The only way is up
Stawell Warriors are hopeful of a speedy return to finals action.
After finishing among Wimmera Football League’s top five from 2015 to 2017, the Warriors missed out despite a competitive 7-9 record last season.
While a recruiting arms race has seen many teams in the league strengthen their lists, Stawell is confident it can challenge for a finals berth with a few key recruits and growth from within.
Former coach and three-time club best and fairest Tom Eckel will return to the Warriors after spending a year with Glenelg in the SANFL reserves.
Midfielder Jamie Bach has also returned after a year with Mininera and District Football League side Moyston-willaura.
Cody Driscoll, recruited by the Warriors before the 2018 season, will finally play his first game for the club after tearing his ACL last pre-season.
Capping the club’s off-season recruiting drive was the signature of young goal-kicking midfielder Jay Moody from Hampden Football Netball League’s Portland Tigers.
The return of familiar faces and addition of some fresh ones has excited Stawell coach Damian Joiner.
“There are some old boys who have already played here, but to get them back to the club is good,” he said.
“Jay is the big new one we were happy to get.
“We’ve had a few juniors like Jakob Salmi and Ben Leong who have gone to Swifts, but that’s about it as far as losses from last year’s side.
“We have kept the main core group together and added a few more.
“We didn’t want to overload with recruits – we wanted to keep the same core group and progress with that.”
Joiner had been slated to co-coach the upcoming season with Jamie Solyom, but Solyom stepped away from the role earlier this month citing personal reasons.
Despite the disruption of Solyom’s departure, it is still a far cry from the coaching drama of last year for Stawell.
Warriors coach Colin Macaffer was sacked just one game into the 2018 season, with Solyom and Joiner stepping up to coach the team for the rest of the year.
Joiner said he was sad to see Solyom go, but was happy to take more responsibility.
“An obvious negative of the summer would be Jamie stepping away, but the footy side of things has been going perfectly,” he said.
“It’s been good – I’ve enjoyed taking on the coaching duties full-time. The boys have made it a lot easier with their commitment towards footy.
“We’ve had good numbers on the track and all the young blokes coming up from the juniors have been attending.
“It has been an easy transition for me to be honest.”
Stawell president Tim Williams said the team had performed admirably amid coaching drama last year, and would be better with fewer distractions this season.
“After last year with all the off-field stuff going on, the boys did a really good job to do what they did,” he said.
“They played fantastically, and with these new fellas coming on board the only way is up for us.
“I think between the new recruits and no off-field dramas, that’s where the improvement will come from.
“I think we will be around the mark. We’re certainly not going to be a pushover.”
Joiner said if the team continued to focus on improving, the results would take care of themselves.
“All we want to do is progress from last year,” he said.
“The next step is to play finals and finish in the top four or five and make sure we’re a real danger come the end of the year.”