RIVERINA FILES: LEETON WHITTON CROWS
LEETON-WHITTON
2014 Finish: 8th
Home & Away: 3 wins; 13 losses
Club Best & Fairest: Ben Curley
Best First Year Player: Mitch Hardie
Telstra Rising Star: Tom Meline
Snapshot:
An exodus of senior players, a new coach, and a promising crop of youngsters facing a baptism of fire… that was the starting point for Leeton-Whitton. Eighth place was obviously the finishing point, but the ladder rarely tells the full story of a football club’s season. The Crows were in the game for many of their 13 losses and most teams above them on the premiership table were wary throughout the season, knowing that if they dropped their guard it would end in embarrassment. However, no matter which way you tell it, there is no substitute for experience and that ultimately told on the teenaged Leeton-Whitton. The upside is that there’s also only one way to gain experience, and while the Crows will head into 2015 still with a young list, a season of first grade football in their legs will make a difference.
The Crows will also appreciate an injection of experience after Leeton-Whitton powerbrokers worked hard on recruitment. Former captain Brad Boots has committed to a return home after a season with Lavington in the Ovens and Murray League. And local juniors Toby Conroy and Mitch Heaslip are returning, bringing with them another Queanbeyan footballer with NEAFL experience, Neil Irwin. The quartet is expected to have a major impact on the Crows prospects, adding a touch of class to a promising outfit and sparking renewed interest in the club within Leeton.
Highlights:
The competitiveness of an untried and mostly unknown Crows line-up was a credit to the club and coach David Meline. President Mick Fraser understands the pressure placed on the young players. “One of Dave’s big things is to expect everyone to be a leader on the field and they [the young players] never gave up the whole year. They always listened to Dave and put in every game. It could’ve been easy to drop their heads, but they kept on fighting every game, until they got a bit tired towards the end of the season.”
Meline returned to senior coaching having mentored many of Leeton-Whitton’s teenagers in junior football. Pointing out that three wins in a season can make for a long year at a football club, he says he couldn’t fault the enthusiasm among his players. “They were keen right through the season, so it was a really enjoyable environment. We had a very big turnover from the year before of senior players, so I guess we were always going to find it tough. But I think we surprised a lot of clubs with how competitive we were with the kids. That was probably the most pleasing thing.”
With the inevitable focus on the young players stepping up to senior football, Fraser also acknowledges the efforts of the club’s experienced players who carried great responsibility throughout the season… like Bryce O’Garey, Ben Curley, Daniel Sullivan, Will Overs, among others. “We did put a lot on them older blokes. Every week they were battling their guts out. It was hurting them. The whole team could’ve taken a backward step, but no one did. They all put in for the whole season. Dave did a great job of keeping them up. That’s what he’s really good at is getting the best out of everyone.”
Lowlights:
For a team which climbed a serious mountain last season just in being competitive, listing lowlights seems a little unfair. However, given the Crows did step up and challenge almost every opposition at some point, three wins to show for the season was something of a let-down. “Yeah, disappointing in a couple of games that we thought we could have won,” says Fraser. “You only need those couple of wins and that gives them the confidence to go on with it a bit more.”
Almost everything in Leeton-Whitton’s season came down to the dearth of experience across the playing list. Meline too was left lamenting the lapses that cost them games. “We got a couple of touch-ups towards the end, but generally we were in with a chance in just about every game. We weren’t completely blown away. But there’d be a lapse in one quarter and a side would get five or six goals on us, and that’d be it. It was tough to maintain their effort – and I was rapt in their effort – but towards the end of the year they did get a bit tired. I was pretty happy. It was a direction we chose to take in pushing that youth forward and hopefully with that experience we’ll be better for it next year.”
Surprise Packet:
The Crows coach is genuinely reluctant to single out any one player but Mitch Hardie was awarded the club’s Best First Year Player for a reason. “His last month of footy, for a 17-year old kid, was excellent,” says Meline. “He was probably our best player in the last couple of games by a street. He came along really well.”
However, there’s admiration for all of those teenagers thrown in the deep end of senior footy who stood up and ensured their team was competitive. “That was one of the pleasing things… it wasn’t just a couple of them, it was pretty even across the board. We weren’t relying on someone to kick 10 goals or pick up 40 touches. I was pretty happy with the evenness across our team, we were just found wanting against the better sides at certain times of the game.”
Areas to improve:
If competitiveness was the goal for last season, then consistency will be the buzz-word for next year. There’s the expectation that the Crows of 2014 will have gained plenty from the experience… learning how to stay in a game; concentrating for four quarters – and a full season; adapting to change; and discovering how to close out a win.
“It wasn’t like there were glaring deficiencies. I was happy with the way they fought it out across the park,” says Meline. “But we’ve played the young fella card a bit… I guess we were young and you can trot that line out a fair bit but I’ll be expecting improvement, and looking for those kids to step up. And they’ll have the extra confidence of knowing they’ve been able to match it with the big boys.”
The arrival of experience in the form of the prodigal sons, Boots, Conroy and Heaslip, as well as Irwin should make an enormous difference, and has already sparked a sense of anticipation around Leeton.
What to look forward to:
Leeton-Whitton will celebrate 20 years of the Crows in 2015 and the recruitment campaign couldn’t be more timely. It’s not just about bringing players (back) to the club, but there’s a sense of symmetry in a process going full circle.
“We’ve had a lot of talented youngsters go away, and Toby and Mitch were sort of among the first to go so it’s good to get a couple back,” says Meline. “It created a bit of a buzz around the time we announced it, and I’m looking forward to having some of that around the club at the start of next year. We just needed a couple of senior heads around and to get a couple of local boys back – they’ve been away, they’ve played higher levels and improved their footy. And it’s an attraction for those guys coming back knowing they’re going to be working with a team of young blokes here who are keen to learn.”
Boots will bring the experience of a season in the O&M, while the Canberra trio have all played in the NEAFL. “Big Neil [Irwin] is a key forward, a ruckmen. He’s also played in defence. He’s pretty versatile. Toby is a goal-kicking on-baller, a resting forward. And Mitch is a utility.”
They’ll travel together on weekends for the game, and the Crows are prepared to be flexible with their training if the trio can make a Friday night training. It’s an acknowledgement that with the changing face of country communities, Leeton can’t expect to find work for a handful of footballers so are adopting the approach of many Victorian border towns which often rely on a car load of players travelling from Melbourne each weekend.
Fraser says the approach only works with the right people. “That was the main thing for us – not just getting people from outside the club, but getting some local juniors back… to create a bit of interest around the town. And with Toby, he said we’ll get the right people to come, not just for money but the right people for the club.
“And it is exciting getting these NEAFL blokes back, and Bootsy too with his experience. He’s only about 26 but he’s nearly a 150-gamer. Getting him back and helping teach the younger fellas will be great.”
And that’s what the coach is looking forward to… not just having more experienced footballers at his disposal, but seeing how that helps the development of his rookies. “Just the natural improvement in the kids… they’re improving every year. There’ll still be a big group of 18-to-20-year olds but with a year under their belts that’ll be a big thing. A lot of them have played 14 or 15 games last season and they’re all keen on their footy.”
There’ll be plenty of nostalgia around the club, with a 40-year anniversary of the 1975 Leeton Redlegs premiership … as well as a ‘team of the decade’ celebration, as part of the Crows’ 20-year celebrations. But the spotlight throughout the season looks certain to remain squarely on the future.
