Mustangs moving in the right direction


Published on Thursday, December 5, 2019

Author : Giacomo Bruno

New Reservoir coach Jason Hamilton says the challenge of guiding the Mustangs out of the doldrums after two winless seasons is what attracted him to the club.

After last registering a win in Round 15, 2017, the Mustangs appointed the former Braybrook coach as the man to rebuild the proud club.

It is an arduous task, but Hamilton says the mission to steer the club out of a difficult period is what attracted him to the club.

“It’s on those stories that you like to be a part of,” Hamilton told NFNL.org.au.

“With the right people in the right spots at the moment with the new committee, we’re all looking forward to the future and building the foundations of the club to get it back to where it belongs.”

Hamilton acknowledges the task at hand is a challenge but believes he can help turn the Mustangs into a competitor in Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 once again.

“This is a big challenge for me, and I love a challenge as a coach,” Hamilton said.

“I like taking on struggling clubs and help build the foundation to help them be successful again.”

Hamilton has introduced a “back to basics” approach in his first pre-season with the Mustangs.

“Training at the moment we’ve just gone back to basic skills, going back to the basics of football and trying to get them to enjoy football and improve their skills,” Hamilton said.

“To the guys’ credit they’ve been terrific with their attitude, skills and training. You can see the improvement in the four weeks that we have been training.

“I never question their attitude. They give you everything that they’ve got and that’s been the pleasing part.”

In rebuilding the club, an array of new signings will call Crispe Park home in 2020.

The most notable additions are Petar Pavlovic, who followed Hamilton from Braybrook, along with Patrick Lee and Ryan Tyson, experienced senior players from Laverton who have also made the move from the WRFL.

Their inclusion will help offset the departure of two-time best and fairest Sam McDowell, who has moved to third division rival Heidelberg West.

“(Pavlovic) is a hard-nosed midfielder with great leadership so we’re rapt to get him on board,” Hamilton said.

The Mustangs have also opted to recruit youth. New signings Nathan King, Jayden Ryan, Jack Smith, Jonah Taylor and Matthew Verduci are all under the age of 21.

Hamilton believes the younger signings will play a key part as the club look to build a sustainable future.

“They’re really good young talent,” Hamilton said.

“They’re signed on for two years and we’re trying to build the future around the young guys.”

With the mood around the club already improving, Hamilton is confident Reservoir can make an impact on the field.

“There’s one thing that we have put to bed this year and that is what happened in the past is in the past. We’re building on the future now,” he said.

“There’s no more excuses now and we’re not going to make any excuses.

“We’re training hard and preparing ourselves to be the big improvers in Division 3. If we improve, I’m sure we can get some wins on the board during the season.”

Reservoir’s campaign for 2020 will commence with a home game against last year’s grand finalist South Morang at Crispe Park on April 4.

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