By Nick Creely
Returning Narre Warren coach Matt Shinners has a message for their rivals ahead of the 2018 season; expect a fast, exciting and slick looking Magpies unit.
The legendary Magpie is back at the club after leaving Kalora Park after a magnificent 2010 premiership, and admits the pressure is on his chargers to bridge the gap of 57 points that Berwick had on them in the 2017 grand final under Heath Black.
“There’s a lot more expectation obviously because of where we finished last year,” he said.
“When you get to a position last year where they fell short, there’s definitely some pressure; Berwick were a great side, and realistically its 10 goals to make up which is a fair bit of work for us and the rest of the competition.”
But as Shinners warns, the Magpies in the opening round clash against Cranbourne on 7 April will be new look, implementing a fast, youthful and more unpredictable brand of football which has been worked on with a prime focus on improving a key area.
“I was there most weeks watching (last year), and I was part of the general committee doing some stuff for the club, and the biggest thing I saw was that we weren’t fit enough, and we didn’t do a major pre-season,” he said.
“In saying that, Heath (Black) did something right because all three teams made the grand final, so we’re not far away, but it’s just about bridging the gap; but the side Berwick put out in the seniors was very, very strong.
“You’ll see a lot of youth in our side; there’s an opportunity that wasn’t there in the past, but I wasn’t adverse to that last time I coached, we were young and quick; they’ll get an opportunity and we’ll have a good look at them.
“I’ll implement what I want; there’s not a lot of tinkering, but it’s just about getting my message across, and how I want us to play; the training drills, and our structures are a lot different from the last couple of years, but in saying that, the younger players don’t know what was prior to this.
“We’ll be around the mark, and I’m looking forward to seeing our young blokes sink their teeth in; they’ll make mistakes, but I’m not fussed about that.”
Like every club in the competition, there’s been plenty of player movement in the off-season, and the Magpies are no different.
The Magpies welcome in former VFL tall Trent Shinners, who played with Norwood in the Eastern league last season, as well as superstar midfielder Brad Scalzo back to the club from Warragul, while Liam Myatt is back to full fitness after a horrific knee injury.
“We may have lost players, but we’ve recruited players back to our club that have played a high standard of footy; we’re really fit, and our conditioning part has been good, it’s just the game plans and the current trends that we’re trying to pick up,” Shinners said.
“We’ve lost some players; a lot of players between reserves and seniors have left, and they’ve decided to explore other avenues and play more senior footy, which is fair enough, but we’ve got 10 to 12 Under 19 players coming up, and there’s room for those to come in.
“Others have moved on, and the next generation are coming through; they’ve been on the button, a lot of the young boys haven’t missed any training, so it’s been good.”
And Shinners said that the experienced group of Michael Collins, Ben King, Col McNamara and Dylan Quirk; who will captain the club again in 2018; will help balance out his talent youngsters, as they look to thrill the competition this season.
“Yeah we’re pretty much set, I don’t think we’ll change much from now,” he said.
“As a coach, grand finals are the pinnacle and I’m no different, but at the same time, when people watch us play, it’ll be an exciting brand of footy, but we’ll be young.”
