SFNL: Hampton Hammers breakthrough for first Division 4 win

Hampton Hammers coach Jamie Marshall described his side’s first win of 2022 as a “massive relief” as the Southern league club continues to rebuild itself.

When the lights remained switched on at the Hampton Hammers in late March it was just the beginning of a challenging rebuild.

With just seven players on the training track two weeks out from round one, it appeared the club wouldn’t get off the ground for local footy’s big return.

An emergency meeting decided the club would move from the Southern league’s Division 2 to 4 in order to help relieve some of the pressure.

They are only fielding a senior side in 2022.

The lights at Peter Street Reserve are now shining much brighter after the Hammers recorded their first win of the season on Saturday.

The Hammers are only fielding a senior side in 2022. Photo: Andy's Pixx.

They overcame Moorabbin Kangaroos 10.8 (68) to 8.9 (57) after trailing by three points at the final change.

It was a moment the club’s senior coach Jamie Marshall, who was appointed last year, described as a “massive relief”.

“We treated Saturday as if it was round 1,” he said.

“Our first two games were our practice matches because I didn’t know anything about the group I had or what positions some of the boys had played before.

“At halftime I was thinking to myself ‘here we go’ again because we were a few goals down. But the boys rallied and gave us a great response.

“Every week we have a different theme and this week it was want.

“Want to win the ball, want to win the contest, want to beat your opponent and most importantly, want to win the game.”

Hampton Hammers players celebrate their win. Photo: Andy's Pix.

Despite all the “challenges” he has been faced with during his short stint in the job, Marshall said he was continuing to learn to adapt.

“Before taking on the job, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, moving to a new club never is,” he said.

“There was even some doubt about our prospects before Christmas because player numbers were down as well but I was thinking a few might be playing cricket and they would eventually return.

“We were lucky to have a core group of about seven to 10 guys who were regularly training which meant we had a core group we could build around.

“It’s been a slog up until now but after Saturday it feels like a lot of weight has been lifted off our shoulders.”

Marshall said the performances of Scott Greenhalgh, Ben Lewis and Guy Timms helped to lift his side across the line as they began to “hunt the ball in packs” during the second half.

Lewis finished with three goals for the game while Greenhalgh added two majors.

“We threw Guy into the ruck to give us some fresh legs and it helped to turn the game in our favour,” Marshall explained.

“You could definitely see our intensity lift behind the efforts of those three players.”

Leo Grenville finished with a goal for the Hammers. Photo: Andy's Pix.

With his first win as Hammers mentor now on the board, Marshall insists he will continuing to “coach to win every week” as the club continues to rebuild itself.

“We’ll keep working away and see where the season takes us,” he said.

“The club’s committee and the league have done a terrific job to ensure we’ve got enough players to take to the field and hopefully our numbers do keep growing.

“We’ve been working closely with Fish Creek because a lot of their boys live in the area. You can see they’ve played together for a long time as their standards are excellent.

“But we’re already starting to notice the difference in our playing group which has been a massive boost.”

Hampton Hammers will now look to continue its winning ways against Doveton Eagles as the Roos aim to bounce back against Hallam.

Other Division 4 results

Frankston Dolphins 12.18 (90) def. South Mornington 12.5 (77)

Dandenong 14.15 (99) def. Cerberus 6.5 (41)

Doveton Eagles 11.12 (78) def. Lyndale 8.6 (54)

Lyndhurst 8.9 (57) def. Hallam 6.10 (46)