Sport
31 March, 2022
Magpies look to build, not rebuild
AS round one of the Hampden League season approaches, Camperdown coach Neville Swayn’s main focus has been on managing the many changes to his side’s list since last season.
AS round one of the Hampden League season approaches, Camperdown coach Neville Swayn’s main focus has been on managing the many changes to his side’s list since last season.
With COVID-19 restrictions lifting across Australia since late last year, the club has seen something of an exodus among its senior playing group as many have taken the opportunity to move elsewhere around the country.
An influx of younger talent and active recruiting from the club has covered many of the departing players, but the challenge of integrating the new faces has been significant.
Swayn believes his side will be much more cohesive and experienced come the end of the season, but shies away from the term rebuild and its connotations of low expectations.
“It’s a funny word, rebuild. Often when people say it’s a rebuild year, they think you’re not going to win a game,” he said.
“If we can get to the end of the year and have 18 or 20 games behind all the young local guys that are stepping up, then we build from that.
“They’ll be the best recruits you can get, because then they’ll carry the club forward for another 10 years.”
Swayn said while building the experience levels of his younger players was a priority the club wouldn’t sacrifice its ability to be competitive.
“We’re definitely keen to win as many games as we can, we’ll go into every game with a plan to win,” he said.
“Success is hard to gauge, but everyone looks at wins and losses, and playing finals is our goal for the end of the year.
“You can rebuild a footy club and still win a lot of games and knock off the top sides, and that’s what we’ll be trying to do.”
With recruits like Zack Anderson from Simpson, Ash Royal from Timboon, and Jarrod Evans returning from Ballarat, the club has a good mix of experience and youthful energy.
Swayn said he’s excited by both the potential development of the younger players and the prospect of watching his side gel cohesively through the season.
“These young guys, they’ll have a crack every week,” he said.
“That’s the most exciting thing for me, to see how these young guys will grow throughout the year and how they’ll progress and grow as a side.”
The Magpies face Terang Mortlake in the season opener, and Swayn believes the two sides are in comparable situations.
“They’re going to have a young group as well, we’ll expect a really tough game that could go either way,” he said.
“We’re hoping that after our pre-season focus on fitness our core group will stand up.
“It’ll come down to composure as well, who can absorb pressure early on, and ball use as well.
“If we can win enough of the footy and control it, give our forwards enough looks, then hopefully we can kick a winning score.”