Darren Glass (eight games), Shannon Hurn (13) and Sam Butler (five) are senior members of our defensive group and all have been restricted this year.
But through their absence we’ve been in a position to give games to Ash Smith and Lewis Stevenson, while Eric Mackenzie and Will Schofield have gone a long way to establishing themselves as senior players.
We’ve learnt a lot about Eric and Will this year and they’ve had to develop very quickly playing on the opposition’s best and second-best forwards most weeks.
That’s probably one stage ahead of their development so far and when Glassy returns next year they’ll be able to drop back onto the second and third forwards.
Smith is certainly a guy that may not have been given an opportunity if Butler and Hurn had been playing regularly this year, but we’ve found a guy that we think can play. He’s shown he’s a very capable player at this level and he’s got genuine speed.
Brad Sheppard’s an early draft choice for us that has taken on responsibility this season and he’s got speed, a good kick both sides of the body and an ability to take the game on.
Then you add Stevenson, who is an elite kick and has come a long way in the last 12 months. In two or three years, when these guys have played 50-60 games together, it starts to look pretty exciting.
We’ve also been able to get games into Matt Spangher and Beau Wilkes, while Mitch Brown has returned to defence after some time in the forward line. Beau Waters’ return to the side has been a great story for the footy club.
Getting to look at these guys has been the upside, but what it means is we’ve been very young in the backline and they’ve been exposed to a fair bit of high scoring against them, which is tough.
It’s certainly taught them some lessons, but I’m proud of the way the guys have tried and given their all.
One of the things that we’ve tried to instill in the guys is that effort is everything and you’re going to get beaten at times, particularly when you’re cutting your teeth in the game.
I would hope that losing games this year has instilled a burning desire for success in them.
You go through periods that are very disappointing and you would hope that puts the drive into them and inspires them to train better and become the best players they can possibly be.
That will drive our defenders next season, and they’re also going to have competition for spots to keep pushing them forward.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
