TYRENDARRA Football Netball Club are preparing for a bigger and better 2022, with the addition of a women’s football side to the club that could have gone close to premierships in 2021, if they were given the opportunity.

The shortened ending of the 2021 season has left a feeling of unfinished business around the club, with senior football coach Matt Peters staying on in a non-playing role, Aaron Elford continuing as reserves coach, and Rani Kane due to undertake her second year in charge of the A grade netball side.

All three of these sides were near the benchmark in 2021, with premierships a realistic goal.

COVID-19 had other ideas, however, and the season was cut short.

With not many foreseeable changes to either side next year, the goal has not changed.

The big news, however, is the announcement of Glenn Kane as the inaugural senior women’s coach at Tyrendarra.

After successful come-and-try days last month, the club has decided to commit to a senior women’s side in 2022.

“It’ll be different but the same,” Glenn Kane, who coached the Darras’ senior men to the 2001 premiership, said.

“Footy’s still footy, but certainly from the short experience (of coaching women at the come-and-try nights) it’s a bit of a different outlook.

“Their enthusiasm was infectious; I had no plans to coach again.

“The way they responded was really refreshing.

“We’re really lucky at the Darras, we’ve got quite a few people to help out.

“We’ll do some individual drills based on ability so that everyone gets a chance to improve.

“Number one, we just want (the women) to feel a part of the club.

“That’s a big attraction to team sport, just being a part of something… to feel really comfortable to know that they’re valued.

“In the old days, it was very results driven, finals and flags.

“We hope that will come, but the most important thing is having some fun, getting some improvement and making them feel part of the place.

“That enthusiasm and attitude to try something different, I found it infectious, and I just want to be part of it.”

The focus on results is not entirely old-fashioned, however.

After a disappointing finish to 2021, a trophy is still in the mind of Peters, and it is something he thinks is entirely possible next year.

While he is seeking specific coaches for the forward line, back line and midfield, he believes the core is still there to make it happen.

“I wasn’t going to coach for a while there,” Peters said.

“We feel ripped off, I suppose, from the last couple of years.

“I’d like to think we’re capable of a premiership, particularly if we can keep our list and add a few players in.

“We have the potential to do it, but we’ll start low and aim to make finals first.

“Tye O’Connell is going to stick around and Mick Ford will be around in a kind of mentor role, but we are seeking line coaches – forward, back and midfield, playing and non-playing – to lend a hand.”

The feeling is similar on the netball side, with Rani Kane’s A grade netball side only losing one game, a tight affair against Westerns, this year.

Like Peters, she is hopeful of retaining her core players for a hopefully uninterrupted premiership push.

“The group that we had last year, and the enthusiasm, despite the conditions of the season, was really exciting,” she said.

“The way we operated as a team (last year), I was really happy with how it came together.

“I was really disappointed (for the season to finish early), just because of the strength of the team that we had, and the direction we were going in.

“I was confident going into finals that we’d give it a good crack, so I do come in (to 2022) with a bit of that feeling. “We refresh again, and go from scratch, but we definitely want to have a full run.”