RESERVES COACH REPORT

Our 2021 Development season was challenging, not only for the players but also the coaches. We were a much younger and inexperienced team than last season, in fact, we were the youngest reserves team in the WAFL.

We played 56 players overall this season, including 16 current or graduated Colts. I was very impressed with the maturity and eagerness of many of these boys who really embraced the challenge of the big step-up into a senior program. Connor Patterson was selected into our future leader’s program during pre-season and was captain of our team for a few games in the first half of the year, a huge achievement for his first season as a development player. We also had 11 players play their first game for the Club. The strong approach towards development from Beau Wardman will set the Club up perfectly in 2022. The challenge for the coaches was to bring this young group together and build an environment that was filled with respect and care for each other as well as passion and commitment for the game. At the beginning of the year, we spoke as a group about how we can make their teammates better. I believe it took the boys about half the season to buy into this mindset and when we did; the whole team got better, and they started to play for each other rather than for themselves. This showed on the field winning the last three games of the season with the highlight beating Peel in the last game of the home-and-away season by 133 points and just missing out on finishing third on the ladder by 1.2%, finishing 9-7 win-loss record, a huge result for such a young group. Playing finals didn’t seem possible at the mid-season bye, with many personnel changes, but to the players credit and willingness to learn, we set ourselves some challenges and playing finals was a box we wanted to tick. Nick Menegola did a great job captaining for the first half of the year but sadly suffered a season-ending knee injury, the captaincy was then handed over to McKenzie Lawrence for the remainder of the season; Macca led the team with energy and did an outstanding job.

Glenn McCallum

We won the first final against West Perth and you could see a change in body language. With confidence growing, the belief grew stronger and that if they all played their role anything was possible. Swan Districts was our next opponent to defeat in the first Semi-Final, and we did just that by 24 points. Matthew Johnson and Corey Robinson took control of the midfield with Jack Beverley showing his usual hardness with nine tackles. Playing Claremont in a Preliminary final was a daunting task. Claremont had only lost one game during the home-and-away season and beat us comfortably twice throughout the year. This was the best game we played all season, kicking against the breeze and down by 14 points the boys responded in the last quarter. We isolated Aaron Breman deep forward and asked Lewis Putt our young ruckman to get us going. Putty got on top in the ruck, our mids got some clean ball and Aaron Breman kicked the first two goals of the final quarter. We won by eight points and earnt a spot in the Grand Final, what an achievement! I cannot thank the senior players who supported the boys from behind the goals and I truly believe you played a massive part of this victory. In a year where our young development group showed a lot of fight and resilience, we just fell short on the biggest game of the year against a very strong opponent Perth. After the raw emotion of the result and reflecting on the playing year, we made some major steps forward in a year where we had to overcome significant hurdles. I could not be prouder of the Development group and they have made me very happy with the final outcome during my first season as Head Coach. Galen Savigni had a tremendous season in winning our fairest and best award in his first season coming up from the Colts, his composure and decision making is remarkable.

A huge thanks to my three assistants, Jamie Battigelli (Backs), Daniel Vidovich (Mids) and Brent McPherson (Fwds) for your great work and help through the season. Having such a great support network in the box makes game day much easier. Thanks to Steve Lind (Manager), Jason O’Malley (Runner), Chaddy (Rotations), Jemma and Maddie (Medical), Kelly Properjohn for keeping the coaches calm, and Dicko (our hardworking Footy Manager). To the players for your commitment each week to the program and for believing in me to help get the best result we possibly could.

Finally, I thank Beau Wardman on his support and mentorship. His valuable feedback and advice will continue to help me develop as a coach.