EDFL: Kyle Hardingham locked in as coach at Essendon Doutta Stars
New coach Kyle Hardingham has declared Essendon Doutta Stars can bounce back quickly from a forgettable 2019.
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ESSENDON Doutta Stars is capable of becoming a much more formidable opponent in Essendon District Football League Premier Division next season after narrowly escaping relegation.
That’s the view of new coach and former Essendon player Kyle Hardingham, who has replaced Dean Wallis at the helm after steering Pascoe Vale alongside Adam Contessa for the past two years.
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The Stars lost their first 12 games of the campaign before a miraculous recovery resulted in three wins from the final six matches and consigned West Coburg to the dreaded drop.
Jordan Schroder, Jordan Angus and Tom Wallis - the top three in this season’s best and fairest – have re-signed for 2019, along with skipper Jordan Rogers.
The 30-year-old Hardingham, who made 65 appearances for the Bombers at AFL level from 2010-2014, will also boost Essendon Doutta Stars’ on-field stocks.
“I know they’re running on a bit of a high from that last win against Greenvale, so they’re managing to keep the list together and hopefully we can add a little bit of talent as well,” Hardingham said.
“You know how quickly the EDFL seems to turnaround in terms of sides being competitive, so anything can happen over a pre-season really.
“I’m not going to say we’re going to go and make finals in my first year or anything, but I’m really looking just to go back to the start and basically teach them some real key method around defence and work on the attack and make (Nipper Jordan Oval) our fortress.
“It’s probably the best oval to play on in the EDFL, with the size and that, so once we can defend that really well we can work on our attack and open up the opposition.”
The club has won 17 premierships in the top flight, the last coming in 1999.
The Stars secured a return to Premier Division when they claimed the 2015 Division 1 flag and have finished fifth, seventh and ninth the past three seasons.
Hardingham said developing their young list would be his priority but he made it clear he had big plans for Essendon Doutta Stars.
“The biggest thing I find is just learning about the competition, but also the styles and the way opposition sides play,” he said of his two-year stint at Pascoe Vale.
“It’s a weird competition, in terms of you just can’t pick who’s going to come out and be the one to beat.
“It showed this year with (premier) Aberfeldie. Not many people probably rated them to be where they were and they’ve come out and done it again.
“Obviously we aspire to get to that. I’m hoping to get to Douttas, change the culture down there, make it a real family environment and hopefully make it a club where players want to go to and become that powerhouse club they used to be and get back to the top.”
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