By Jonty Ralphsmith
It was the season that got away for Southern Football Netball League Division 2 club Keysborough.
The club was aware it was going to be a year where the list would transition, with more responsibility on younger players to play a more prominent role, but they had hoped to remain in the hunt for finals.
Instead, some off-field tumult and hard fought losses saw the Burra pick up just three wins.
Jojo Ofosu-Amaah’s highly publicised on-field cardiac arrest early in the season had a profound impact on the rest of the club’s campaign.
“If we had our time again, we probably would have pulled the pin on the Caulfield game and just forfeited,” coach Chris Smith said.
“Whereas we played, and got beaten by (73) points, because no one was ready to play and it rolled into the Murrumbeena game.
“If we pulled the pin, we would have been ready to show up after that.
“I just don’t think we handled it well and it dragged on a bit but there is no manual for that.”
The ‘Burra were also on the back foot early after their preseason camp was cancelled due to extreme weather.
To replicate the sense of harmony the club had in the last month of the season, that can’t again occur again, according to Smith, with fitness to be the flavour of preseason to give them gears to go through.
A victory over Hampton Park, competitive patches in both games against Doveton, a tight loss to Caulfield in the return clash, and staying with premiership favourites East Brighton for three quarters demonstrated the recipe for success.
Ultimately, outside the game against the Redbacks, they were overrun late in each of those, while scores against on turnover also hurt throughout the season.
“We are capable of creating stoppage after stoppage and we need to work on our skills,” Smith said.
“Against Doveton we showed we can switch the ball and open it up, keep it off them, and bring wingers into it, so we can compete with them.
“With the year we had, we threw the towel in a little bit and had a disconnect at times between the coaching group and playing group, but in the last month or so we’ve galvanised.
“We had only one bad game (in that time) and the rest of them we’ve been in up to our eyeballs and haven’t been able to finish off and we know why.”
Cory Hargraves, Anthony Brannan and Mark Di Blasio each played their last game on Saturday.
Brannan, a long time defender, plugged a hole in the forward line this year, as well as helping to coach, while Di Blasio played a big role in recruiting.
“They are work horses and they have got every little bit that they could out of their bodies and you can see the finish line for those boys is now.
“Not one of them is thinking about going on again, it’s been that ‘this is 100 per cent my last game, I can’t get up anymore.’
“We couldn’t be happier with the output they’ve given our club.”
That trio were among 49 players rotated through a senior side which struggled for continuity in 2023, but their departures will help the demographic of the list continue to change.
After playing last year with as many as 10 players over 30-years-old, that was closer to five this year and will be lower again next season.
Led by the ultimate professional Simon Marchese, young defender/midfielder Nash Graham and Ethan Bakes, the club has about nine youngsters that will play a big part in the next generation.
For much of the season, it felt Keysborough lacked game changing midfielders, while they also desperately need someone to spearhead the forward line, no one kicking more than 14 goals in 2023.
Smith put increased standards on the agenda for the 2024 preseason, the first since 2012 which won’t come off the back of a finals campaign.
“East Brighton can do it, why can’t we,” Smith said, referencing the Vampires’ recruiting drive which has catapulted them from fifth last year to a 17-1 record in 2023.
“The formula is there if you work hard and do things right.”
“The boys get a longer break this year and the message is to be ready for preseason because we’ll be waiting for you and it will be tough because we want to be fit.”
