SFNL: Taylor Stratton speaks on his new role as Frankston Dolphins coach
Freshly appointed Frankston Dolphins coach Taylor Stratton sees no reason to “flip the club on its head” as he attempts to take the Dolphins to an elusive premiership. See why.
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Freshly appointed Frankston Dolphins coach Taylor Stratton sees no reason to “flip the club on its head” as he attempts to take the Dolphins to an elusive premiership.
With some internal improvement and some minor tweaks, Stratton is optimistic the ingredients for its maiden flag are there.
Stratton, originally a Dolphin junior, returns to the club following the departure of former coach Richard Mathers.
Mathers steered the Dolphins to back-to-back grand finals in the Southern league but had to step down due to work commitments.
Stratton joins from Hastings in the Mornington Peninsula league, having also previously coached at Crib Point in 2016.
At the Dolphins, Stratton, 32, will focus on in-house development.
“I will be looking to come in and hopefully improve the players individually,” he said.
“I want to come in and help improve the players at their own football.
“As a team perspective, we will be aiming high for sure.”
The Dolphins have been agonisingly close in recent years, going down to Lyndhurst in 2022 by eight points before falling to Endeavour Hills this year.
Stratton said being new makes it hard to fully know how his players are feeling after the heartbreak of this year’s grand final.
But he will instil affirmation in how close they are to elusive silverware.
“Not being a part of it it’s hard to gauge how they actually feel,” he said.
“But the message will be: you’ve gotten this close, to go from Div 4 straight into Div 3 and make a grand final.
“They lost to a very good side, Endeavour Hills was very strong, to get that close, for me the message will be ‘boys, we’re this close, let’s add a few pieces, tweak a few things and launch.
“Sometimes a new voice, a different perspective can really elevate the boys.
“It’s all going to be pretty new for them, they’ve had the same coach for two years now, but the main goal is to keep things pretty similar.
“They’ve made two grand finals, there’s no reason to come in and completely flip the club on its head.
“We will keep things familiar and just add a few things.”
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