NFL 2019: Thomastown out to atone for semi-final defeat
A SQUANDERED opportunity for finals success was the catalyst for an early return to pre-season for several senior players at Thomastown.
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A SQUANDERED opportunity for finals success was the catalyst for an early return to pre-season for several senior players at Thomastown.
The Bears led Banyule by five points at three-quarter-time of their Northern Football League Division 2 semi-final before a fade out resulted in a 17-point defeat.
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Thomastown coach Ben Chapman said the loss “cut us pretty deep” and had left his side hellbent on atonement.
“The guys are pretty driven,” Chapman said.
“We haven’t formally started pre-season, but there’s a group of senior players who got together 3-4 weeks ago and started training.
“The hunger is definitely there within the group. That won’t be an issue for us.”
The Bears have added South Morang winger Daniel Caruso, junior star Lawrence Lo Piccolo (Mill Park) and Macleod tall Brayden Plant to the team which finished fourth.
“We are trying to bring in guys that are going to be good, long-term players for our footy club,” Chapman said.
“Not guys that come in, stay 12 months or two years and then move on.
“What we are trying to do is build a list that is going to be successful for us in Division 2 to start with.
“Then hopefully when we make the transition to Division 1, these guys will be in the prime of their careers and be able to make us competitive so we are not out looking trying to find 10-15 blokes.”
Chapman said he had been buoyed by the club’s retention rate, which has set the foundations for another finals tilt in 2019.
“If you lose half a dozen you have got to replace them before you can start to try and improve,” he said.
“The fact we have been able to keep everybody meant that our platform to start from, we knew exactly what we had.”
Thomastown hopes forwards Daniel Francis and Matthew Ferraro, who were restricted by injury this year, can return to their best next season.
“If we can get those guys fit and firing our forward line will be OK,” Chapman said.
“It’s just a matter of trying to get the ball into good users going forward that can hopefully give them every opportunity to take marks.”
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