WHILE some football officials expect coronavirus to take its toll on player numbers across the region, veteran Jindera coach Andrew Wilson has never been keener for a season to start.
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He's missed it.
The Bulldog mentor caught up with The Border Mail this week and outlined his thoughts on why the club can improve on its 11th placing in 2019.
BK: It seems clubs have a different spin on the best way to tackle pre-season after a long break. What are your plans?
AW: We actually caught up as a group on Tuesday to get some feedback from the guys in regards to what they wanted to do heading into Christmas. It was pretty unanimous that they wanted to catch up once a week on a Tuesday at various locations. I'll post out a location on a Sunday night and we'll do some different things, It was driven by the players which was good. It will be low-key but we will have six sessions and take it from there.
BK: Any luck with recruiting?
AW: We had six new ones coming in for this year before it got called off and we've added Benny Dower and Rhys Preston. We are chipping away at a couple more but it's hard to get any answers because nobody has any reason to leave clubs after not playing this year.
BK: How is the ground redevelopment going at Jindera?
AW: We were out there on Tuesday night and had a bit of a look and it's coming together well. We've been told we might be able to use it by mid-January. I'm not a horticulturist or anything like that but they are right into it. We all know our ground can have issues when we have a wet winter but apparently it will dry out within a few hours even after being saturated. I know a few of the boys who might have thought about giving it away were keen to play on for one more year just to play on a good ground.
BK: You've been an assistant-coach or coaching in the Hume league for a long time now. How far do you go back?
AW: I think I started as an assistant coach when Mark Sanson was at Henty in 2005. I've done it every year except for the second year when 'Bahry' (Kerry Bahr) was coaching at Jindera.
BK: What keeps you going?
AW: I guess my job is a bit the same in that I'm a peoples ' person. I enjoy working with the players and helping them with footy stuff and life skills in general. If things are a bit rough away from footy, footy can be a good place to be. As you get older and older you see the younger guys coming through and hopefully point them in the right direction. It makes me feel younger as well and I need that these days.
BK: You broke your leg in the last game you played in 2019. How is the recovery?
AW: It's coming along well. I wouldn't have played this year as there just wasn't enough time to get it right. It was a bit of a rude awakening not running for six months. I'm feeling alright but it's a big step playing a game of footy again. I'll keeping working away and cross those bridges as I go. If it's not right, I'll just coach.
