WRFL 2021: Why Wyndhamvale will get better in Division 2

The Falcons are 6-1 after losing a long list of key players before the first bounce of the season, but coach Luke Wenlock says the WRFL club’s best is to come.

Jack Tessari on the burst for Wyndhamvale this season. Picture: Local Legends Photography

First-year Wyndhamvale coach Luke Wenlock has declared his team has plenty of upside after a flying start to the Western Region Football League Division 2 season.

Despite waving goodbye to the likes of Chris Moreland, Bol Kolang, Nathan Bisset, Jy Lambley, Majok Ngong, Mitchell Gough and Corey Goforth, the Falcons are two games clear in second spot.

After going down to pacesetter Parkside in the opening round, Wyndhamvale was riding the momentum of a six-game winning run before the coronavirus pandemic forced the season to be paused.

“We’re very happy so far,” Wenlock said.

“There was a fair bit of change … but I was still confident we could hold our ground. We’ve done that I think.

“The biggest disappointment was Round 1, and that was a long time ago now.

“Blokes have taken big steps forward, and probably a couple we didn’t even foresee. That’s been terrific.”

Wyndhamvale coach Luke Wenlock. Picture: Supplied

Wenlock nominated Daniel Dahl and Brodie Meadows as two players who had exceeded expectations.

Connor Yeoll, Jack Tessari and Tyler Tessari have also impressed, while Liam Scarborough has 15 goals to his name from seven games, including a haul of five against Point Cook Centrals.

Wenlock has multiple options in the attacking half, with Daniel Smith (13 goals), Jayme Gilmore (12), Jack Tessari (11) and Jesse Shell (10) also causing headaches for opposition sides.

Wenlock praised his team’s fighting qualities this season, with Wyndhamvale winning three games by 19 points or less.

The Falcons finished the home-and-away rounds with a 17-1 record and a percentage of 215.24 in 2019 before going down to Yarraville-Seddon in the decider.

“We’ve got heaps of improvement,” he said.

“We’ve not played four quarters the whole year. We’ve had massive lapses, given up six or seven-goal leads, got it back … and then kicked again.”

“In saying that, we weren’t really challenged in 2019. We’ve been behind by three or four goals a few times this year and fought back, so we’ve won ugly, which is a great sign.”

Wenlock said the enforced layoff would “definitely get us towards fielding our best side”.

Wyndhamvale was set to have another crack at undefeated Parkside on May 29 before the state’s coronavirus outbreak.

The pair are scheduled to meet again on July 31, with the Magpies prevailing by 34 points in their season opener.

“They’re definitely the team to beat,” Wenlock said.

“We were looking forward to (Round 8) in a big way.

“They touched us up. They were very good, but we were bad in Round 1.”