EDFL 2018: East Sunbury impressed with coach Glenn Hopkins

EAST Sunbury president Keith Osborne has hailed the impact of reappointed coach Glenn Hopkins as the club prepares for its maiden finals series in the EDFL’s senior ranks.

EAST Sunbury president Keith Osborne has hailed the impact of reappointed coach Glenn Hopkins as the club prepares for its maiden finals series in the Essendon District Football League’s senior ranks.

The Thunder finished the home-and-away rounds in fourth spot and will tackle Moonee Valley in an elimination final at Keilor Reserve on Saturday.

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The Division 2 club was rocked by Steve Grey’s resignation in June — when it sat on top of the ladder with a 7-2 record — and a four-match losing run threatened to derail its campaign.

But under the guidance of experienced mentor Hopkins, the Thunder has reason to enter finals full of confidence, having produced encouraging performances against its premiership rivals in recent weeks.

East Sunbury suffered consecutive one-point losses against Northern Saints and Roxburgh Park in rounds 17 and 18 before knocking off Moonee Valley.

“That little bit of resilience our club needed, and it’s probably the first time we’ve faced a little bit of adversity or something so serious like with Steve moving on … for us to bounce back from that is a real positive,” Osborne said.

“It just shows the sky’s the limit and I think it’s going to be an even closer finals series to be honest.”

Glenn Hopkins has led East Sunbury to a finals berth. Picture: Hamish Blair

Hopkins, who will continue at the helm in 2019, was appointed a fortnight after Grey exited and held the top job at seven clubs before arriving at John McMahon Reserve.

Osborne said Hopkins’ experience had come to the fore through a difficult period for a senior club in its sixth year.

“It’s very easy for a lot us to panic with no head coach, an injury list that was quite substantial … but I think Glenn brought a real calmness to the club,” he said.

“He’s always taking the positives and I think that’s gone through the club.

“We had some really good coaching applicants come in, which is a credit to how far we’ve come as a club that people want to coach us now.

“The natural progression of the club has been really positive, and now it’s time for us to start ticking boxes in finals as well.”

Kamen Ogilvie, Brad Bernacki, Connor Lever, Jamerson Campbell and Anthony Sammut were among East Sunbury’s off-season signings, which lifted expectations.

“There have been humps along the way, but I think throughout the entire process we were always pretty confident that we were definitely a finals contender and a finals team,” Osborne said.

“We showed that with the way we started the season.

“We knew if we stuck to what we believed in it was always going to work.

‘I think we’re just seeing a new vibe around the club and that culture’s starting to come back that we had at the start of the season.

“Numbers on the track are increasing again and having a few of those injuries back on the park is definitely a big plus for us.”

The Thunder finished the regular season with a 50-point win against Coburg Districts on Saturday.