Lavington has been the quietest club over summer. It's the 'Lavi' way.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Generally speaking, when you miss finals and don't recruit much, while other clubs have been signing a stack of profile players, that means a slide down the ladder.
However, there's an optimism.
Nobody at Lavington genuinely thinks it's going to topple the Yarrawonga's, Albury's and Wangaratta's, but the Panthers might surprise those clubs outside the top three.
ARRIVALS:
Marty Brennan (Grovedale), Connor Clayton, Isaac Lampe (Tumbarumba), Daniel Finnimore (Wodonga), Jack Glanvill (Turvey Park), Mason Hamilton (Brock-Burrum), Campbell McCrae (Irrewarra Beeac), Tim Oosterhoff (Coolamon), Connor Thompson (Wahgunyah), Jordan Weidemann (Rupanyup)
DEPARTURES:
Ewan Mackinlay (North Adelaide), Myles Aalbers (Osborne), Nick Brennan, Tyson Neander (Thurgoona), Luke Garland (Jindera), Macca Hallows (Pascoe Vale), Joe Hansen, Bailey Pirnag (Corowa), Liam Ross (UNSW), Andrew Yates (Newcastle)
VFL-LISTED:
Nick Newton (North Melbourne), Ben Ashley-Cooper (Sydney Swans), Conor Willis (Collingwood)
BEST AND FAIREST
Shaun Driscoll (winner), Ewan Mackinlay, Billy Glanvill
OUR SAY:
ANDREW MOIR: Very similar to North Albury in that the club hasn't picked up enough name players to play finals, but there's a buzz at the club with so much youth coming through and even moreso after demolishing Myrtleford by 70 points in the final practice game, with both teams missing around four players.
THERE'S A FEW CLUBS WHO WILL BE SWEATING ON VFL AVAILABILITY, WILL THE PANTHERS' TRIO, AT LEAST, START THE SEASON IN THE O AND M?
If you're a betting man, you would say yes. Of course, even clubs themselves often aren't sure if they have a player until the Thursday night, but all three are with AFL-aligned outfits, which makes it more likely to return home for the opening rounds until injuries take their toll at the elite level. Ben Ashley-Cooper is coming off a hamstring at the Sydney Swans, so he will need time to return to VFL level, while Nick Newton and Conor Willis are development list players at North Melbourne and Collingwood respectively.
WHEN WILL MARTY BRENNAN RETURN?
Only Marty knows the answer to that. He's been to Japan and Canada on his trip and is highly likely to miss at least the first month. Again, if you're a betting man it would probably be between rounds 5-10. And if he was able to get back anywhere near his best form, the Panthers have one heck of a player.
WHAT SORT OF FORWARD IS RECRUIT TIM OOSTERHOFF?
In short, a monster. He's more than 190cms and around 105kgs, so he's not a lead and mark-type full forward, rather a one-on-one powerhouse. He kicked 58 goals from 17 games to win Coolamon's best and fairest in the Riverina Football League. Now it's a big step from the RFL to the O and M, so you can't expect him to dominate but, at the very least, he provides that target the Panthers desperately missed last year and will straighten their attack.
HOW MANY OF THE CLUB'S UNDER 18 PREMIERSHIP PLAYERS WILL PLAY SENIORS?
At least a third and it might even be round one. Defender Jesse Hart and Nick Paton are locks, while Corby Robertson, Xavier Russell, Jack Costello and Will Liersch are strong chances. Normally a club might introduce a handful of under 18s from the previous season, but Lavington's game will be based on pace and pressure, so those youngsters will play a pivotal role in that. The Panthers played a brand of football last year where they tried to control the ball and while every club naturally has an element of that, this time there will be more overlap running through the middle of the ground and Myrtleford was stunned by the pace and pressure in that final practice match.
Q&A WITH SHAUN DRISCOLL
Q: You had a breakout season, winning the best and fairest, how did you tackle the pre-season?
A: When you have a good year, you don't want to take your foot off the throttle, you want to attack the next season, keep going hard and improve the next year, there's a lot of things I can definitely do better.
Q: What are those improvements?
A: My contest work. I wouldn't mind playing a bit more on-ball, I've trained the pre-season through the midfield a little more, so hopefully get more time there and improve that aspect of my game.
Q: Was that coach Adam Schneider's call or yours?
A: It was a number of different blokes, Adam was one who came to me, (former player) Mick Richards was a guy who was pretty big on me last year, he wanted me to roll through the midfield a lot. (Another former player in) Matty Pendergast always wanted me to play more midfield.
Q: I take it you will be a super young team?
A: We're a pretty young group, but it's exciting. Jack Costello, Xavier Russell, Jesse Hart, Will Liersch, guys like that, we're excited what they can do.
Q: Generally speaking, Lavington had a core nucleus for many years, Tom Hargreave, Luke Garland, Tim Hanna, et cetera, but with that youth you will be more of an unknown, won't you?
A: Yeah, I think a lot of people will write us off because we've lost that experience, you lose 'Clarrie' (Myles Aalbers), 'Garlo (Luke Garland), people will write you off pretty quickly. We've got good young ones coming through and the ones in their 20s are good leaders, Jake O'Brien, Billy Glanvill, they're going to fill those spots.
PREDICTION: Eighth
OTHER PREVIEWS:
