Eastern Football Netball League: Ringwood was set to atone for grand final disappointment when COVID-19 landed.
Season 2020 was meant to be one of atonement for Ringwood after two consecutive grand final losses. Although frustrated at the COVID-19 shutdown, coach Brett Rowe has backed his players to stay the course.
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Ringwood coach Brett Rowe has backed his players to stay the fitness course during the COVID-19 enforced season shutdown, as they grapple with unfinished business from last year.
The Redbacks fell agonisingly short of the Division 2 premiership in 2019 when they went down to Mitcham by two points, despite racing away to a 39-point quarter-time lead.
The grand final loss was the club’s second in a row, having suffered its only defeat of the 2018 season to Boronia in the decider.
Although frustrated they can’t be on the park this Saturday to begin atoning for last year, Rowe says his players have continued to keep on top of their fitness with the season suspended until at least May 31.
“They really put in some solid work over the pre-season period and they were really keen to go,” Rowe said.
“We played one practice match before it all got shut down and we showed some really good signs.
“The playing group are just frustrated because they know that they are thereabouts and not far away as it stands, and there’s every chance that there may not be a season.
“We’ve got to stay positive that there is a chance (of a season) and we’ve got to make sure that when that time comes, if the call gets made, we’ve got to be ready.”
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Like other clubs, training remotely has been made marginally easier by the use of social media.
“Our fitness guy has been putting up weekly running programs to follow through with and we’re getting them to register on our player page,” Rowe said.
“Obviously only working in twos, but again it comes down to the trust factor with our playing group and I’ve got a lot of faith in our guys obviously because they’ve been pretty close the last couple of years so I don’t think they need much motivation to get the job up and going.
“As I’ve said to them on a post that the hardest part about going for a run is putting your shoes on. If they can get their shoes on, they’ll be right.
“We’re a bit restrained with one-on-one stuff but it is what it is and we’ve just got to deal with it and adapt to it.”
Former club captains Trent Farmer and Tim Burmeister were set to take the field again this season after long lay-offs.
Farmer took last season off and last played for the club in the 2018 Division 2 decider, the prolific forward missing much of the latter part of that year with a broken arm.
He claimed his second consecutive competition Division 3 best-and-fairest award that season, as well as being named captain of the Division 3 Team of the Year.
Burmeister retired at the end of 2016 after dual club best-and-fairest awards across 2014-15 and a runner-up finish in 2013.
“Trent’s got himself doing triathlons in the off-season and keeping his fitness base up,” Rowe said. “We’ve got Tim Burmeister who’s a past club captain and retired a couple of years ago and his body feels really good, and he’s probably more frustrated.
“It is frustrating for those guys and I do feel for them, but it is what it is unfortunately and we’ve just got to adapt as best we can.”
Despite uncertainty surrounding the season, Rowe said his players are in a good headspace.
“I pretty much rang the list personally over the last week or so to touch base with them all and they’re all upbeat,” he said.
“They’re a pretty close group and I’ve got no doubt they’re all keeping in contact with each other.”
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