Wangaratta targets fourth straight grand final, but only second flag

The underdogs ended Albury's hopes of a fourth straight title that first year, but then blew it with poor first quarters in the grand final re-match the following season and against Lavington in 2019.

We all know a lot has happened, far more important than footy in the last 12 months, but there's no motivation like losing a grand final and much of it your own fault.

ARRIVALS (SINCE END OF 2019)

Willson Mack (Brock-Burrum), Daniel Witham (King Valley), Cam Potter (Milawa), Frazer Judd, Daniel McCormick, Jack Amery (Tarrawingee), Ben Reid (Collingwood), Brendan Gamze (Milawa), Chris Knowles (Moyhu), Daniel Sharrock (Pascoe Vale), Abraham Ankers (Waratah, NT)

DEPARTURES (SINCE END OF 2019)

Nick Richards (Heidelberg), Lachie Hourigan (Myrtleford), Daniel McCormick, Jack Amery, Daniel Witham (Tarrawingee), Willson Mack (Brock-Burrum), Luke Morgan (Centrals Trinity Beach)

VFL-LISTED

Brad Melville (Richmond)

QUESTION AND ANSWER WITH BEN REID

Q: You retired from the AFL last year with the last three seasons dogged by injury. Much of the reporting spoke about soft tissue problems, but they weren't the only issues were they?

A: In 2018 I had a couple of bad knee injuries, so it wasn't soft tissue then and my knee flared up again in 2019, and it got to the point where I got surgery again, so a lot of those last couple of years wasn't so much soft tissue (Reid had three or four surgeries in his 14-year AFL career).

Q: Why did you call it quits from the AFL?

A: I retired because I was mentally sick of it, more than anything, I was just over it. I wasn't enjoying footy and thought I'd look to the next stage of our life (Reid is married to Erin). I only started to think about pulling the boots on again after talking to Matty Kelly and a couple of the boys in 'Wang'.

Q: Other AFL players have spoken about the pressure, but for a lot of kids, it's seemingly the world's best life, is it?

A: If you love Aussie Rules growing up, it's an unbelievable lifestyle and I was so lucky to have been involved. But there's the pressure that comes with it. From the first day you're drafted and going to a big club like Collingwood, you learnt pretty quickly about pressure. You're constantly reviewed, every single day there's 'what can you do better? What can't you do better'? You go to your local grocer and someone might say, 'how did you miss that goal on the weekend'? It might come from people you don't even know and sometimes it's actually pretty good fun, you have a laugh with them. As soon as you sign up for footy, it's part of your job.

Q: You can't play 152 AFL games, including the 2010 premiership, and not have tremendous will and pride in your performance, what do you want from the year?

A: Naturally I want to play well, but moreso I'm looking forward to helping out the younger guys coming through. We've got a great core of young guys there, in that 22 to 25-year age group, that's where Wangaratta's improvement will come from. It's not going to be from the old blokes, it's trying to help the young guys become better Ovens and Murray footballers and that will make it a bit easier for us (laughs).

WHAT LIES AHEAD

Ben Reid has spoken of the club's young talent, but up to a third of the side will be 30-plus. Could the Pies do an Albury with an over-reliance on the older players?

It's definitely a possibility, but the bulk of Wangaratta's best in that 2019 grand final loss were in their 20s, so it's different to the Tigers where the older players were still the superstars. In Albury's 2019 best and fairest, four of the top five were 30-plus. Wangaratta's Joe Richards is a two-time best and fairest and is only 21, Daniel Sharrock missed half a year and still finished runner-up in 2018, while Jesse Smith was sensational in that 2019 grand final loss. Admittedly, Matt Kelly (33) was their best that day, but you feel the Pies have the balance right.

In that 2017 grand final upset over Albury, the Pies had one of the best attacking units in years in bigs Michael Newton, Josh Porter and Tom Whittlesea, along with goal sneak Ben Speight. Albury had no answer, so could this year's unit (Newton, Ben Reid, Porter and Speight) be better?

On paper, yes, but it's probably hard to expect Newton, who's 34 next month, to tear the competition apart, given his run of injuries. Porter too won the 2107 preliminary final when the game looked lost, but he struggled in 2019. However, both are super fit and at their lowest weight in years. If Newton, Porter and Reid remain injury-free, that tall timber will be unstoppable.

What will Abraham Ankers bring to the midfield?

The missing link. As good as the Pies have been in the last three seasons, they needed more on-ball class. They've got it in the Northern Territory Thunder best and fairest and NEAFL Team of the Year member.

Coach Dean Stone is back after two years, why is he so highly respected?

He's a father figure to the players. And there's no straighter shooter, he calls a spade one helluva shovel. It can upset a few people, but most players would prefer a coach to say something to their face than behind their back. And that's apart from the fact he's terrific in terms of tactics and knowledge.

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