Picture: THOMAS MILES
IT was not so long ago the North Gambier Football Club A Grade side sat proudly at the top of the ladder.
It was the benchmark of the Western Border Football League, but last year’s performance suggested the side was a long way from the mark previously set by itself.
The Tigers recorded just three victories for the season, with fourth place a distant six wins up the road.
It was a strange place to see the Tigers sit, but if anything is sure, it is the current feel around the club.
Justin McConnell has stepped back in as playing coach and is keen mount a finals campaign later in the season.
While it is a different team McConnell last coached at North, he still has many of the core group on the list, with a couple of new players to help refresh the roster.
Out is Brock Egan, who now calls the Penola camp home, while the services of Matt McInerney are in doubt, depending on when he moves north to further his cricket career.
McConnell said the list is younger than when he last coached, but he has been impressed with the pre-season commitment so far.
“I have been really impressed the way the guys have returned to training,” he said.
“They have a lot of disappointment about the way they performed last year.
“There is a bit of drive among the playing group to get better, mainly from the guys who had below-par years.
“Some of the leaders who have tasted success were not able to influence games as much as they would like.
“We need to bring them back up to speed, plus bring new guys in, start to set some elite standards and get a bit of a winning mentality and frame of mind back.”
In are former Tiger Jake Stafford, who has returned from a long stint in Adelaide, while Ryan McKaye, who may be included as a travelling player, comes in from the River Murray league.
McConnell said those two inclusions would bring plenty of talent to the roster.
“Jake will be a really good addition,” he said.
“He went up to Glenelg to play Under 18s and has played some good footy up in Adelaide.
“Ryan has played a bit of zone footy and played for Jervois in the River Murray League, so he is a handy pick up for us.”
McConnell said he wanted to change the way the side plays, simplify the system, after some convincing defeats last season.
He said that should allow individual players to bring their own “X-Factor” to the game.
“We want to maximise the assets we have, let players bring their own strengths to the table,” he said.
“We have a firm focus on bringing the standards back up, all being on the same page and making it an enjoyable environment to be around.
“The majority of that has been player driven.”
While there are minimal changes to personnel, McConnell believes the attitude of the playing group should be able to lead a resurgence.
“Sometimes when you have success and start to get beat up, you might not handle it as well,”he said.
“I have seen a real drive in attitude.
“The guys have been really enthusiastic, attendance has been good and they are doing a lot of extra sessions which they did not do last year.
“So far all signs are positive.”
McConnell accepted there was a big challenge facing him in 2019.
He said he understood the strength of the league at the moment, with other teams recruiting well.
However, while he is positive the group he has can improve on 2018, he has not set an end goal.
“We would like to bounce back to the finals, which is probably the main goal,” he said.
“We understand it will be a challenge moving forward and we have not set a real end goal per say.
“We just genuinely feel we are better than a three-win team, so that will be the first goal to tick off.”
