HADFIELD hasn’t enjoyed too many happy moments of late.
In 2015 there was one significant moment – its first senior flag in 26 years.
But since that faithful early-September afternoon two and a half years ago… things have been pretty bleak at Martin Reserve.
New coach Brett Pitts is determined to change all that with the Hawks now back in Strathmore Community Bank Division 2 after scoring only two combined wins in its two-year stint in Essendon Ford Division 1.
“There’s a lot of positivity around the club,” Pitts told essendondfl.com.au.
“There are a few older and wiser heads around the place and we’ve got a good, young list as well, so we’re obviously looking at developing those kids.
“We’ll probably be made up of five or 10 kids from 18 to 23 (years of age), so that’s the future of the club and the boys I’ve brought through should complement that really well.”
Understandably, the senior list is going to look very different to those put together by the previous coaching regimes of recent years.
But Pitts is also keen to address the club’s overall culture off the field.
“We’re looking to build the club off the ground,” he said.
“So a few of the boys I've brought with me are good club people… boys that I’ve played a lot of footy with and we’ll try and build a good culture off the ground and build to some success on the ground as well.”
With that will come a faster brand of footy that has been lacking at Hadfield since the premiership campaign of 2015.
“We’re going to be pretty young and it’s going to be about giving guys opportunities in certain roles,” Pitts explained.
“We’re not going to be big but the way that we’re going to structure up and the way we’re going to play our footy is going to be pretty fast, and we’re going to give those young guys the most opportunity to cement their spots and push forward.”
Pitts is aware the rejuvenation is going to take some time to develop into on-field success, declaring 2018 “won’t be about wins”.
Nonetheless, he expects Hadfield to compete week in, week out.
“I think that we’re going to be a pretty competitive side and I think we’ll be around the mark,” he said.
“Where that takes us is a little bit hard to determine given that we’re going to be so young and it’s a different group, but the main thing for us this year is we want to get the club back to being a success off the ground and the culture’s a really big part of that.
“If we can get that right, then it’s going to flow on and build into wins on the ground.”
Key Ins: Brett Pitts (midfielder/senior coach, Lancefield), Dean Pitts (forward, Lancefield), Danny Campbell (assistant coach/midfielder), Adam Sayers (defender, Lancefield), Zac Polizzi (midfielder, Glenroy), Damon Fraser (midfielder, Merbein), Imran Noureddine (midfielder, West Preston) & Mo Taleb (midfielder)
Keys Outs: Anthony Vernali (Coburg Districts), Daniel Myers (South FC), Fedor Balabanov (Parkside), Hisham Kerbatieh (Doncaster East), Luke Hampshire (Tullamarine), Mahmoud Taleb (Northern Saints), Martin White (Chiltern) & Luke Larsen
First Month: East Sunbury (away), Northern Saints (home), Burnside Heights (away) & Coburg Districts (home)
