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Sure, the Pies have lost five players from last year's premiership team, but two of them were destined to leave the club at the end of last season anyway.
New Magpies coach Ben Reid is certain the club's depth will help fill the gaps left by the departed premiership players.
However, there will be no quick-fix for the loss of skipper and key defender Brad Curran, who was regarded the best fullback in the state.
Before last year's grand final Curran announced to his teammates that the match would be his last for Glenorchy.
With a premiership medallion around his neck, Curran left the club and has retraced his roots by returning to Dodges Ferry.
Likewise, teenage forward Aaron Cornelius was also destined to leave Glenorchy as he looked like a certain pick in the AFL draft.
Sure enough, Cornelius was selected by Brisbane and has relocated to Queensland.
Of the Pies' other premiership players, Nathan Foale has moved to Kingborough, while Matthew Smith and Shayne Moles have relocated to Victoria.
Reid's first priority as coach of the reigning SFL Premier League team has been to fill the void.
"We've got to cover our losses for a start, and naturally we are going to be a younger team this season," Reid said.
"In the past three or four years we've had good depth and a lot of success in the lower grades.
"A lot of guys who could have gone somewhere else to play will now get their opportunity to play for us at a senior level."
Reid has coached Glenorchy's reserve team to premierships over the past three years.
"We've had good success with the twos, and the under-19s have won three of the past four flags," Reid said.
"That's been our strength, the depth, blokes putting pressure on for a spot in the seniors all the time.
"We've had our fair share of injuries over the past three years, but we've been able to cover our injuries better [than other teams]."
Glenorchy replaced its 2007 premiership coach David Newett with club stalwart
Michael Bowden last season, and he took them to the premiership with Reid as his right-hand man.
Reid takes over the top job this season for Glenorchy's debut season in the 10-team Tasmanian State League.
"As a coach I consider myself well-prepared, I devote a fair amount of time to planning, and I'm constantly seeking feedback and working on relationships with individuals," he said.
"I'm not go into reinvent the wheel as to how we play our footy."
Reid's style is not unlike Newett's.
"I've worked with him for a fair few years," Reid said.
"He's been by far the biggest influence on me and my footy and approach to footy coaching.
"In some ways I hope to emulate him. He's one out of the box in terms of drive and passion."
Glenorchy's first match of the State League season will be on Saturday, April 4, as one of three games AFL Tasmania has dubbed the season launch.
Glenorchy will take on NTFL premier Launceston at KGV, a match that has been pulled forward from round 17; in the other launch matches, North Launceston plays Burnie at Aurora Stadium, brought forward from round16; and South Launceston takes on Lauderdale, brought forward from round one.
Glenorchy's clash with Launceston will be the long-awaited state premiership match Launceston refused to play last season.
But Reid said it would bear no resemblance to what might have been last year.
"It's a different year, both clubs have different lists, the feeling around clubs changes from year to year, so it really doesn't have any real relevance to last year," Reid said.
"We have put behind us winning the premiership in the south to focus on playing in an entirely different competition with entirely different opportunities in the TSL."
Glenorchy's goal is to finish in the top three to secure a double chance in the finals.
"We didn't know much about the northern teams until we did some work on it," Reid said.
"We've reviewed tapes of their games from last year and we've had observers watching their pre-season games and we've developed a dossier on each club.
"It's still a work in progress, but we're not flying blind," he said.
Source: The Mercury |
