Round One might be in the books, but scouting ahead at each club's season outlook doesn't stop. We chat to Hadfield coach Brett Pitts who provides some insights on what their 2023 campaign will look like.
2022: 5th (7W, 9L, 107.2%)
Coach: Brett Pitts (fifth season)
PRE-SEASON FOCUS
"I think our biggest area of focus has been building on our current game plan with a vision to be better defensively across the ground and in particular behind the ball with our team defence. We have also been working on a few things on our transition with a few adjustments to our ball movement from last year."
LIST SHAPE
"We were really looking to add some class and polish to our midfield and we have done that with Josh Trembearth who is flying on the track. We have also added another key tall in Richard Findlay who can play forward and back and Ethan Hope who will get give us plenty flexibility. List wise we are happy where we are at."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
"Josh Trembearth has been building great in practice matches. Steve Golding and Shane Lyndsay both fit and firing after big pre-seasons. Young Otif Moustafa who is still under 18s has been training with the senior group and impressed in our practice games and is pushing for senior selection. Also looking forward to seeing more of our skipper Tom McIntosh this year who has had a strong pre-season."
SEASON OUTLOOK
"The club continues to build and over the past few years and we have gradually got ourselves to a point where we think we are ready to play finals footy. No doubt the last half of last year was disappointing to miss finals after a 5-2 start but we have learnt plenty from that and are hoping to take that next step this year."
LODGED TRANSFERS
In: Vinnie Smith (Ascot Vale), Scott Lambert (Northside Lions), Neil Matti (Smithfield), Richard Findlay (Black Rock), Ethan Hope (Tullamarine), Tyler O'Neill (Drysdale), Steven Rocca (Northern Saints), Osama Taleb (Glenroy) & Joshua Trembearth (Hillside).
Out: Lewis Wetherbee (Werribee Centrals), Benjamin Pretty (Warburton Millgrove), Hussein Abbouchie (Roxburgh Park), Joshua Inzillo (Reservoir), Jesse Inzillo (Reservoir), Bradley Fowles (Point Cook), Taha Ellaz (Northern Saints), Talat Moustafa (Northern Saints), Jake Hopkinson (Glenroy), Mark Sabatino (Glenroy), Richard Ahmad (Craigieburn) & Dany Mazloum (Moonee Valley).
EDFL MEDIA SAYS
It was a strong start to 2022 for Hadfield before a late season fade out. Brett Pitts is confident his men have what it takes to make it to September action with some handy inclusions, but the loss of Mark Sabatino is no doubt a big loss as he heads to Sewell Reserve. Hadfield started strong in Round 1 with a gritty win against Coburg Districts, and will face local rival Northern Saints in Round 2.
2023 FIXTURE
