RIVERINA FILES: COOLAMON

2015 Result:   5th (finished 4th on ladder but eliminated first week of finals)
Home and Away:   10 wins, 6 losses
Finals Form:  Lost elimination final to Collingullie-GP
Club Best & Fairest:    Pete McGrath
Rising Star:    Mitch McKelvie
Best first-year player: Harry Fitzsimmons

Snapshot:  
If Coolamon were excited 12 months ago at the prospect of seeing some talented youngsters coming through then they approach the 2016 season in a similar state, with the performance of their less experienced players likely to again be crucial to their chances.
The young Hoppers didn’t disappoint last season but with a mountain of experience gone – following the retirements of Rick Pritchett and Pete McGrath and farewells to Chris Ladhams and Connor Neyland – those same faces will need to play the role of mature footballers, and help guide the next wave of graduates into senior football.
Their two key recruits, Chase Grintell (Turvey Park) and Joel Dalton (Melbourne), have knowledge and games in the bank  – “They’re both around that 6, 6’2 mark and they both can move okay,” Matt Hard said.
But the coach knows the Hoppers’ season is going to rise or fall on young shoulders.
“Obviously in recent years it’s been a very even comp and I suppose some younger blokes will need to step up –  we’ve lost a bit of experience.
“I’m looking forward to blooding some kids and seeing how they go.”
Like most coaches, he wants to see consistency, and sees consistency as the only path to playing finals. Coolamon did that last year, finishing fourth, but had their season ended at the hands of fifth-placed Collingullie, who were on the march to glory.

2015 Highlights: 
Coolamon could’ve been sponsored by a beer brand last year – it was all about the old and the new.
On a beautifully sunny Sunday afternoon at Coolamon, set against the dark sky of an approaching storm, Chris Ladhams made a suitably dramatic entrance to the RFNL, kicking 10 goals in a show-stopping debut against arch-rivals Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong at Kindra Park. The former AFL player ended up kicking 56 goals, and narrowly missed the leading goalkicker’s title, in just 11 games. His ability to use his body was a sight to behold and his experience and influence around the team was invaluable. Although he didn’t get to double figures again, and his dominance was contained on some occasions, Ladhams kicked five or more goals in another five games.
Then there was Canberra recruit Pete McGrath who had made a big impression in his first year in the league and backed it up with another ultra-consistent season. McGrath won the Hoppers’ best and fairest in his final season of footy, after playing every game and being named among their best in 12 of 17 appearances.
If that was the old, then Luke Redfern epitomised the new… finishing runner-up to McGrath in the club’s vote count and flying the flag for a new generation of Coolamon of stars.
“I think we’ve seen some players develop,” Hard said.
“Luke, Matt (McGowan), Harry (Fitzsimmons) all showed plenty of promise… Hayden Bradley had a real good year in the midfield; Marshall Macauley took a big step with his leadership.
“And I think if you go back to the old stagers, Ryan Chamberlain and Ben Edyvean continued to turn up.
“There were a lot of highlights but without that consistency it doesn’t get you far.”

2015 Lowlights:  
And that – broadly – was the disappointment. Inconsistency. Some might call it Snakes and Ladhams, as they bounced between impressive wins and performances that cost them dearly… including a double-chance in the finals and their record as a top-three team in the league.
“People will say we were lucky when we won a couple of tight ones early, and we probably lost a few later in the year that we should’ve won,” Hard said.
The coach is philosophical about it… now.
“I think by mid-year we’re obviously thinking the double chance would’ve been ideal. That’s not taking anything away from the sides that finished above us. They deserved to finish there and we got what we deserved.
“Last year is last year. We were lucky to finish where we were. It was a good competition and good teams.”
Hard said last year seems a distant memory and the focus is firmly on the new season. But philosophy might not sound so mellow if they can’t avoid the same mistakes this year.

2015 Surprise Packet:  
Ladhams, given his experience, wasn’t necessarily a surprise. But – cutting a less-than-imposing figure at first glance – his ability to dominate his patch of turf was nothing short of impressive.
And there were plenty of encouraging performances from Coolamon’s emerging footballers.
But Hard reserves special mention for Hayden Bradley and his work in the midfield as well as Matt Carroll in the ruck.
“(He) had a very good year. He probably surprised us a little bit. He played every game and really progressed as the year went on. He’s come from West Wyalong to rucking in the RFL all season and I thought that was a pretty good effort,” Hard said.
Areas to improve this season:  
Obviously consistency is a focus but countering the loss of experience is the first concern.
“Definitely, you look at Chris Ladhams who was outstanding for us last year and the experience he had… And Rick Pritchett is a loss – that’s 20 years football experience, each.
Throw in McGrath and Neyland leaving and there’s plenty for a coach to consider.
“You’re looking to try to replace that,” Hard said. “It doesn’t happen overnight but we’ve got to put people in the right positions and let them develop.”
Coolamon were still third on the ladder after 15 rounds but losses to the two teams above them – Mangoplah and Wagga Tigers – in the next two weeks cost them the double chance. And slipping up against GGGM in the back half of the season also hurt their chances.
“Last year, I think we showed we can compete with the best but there was too big a gap between our worst and our best. We’ve got to find that even line of consistency across the board. There was no in between last year so we’ve just got to work on that.”

What to look forward to in 2016: 
Naturally, almost every club is itching to see solid progression in their young players but at the Hoppers it’s more than mere hope. Plenty made the most of their chances last season. Harry Fitzsimmons (12 senior games) and Matt McGowan (7 senior games) were impressive while fellow schoolboy, Redfern (16 games) was enormous and finished runner-up in the club’s best and fairest count.
And there’s hope of more to come.
“Our 17s played off in the grand final last year (in which they were beaten by Mangoplah),” Hard said.
“There are a lot of talented kids there. They’ve done a lot of work and they’ll get their opportunities through the year.”
Joel Dalton’s arrival is intriguing – a forward from Melbourne who has kicked 147 goals in 65 games in the last four years playing suburban football. Hard said he brings plenty of football nous, as does Grintell, who played under the Hoppers coach in the victorious RFNL rep side last year.
Although, he might be in for a slightly different role than he expected. Without Ladhams and Neyland, Grintell be given some responsibility to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
“We lost Neyland, who we thought we had. He’s going back to Ungarie so that’s a loss for us late in the pre-season,” Hard said.
“That makes things a bit different and it’ll probably affect Chase’s role. We’ll probably use him up forward where we were going to use him in the backline.”