MPFNL: Pines enters season 2024 with high hopes

As he embarks on his 10th season as Pines’ senior coach, Paddy Swayn is hatching new plans, coming up with ways to get better.

Paddy Swayn calls the shots at Pines last season. Picture: Valeriu Campan

As he embarks on his 10th season as Pines’ senior coach, Paddy Swayn is hatching new plans, coming up with ways to get better.

With “one eye on the present, one eye on the future”, the 52-year-old speaks enthusiastically of the Pythons’ new blood and his club’s hopes in 2024.

“We’ve picked up five or six new under 19 kids and I want to see them play senior footy,” he said.

“It’s almost like you want to see the preps go through to Grade 6.

“I want to see their development.”

Pines has retained key players Shane Savage, Russell Gabriel and Luke Potts, although Aaron Edwards is unlikely to play.

Exciting young forward Dylan Williams, cousin of West Coast Eagle Bailey Williams, will get more opportunities in the Pythons attack.

Shane Savage.

Russell Gabriel. Pictures: Valeriu Campan

Swayn said Pines — third on the ladder after the home and away rounds last season — would develop further this year.

“We’ve probably got 11 blokes that we’ve put three to five years into that we now want to see take the next step,” Swayn said.

“They’re more our recruits. So we’ll be pushing those through.

“We’re actually looking pretty good.”

Few local football coaches make it to 10 years, let alone at the same club. Burn out, lack of results or pressure often ends coaching careers.

But Swayn is always striving to get better and teach his players.

“They said you can’t do a VFL program at local level,” he said.

“That’s always been in the back of my head. I reckon we can. We’ve just got to adjust it.

“We were one of the forerunners introducing stuff into local footy, things that are now pretty much taken for granted.

“Like we were videoing games before they started videoing them if that makes sense.

“We used to put a kid on top of a ute to video games and now it’s right across the league.

“I still remember doing stuff like educating the press…blokes would say you can’t teach local players, they’re too dumb.

“Now I go and watch a local game and even the twos are doing it.

“So we’ve always had that mindset, let’s keep pushing the boundaries.”