THE South West District Football Netball League (SWDFNL) will kick off its 2024 season across the weekend with games being played in what is expected to be a massive round one.
Today it will be Westerns and Heathmere going head-to-head and Dartmoor hosting Branxholme-Wallacedale, before Tyrendarra take on Coleraine under lights and then Heywood travels to Cavendish to compete on Sunday.
It will be a tough ask for the Lions who face a strong line up in Cavendish, which is coming off the back of two grand final appearances in a row.
There has been a few changes in the Heywood ranks throughout the off-season with Leon Davis taking on the senior coaching role with the help of experienced mentor Leroy Malseed.
“We’re fortunate to have quality people step up to help. Leon was willing and ready to step into the senior coaching role with Leroy Malseed happy to assist as an assistant and reserves coach,” president, Evan Bott said.
“Leon has commitments in Melbourne with work so having Leroy working closely with Leon will help keep the message the same to the players during the week.”
Ahead of round one Bott said the focus has been on getting players on the track and building into the season.
“We had a practice match against East Gambier and had a large number of players have a run,” he said.
“There were ten players on the bench during the game. The same with our juniors we are confident of having a team in all grades.
“We are doing everything we can to continue making the club a fun place to be. Our juniors are our future and having them enjoying their time at the club is a major key to that.”
The Bloods will be a tough team to tackle this season, coming off a grand final loss their playing coach Sam Gibson has said the side is “hungrier than ever” moving into 2024.
Darras to test out new outfit against reigning premiers
TYRENDARRA is hosting reigning premiers Coleraine tomorrow night, with their match scheduled for a 5.30pm start with former Collingwood player, Dane Swan, joining the ranks for the Darras.
With the Maroons maintaining a consistent line up from last year, as well as gaining some solid recruits, they are once again expected to be in premiership contention.
While Coleraine is expected to be a top tier side, the Darras will head into round one with some fresh faces across the senior team and will use the round one clash to gauge their place in the competition.
So far in the preseason, playing-coach Sam Anson has emphasised simple game play after bringing in some out-of-town talent.
“We are playing in a district league where the players turn up to enjoy their footy and the camaraderie that comes with it,” he said.
“My messaging needs to be simple and straight forward. We only get the players for short periods of time and therefore we need to keep things simple. Whatever plans we put together the players need to be able to pick any structures up in a brief period of time.
“We are fortunate to have recruited some quality forwards, three from Horsham, others that have just come into town. To get the best out of that group we will be using a variety of simple forward structures to give our forwards time and space when working together. I would like to see a similar mindset amongst the mid-field and backs in terms of having simple plans/structures to follow. Nothing complicated.”
Roos and Meres go head-to-head
WESTERNS will head to Heathmere with both sides keen on seeing improvement from the 2023 season.
Both teams have locked in some key recruits for the year with tomorrow’s clash providing an opportunity to test their work from the off-season.
Under the guidance of coach, Winis Imbi, Westerns has managed to include some key players for their campaign with Troy Lovett joining the groups as well as Mitch Riddell, while regular contributors Cam Gleeson, Stephen O’Brien and Daniel Lynch are back for 2024.
Heathmere has managed to retain majority of its playing list and is pushing to bring some junior talent through the ranks as they work to improve across the season.
It will be a tough ask for the Meres in round one as the Roos will be out to make their mark for the season.
Saints to be put to the test against Giants
BRANXHOLME-WALLACEDALE has a big round one challenge, heading to Dartmoor to take on the Giants.
The Saints are under new mentorship with Paul Cleaver at the helm this year who is keen to close the gap between the top five sides.
The opening round clash will give them the chance to see where they sit after their efforts during the preseason with Dartmoor a consistent threat in the competition.
The Giants have consistent retention with their playing list and are once again expected to be a force and a mix in the top five.
With some key recruits as well as a keen focus to push for a better finish in 2024 than 2023, the Giants will be a tough round one match up for the Saints.
