Consistency to determine Panton Hill’s season, according to coach Simon Amore
Panton Hill had wins over Diamond Creek, St Mary’s and South Morang but finished eighth. Coach Simon Amore reveals the key to the Redbacks’ improvement.
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Panton Hill finished eighth last year, failing to live up to expectations.
However, dig a little deeper and you’ll find the Redbacks knocked off grand finalist Diamond Creek at Coventry Oval, preliminary finalist St Mary’s at Whatmough Park and semi-finalist South Morang at Mill Park Lakes.
A shock loss to Lower Plenty, draw with Thomastown and then defeats to Northcote Park and Watsonia in the run home cruelled their NFNL Division 2 finals hopes, finishing six points out.
After a busy 2023 off-season, Panton Hill has been quieter this year.
Coach Simon Amore said this pre-season had been spent fine-tuning the gameplan and finding the consistency that was missing last season.
“We brought in a lot of new faces last year and now they’ve been around the club longer, more invested and have a better understanding of what’s required in our system,” Amore said.
“That’s something you under-estimate when you have a big turnover and it’s all exciting and new, finding that continuity can take a little while.
“We were very inconsistent, our best was really good and our worst was pretty poor so closing that gap in the pre-season has been our goal.
“When you compare our form against the top-six, we knocked off Diamond Creek, St Mary’s and South Morang, who all won finals and beat Northcote (Park) as well.
“It’s just a matter of finding that consistency and if we can do that it will give us a good opportunity to push for finals.”
Riley Livingstone led the Redbacks’ attack with 37 goals, while Matt Duckworth was also prolific with 30.
Sam Parks finished fifth in the Division 2 league best-and fairest and was rewarded with a third straight Team of the Year selection.
Panton Hill has bolstered its squad with the addition of 2021 Division 1 Under-19 league medallist Christian Roberts (Montmorency), Ethan Gorski (Epping) and Jason Pannam and Guilan Fable (both Heidelberg).
However, the loss of 2021 Division 2 league best-and-fairest Tom Keys to Heidelberg in recent days is a massive blow so close to the season.
“We’ve lost a few and gained a few but we’re very comfortable where we sit and pretty excited to go to war with guys that are invested and want to buy in,” Amore said.
“Tom’s looking to move up to Division 1 … for him to move up and see if that re-ignites the fire for him is a good move.
“We’re not going to stand in the way of someone that wants to play at a higher level.”
Amore will look to the likes of Bailey Sobol, who stormed home with four mentions in the best in the final four games last season, Fable, Roberts and veterans such as Scott Conte to step up.
“Some of our veterans have been putting in the hard yards, Scott Conte is looking as fit as he ever has and Tim Duckworth is another one,” Amore said.
“Bailey Sobol has been leading the way, he had a wonderful second half of the year, and plays footy the way everyone aspires to.
“We’re really excited noticing the improvement within him this pre-season.
“Gulian Fable is another kid that’s crossed over from Heidelberg this off-season who we’re excited about and has been training well.
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“Christian Roberts has come across from Montmorency after having a year off but played some really good football in their under-19 program.
“Todd Johnson is another one who’s been in-and-around our senior side who looks ready to take the next step and Connor Pilatti, the captain of our under-19s last year, we think he’ll play a lot of senior football.”
Panton Hill will face Riddell District club Romsey in the first of two practice matches on Saturday before a final hitout against Division 3 club Mernda.
The Redbacks face a daunting start to the season, travelling to grand finalist Diamond Creek in Round 1 before returning to Cracknell Reserve to tackle Northcote Park in Round 2.
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