Hurstbridge coach Jarrod Tilley is excited to see how far his playing group can go in 2021 after establishing itself in the NFNL’s top division in recent years.
The Bridges have stayed in Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 in the three seasons since gaining promotion to the league’s top-flight following their 2016 second division premiership triumph.
After a long lay-off due to COVID-19, Tilley praised the way his players have handled the 18-month break from football.
“It was a tough year for everyone, not only just for footy clubs,” Tilley said to NFNL.org.au.
“When it first happened, we had a program in little groups, but as it went on, I thought the boys needed a break.
“When the opportunity rose before Christmas we trained and made the most of it. You could tell by the numbers that people were itching to get out and train and play.”
After such a long time spent sporadically training, Hurstbridge has adopted a new mantra in 2021 of “really enjoying football once again” and “realising how fun team sports are”.
This mindset has helped Tilley and his players adjust to the new rules being introduced this season.
“We’ve had to change our focus to really enjoying footy again,” Tilley said.
“I think people have realised how fun team sports are now that it has been taken away from them for a big period of time.
“The biggest change we’ve made is adjusting to the new rules coming in. It’s going to open the game up a lot more and make it a high-scoring, quicker game.”
Hurstbridge may not share the powerhouse status of some of its first division rivals, but the emerging Bridges have managed to find their niche amongst the marquee teams.
Now, Tilley is hellbent on seeing Hurstbridge improve once again to become a finals factor.
“It’s a massive effort being in the top division, but we’ve always wanted to try and cement ourselves,” Tilley said.
“We don’t want to win just one or two games – we play footy to be successful and we want success at our club.
“Of course, everyone’s aim is to go as well as they can. It’s a year to improve on what we did in 2019 and if we do that then it’s unchartered territory for the club.”
Fuelling Hurstbridge’s 2021 attack is a bunch of new names. Midfielder Ben Beaven (Queensland) and Joel Naylor (Romsey) join the injured Ben Lashko at Hurstbridge, while Jack Stewart has chosen to play with the Bridges full-time, having previously been linked with VFL club Box Hill.
“Both Joel and Ben have played at a high level and are both excited to be here,” Tilley said.
“They’re great blokes and they’re fitting in really well to the good culture we want to create. The way they’ve trained has been second to none.
“Having Jack all the time is great. You forget how young he is. Guys like Jack, who are talented, enthusiastic and have had big pre-seasons are great to have around the club.”
With 2016 premiership player Tom Grimes also confirming his return to Hurstbridge after a stint at Warrandyte, Tilley will be hoping he has enough firepower to cover the losses of representative midfielders Tom Simpson and Jack Furlong, along with veterans Ryan Jackson and Daniel Keenan – who suffered an Achilles injury during pre-season.
“It’s unfortunate to lose those names, but on the other hand we have a lot of new young blokes who are doing really well,” Tilley said.
“In our build up to the season we’ve played up to nine under-19s players in our senior side, with about three of them going through the midfield.
“We’re going to back our young kids in, you’ve got to start somewhere. If they’re good enough then we’ll back them in and see where we go from there.”
With three under-19s players also making the Northern Knights squad for the upcoming season, Tilley is confident his blend of experience and youth can fire Hurstbridge to their best season yet in Meadows Greyhounds Division 1.
But despite the reason for optimism, he is keeping a lid on his goals for the squad.
“We won the most amount of games we’ve ever won in the top division in 2019 and now we’ll look to improve again,” Tilley said.
“Winning more games will be tough. There’s good sides everywhere and you have to be on your game every week to do the best that you can.
“Everyone wants to play finals, but at the end of the day only a handful can make it. We’ll set ourselves internal goals in the next few weeks that we can aim for.”
With Round 1 looming around the corner, Tilley quickly tipped two big NFNL clubs to continue their dominance in the top division.
“I think there’s two real standouts,” he said.
“West Preston aren’t just going to drop off the face of the earth after winning the last two flags.
“Greensborough have also played in the last Grand Final, so they’ll be good again and I expect both sides to be up there this season.”
Hurstbridge has played Banyule and Pascoe Vale in practice matches ahead of its meeting with Heidelberg at Warringal Park in the opening round of the home and away season.
