Monday, Kennedy has replaced 2016 premiership coach Aaron Cornelius, who has joined NEAFL side Southport as an assistant coach.

Kennedy, who spent this year at Coburg as its senior assistant and development team coach, made his first ap- pearance as a Pie yesterday afternoon.

The 39-year-old — who also has VFL coaching experience at Box Hill and Frankston, played 144 senior state league games and was the J.J Liston Medal runner-up in 2008 — believes speculation about a player exodus has been exaggerated and he can al- ready sense a burning desire within those he has met to return to a premiership threat.

“What really heartens me is how many of the players have signed two-year deals and want to stay. That is a strong sign,” Kennedy said.

“The leadership group stepped up first and signed on and there has been a lot of players follow on from that.

“I heard the rumours — what I’ve seen as I’ve arrived at the club is quite different to what is being presented outside the club.

“I’m pretty comfortable with the players we have got, and where the players who haven’t re-signed, I’m comfortable with where they are at.

“The overwhelming sense I get from the players is they want to make up for what happened last year.”

A big focus of Kennedy’s role will be developing the next crop of stars at KGV.

“If you look at clubs like Geelong, Sydney and Hawthorn, they have been able to stay at the top, even without those high draft picks, and a lot of that is through the culture of development,” said Kennedy, who studied coaching at Deakin University and has been mentored by the likes of David Parkin and Australian netball legend Joyce Brown.

“Other clubs who don’t have that have their time at the top, and then drop away.

“I see Glenorchy at that really important time now where we have had that time at the top, can we stay there?

“I’m particularly keen to start from that under-16 level and get our under-16s training at a state league level, same with our 18s.”