A youthful Montmorency has taken big strides in its development this season according to senior coach Ben Haynes.
The Magpies have been forced to inject plenty of new faces this season following the departures of captain and reigning club champion Ryan Jackson, his brother Luke, Shane Tennant, Ryan Willits, Wayne Pavitt and Harley Ryan in the off-season.
In their place, youngsters Mitch Dillon, Billy Jenkin, Xavier Cahill and Jacob Smith have become regulars in the senior side, while greater opportunities have been handed to teenagers like Liam Nunan, Ned Taylor and Lachlan O’Brien.
Sitting in ninth position on Division 1 ladder, with just three wins and a draw from the opening 11 rounds, Haynes is adamant the Magpies have come a long way in 2015 despite looking set to miss the finals for the first time since 2007.
“We aren’t a finals side just yet,” Haynes told NFL.org.au.
“We are still pretty young across the board, so finals were always going to be unlikely this year.”
But since losing to North Heidelberg in Round 8, Montmorency has enjoyed an industrious three weeks.
Among its results was a victory over Eltham away from home last Saturday and a thrilling draw against second-placed Macleod the week prior. In Round 9 it lost to Bundoora by just one point at Yulong Reserve.
Haynes isn’t surprised by his side’s turnaround in form, saying it has been slowly building all year.
“Other than the Greensborough and Northcote game, I’d say we have been competitive all season,” Haynes said.
“I think we have been playing some good footy all year, but we have had little lapses at crucial stages that have let us down.
“Young sides are always a bit up and down so our challenge is to carry this form into the second half of the season.”
After a spike in recent performances, Haynes says the focus for the rest of the season is to remain competitive.
“Compared to the first few weeks, I think we are playing a higher standard of footy for longer periods within games,” he said.
“If we can continue to get that consistency across four quarters, we will achieve a lot in the back end of the season.
Haynes was also full of praise for new co-captains Craig Flint – who captained the club for a season in 2012 – and Jesse Donaldson.
Both Flint and Donaldson inherited the co-captaincy following Ryan Jackson’s departure at the conclusion of last season, with Haynes believing the duo have embraced their combined leadership role.
“Both Jesse and Craig are influential figures at our footy club on and off the field,” he said.
“They have been great for some of the younger kids playing senior footy this season to help make that transition a bit easier.
“It was a super move to appoint them both as co-captains, because they complement each other.”
Montmorency faces a formidable task on Saturday afternoon when it hosts ladder-leader and reigning premier Greensborough at Montmorency Park.
Should the Magpies upset the Boro, they then face winnable games against North Heidelberg and Lower Plenty which could see them jump back into finals calculations ahead of the final month of the year.
