His recruiting zone extended from the Tiwi Islands in the Torres Strait, down to Darwin in the Top End, through to the Alice in the red centre.
As well, he had players to watch from settlements as far flung as Pigeon Hole, 350 kilometres west of Katherine, and Hodgson Downs, 650 kilometres due east of there.
Trevena was rightly proud when his side claimed the Division Two title, but said it was a big ask to bring his troops together for the Thunder side, although he had the help of his talent scouts and the Northern Territory Institute of Sport (NTIS).
“It’s a pretty tough gig and that’s why we need six practice match games before the championships. We also had a mini-championship where we played Tassie, NSW/ACT and the Oakleigh Chargers over a week,” Trevena said.
“It’s pretty hard but they do come together and they are a close knit group and I guess the culture is to look after one another and protect one another, while they enjoy each others company.”
Several of the Thunder stars, including Tiwi Islander Simon Munkara, Ronald Smith from Hodgson Downs and Shaun Nuggett, who hails from Pigeon Hole, have now re-located in Darwin.
And two others, Cameron Ilett (Port Adelaide Magpies) and Matthew Stokes (Woodville West Torrens) are now play in the SANFL.
Trevena said the fact that the Territory was in their football off-season, was another challenge for his side.
“That’s why the build-up games are so important and hopefully they will continue, because we really do need those matches for our preparation,” Trevena said.
“Being out-of-season is really hard and we’ve only got six build-up games – so we’ve got to make the most of them. We’ve played a lot of internal ones, but the guys don’t like playing against each other, so that makes it very hard. Some guys don’t perform at all in those internal ones.”
“When you don’t play every week it can be hard to discipline in certain areas. We’ve had to really pull that in and make sure we abide by that, because the football culture wasn’t the best and for us to be successful we needed to nip that in the bud and I think we’ve gone about that in the right way.”
After forging a fine playing career in Tasmania, Trevena has now focused on bringing a southern football culture to the Territory in his coaching reign.
“The hard part is building in a southern culture, which is what I’ve tried to take up there – by raising the bar. That means not having excuses for why we can’t come to training.
“Let’s be there to do the work and get it done, let’s work on our defensive side, an area we need to work on and let’s work on it so we can therefore become a better outfit.”
“My philosophies aren’t great, but they’re simple.”
Trevena believes his style with the Thunder has come from trial and error and understanding the way of life in the Territory.
“These guys have been given a gift to play football, but one thing they love is their family and their football.”
“Sometimes my job is a lot easier, because you’re getting kids with a passion to play and they want to be a part of it. They want to achieve and they want to succeed, so they do a lot of things for you.”
“Their want to play footy is a big part and their want to play footy helps my cause.”
Trevena believes that the professionalism surrounding the team and its preparation has improved significantly, although he believes there is still a fair way to go.
“We’ve had to bring a fair bit (of professionalism) and we’ve still got a fair way to go to be honest. But I’ve raised the bar quite a percentage and I’ll probably cop a fair bit of flak about that – there’s no doubt about that.”
“I’ll probably be in the firing line, but the end result is for those kids to get every opportunity to be given their goal of being drafted by an AFL club.”
“My sole purpose is to develop the players and to give them every opportunity of playing at the highest level. But if that’s South Australian football or Northern Territory football back in Darwin – where they go on to play 100 games of football – then I’ve contributed and achieved my goal.”
“But to let them sit there, do their own thing, waste away and not reach their full potential, then I haven’t achieved what I should be achieving, which is to be the development coach for the AFL.”
“If I can plan that pathway for them, therefore they’ll be a lot better off, if they get the opportunity to play in the AFL or even in life in general.”
