Grovedale strives to be 2025 surprise packet after promising form and 35 players recommitting
There is an air of positivity around Grovedale after the club turned its form around. And there has been an enormous show of faith from the playing group.
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Will Grovedale be the surprise packets of the 2025 Geelong Football Netball League season?
Coach Jake Spolding says “why can’t that be us” after a five-week stretch where the Tigers have showed there are promising signs ahead.
Spolding’s first year at the helm began with just one win to round nine – a narrow seven point victory over St Albans – as the club sat in 11th spot on the Geelong Football Netball League ladder.
Since then the Tigers have won three of their last five matches, knocking off Newtown & Chillwell, North Shore and Lara.
A win over the vulnerable Newtown & Chillwell on Sunday, who is coming off a horror loss to St Albans, will see the Tigers leapfrog the Eagles on the ladder into eighth position.
The Tigers’ return to form isn’t the only reason why they are grinning from ear to ear at Burdoo Reserve.
The club has also signed up 35 senior players in an enormous show of faith for Spolding, who is contracted until the end of 2026, and the direction the club is heading.
“It’s is a great endorsement of us as a coaching group and the way we are going as a footy club that they are keen to jump in and roll their sleeves up and continue to try and improve and drive the footy club forward,” Spolding said.
“We understand that it is a tough comp and our start to the year was probably nowhere near what we wanted it to be but hopefully if we can play consistently and win a couple of these games on the way home, the end of our season is going to be really positive and we can in with some energy into 2025 season.”
Spolding said the club is looking to be bold in the off-season to as the club strives towards a finals berth in the future.
He said the rise of Bell Park, who currently sits in fourth place on the ladder after finishing eighth the previous season, shows that finals isn’t out of reach for them in the next two seasons.
“We would love to add to our group over the pre-season, we know that we have got to continue getting better to compete with the team who are sitting in the top five of the ladder. We need to get some players in the door to help that, hopefully we can attract them,” Spolding said.
“As we have seen this year with Bell Park if you get off to a good start of the year and momentum is a big thing in footy, but you can go a long way to winning more games.
“Look at Bell Park, now comfortably sitting fourth on the ladder and if they continue their form they should play finals footy.
“We think why can’t that be us in 2025 and 2026? Every club has got to be out there trying to improve and get better, so we’re no different. Hopefully we can go out and do that.”
But the focus in the meantime will be to finish the home and away strongly and continue playing the exciting brand of football, starting with their intriguing stand-alone clash with the Eagles.
Continuity has helped Grovedale in recent weeks with the likes of goalkicking Mitch Chafer, ex-AFL ruckman Ryan Abbott and key defender Brady Ferguson hitting their straps.
The continued improvement of young trio Bailey McDonald, Tom Schulze – the son of former Geelong player and Grovedale legend Michael – and Tom Wisken has also been a positive.
“Probably for the first time in the year we are probably going into a game where people around Geelong Footy League might be thinking that this is a game that Grovedale should win.
“We just need to be prepared for that and bring our same level of energy and excitement that we have been playing with.
“They’ll be looking to rebound after last weekend and that will prove a different challenge for our group as well.”
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