By Jonty Ralphsmith
Fitness and pace have been the focuses of preseason for a Devon Meadows side looking to go two steps better than last year in 2024.
The Mornington Peninsula Football Netball League Division 2 side is positioned well to build on its back-to-back finals appearances.
As well as welcoming in a bevy of targeted recruits, the midfield depth is bursting at the seam and former AFL-listed Patrick Ryder is expected to be more influential than his stuttering 2023 campaign.
While aware of the external expectation, coach Ryan Hendy is taking nothing for granted.
“Everyone has been saying to me that your expectations should be high now after (the last two seasons) so you should be cherry ripe to go all the way but we don’t look at it like that – our expectations are to just keep improving,” Hendy said.
“We knew where we were at last year and we were a bit disappointed we didn’t go a little bit further.
“We had blokes break down and realised we needed to get them really fit for this year.
“The mindset of the boys has really grown.
“We understand what we need to do to try and reach that ultimate success and the boys have really gelled together and pushed each other along.”
Devon Meadows went down to eventual premiers Mornington on a big deck in the preliminary final, outrun by a classier and fitter lineup.
It followed two finals wins, having been bundled out in the first week the previous year.
“I think we definitely had the ability to be an exciting team in the competition last year but we probably didn’t have the legspeed around the footy when the whips were cracking towards the end of the season,” Hendy conceded.
“We’ve nullified that so we can run all day and beat sides with fast ball movement so we’ve worked on that over the preseason.
“We want to get the ball in blokes’ hands who have legspeed and can use the footy well.
“I think we will have more legspeed around the contest this year and hopefully be able to slice teams open with that.”
Hendy forecast that preseason standout Ryan Koo and youngster Alex Canal are among the players who could get more midfield minutes this season as the Panthers are set to use a greater blend for shorter spurts to stay fresher than opposition.
Recruit Bailey Hermann is also an experienced midfielder***, the former Nar Nar Goon skipper along with Dylan Gregson and Jack Bayley adding important leadership depth.
Former AFL man Dean Kent will again co-captain the side with Nick Battle, with the list demographic in a healthy position.
As well as adding an important dynamic as a key defender and leader of the backline, Gregson is a strength and conditioning coach, his work helping to lift the intensity of preseason sessions.
The Panthers had an injury-ridden list last year, putting fitness on the agenda for 2024.
“It’s the biggest preseason I’ve been involved in,” the coach said.
“The boys have reaped the rewards from Dylan so it was something we really addressed at the end of last year and start of this year, we put a big focus on strength and conditioning and getting the boys nice and fit.
“We feel like we’ve gone down the right path so hopefully the boys maintain their fitness.”
Joel Hillis and Patrick Ryder are two, in particular, who will have momentum behind them in the season opener this Saturday against arch-rivals Pearcedale.
Hillis has spent the summer playing in the NTFL, while Ryder’s conditioning has significantly improved and is set to be a barometer inside 50 at Glover Reserve while Riley Simmons takes ruck duties.
“He’s probably in better condition than his last year of AFL footy,” Hendy said.
“He’s put a mountain of work in losing nine kilos.
“He’s training everyday and really hungry – he’s never tasted success to the highest level and he’s really eager.
“He reckons he feels amazing and has no issues with any parts of his body anymore so he’s looking forward to getting out there.”
Hendy also name-checked several young guns he’s bullish on, including Hampton Park recruit Jack Wilson, who spent preseason at Frankston, Dandenong Stingrays’ Toby Sinnema, Bailey Phillips, who kicked six in a practice match against Wonthaggi and Tyler Hunter.
