New Senior Coach & Redan Premiership player

12th November 2008

Can you tell us about your football career and some of the highlights so far?

My football career has included U/14s in the Picola & District Footy League with Katunga Swans, to U/17s and my first year of senior footy with the Numurkah Blues in the Murray Footy League. Then the move to Ballarat for univeristy came along, so I found my new home at Redan in 2004 and played for three years here, which culminated in my first senior premiership in 2006 for the Lions. I then tried my hand at VFL level with the North Ballarat Roosters for two years in 2007 and 2008 before returning to Redan for the year ahead.
 
The clear highlight has been the one and only premiership for Redan in 2006, especially after the disappointment of losing the grand final in 2004. I also enjoyed representing the Ballarat Footy League in 2005, playing at Skilled Stadium.
 
What do you do for a living outside of Football?

For a crust, I work as a Secondary teacher at Ballarat & Clarendon College and am nearly completion of my first year in the job. I'm fully qualified to teach PE, but have only been teaching English this year which is my second method.

As a Redan Premiership player yourself, what do you see as the essential ingredients in a side going all the way?

The essential ingredient for a premiership side is to have all members striving for success, working together to achieve common goals. The old saying "a champion team will beat a team of champions" rings true with me and it is crucial to have everyone working hard to fulfil the potential of a team.
 

What type of style can Redan supporters expect to see from the Lions in 2009?

Redan supporters can expect to see a fast and exciting game style in 2009 with a large emphasis on hardness at the ball and one percenters being vital to our game. Quick and lively movement from the backline into open space going forward is important for our game style.

Where do you see the improvement coming from next season in order for Redan to be a contender?

To be a contender in the finals next year we need to improve our fitness base over the pre-season and hit round one at full strength to avoid losing games early which hurt later on in the season nearing finals. If we can play well early in the season, it enables us to set ourselves up to be in a better position come the latter half of the year, where it's very hard to play catch up.
 
And finally, what advice do you have for the Redan juniors out there ahead of their pre-season training?

My advice for the Redan juniors before pre-season commences is that you definitely get out of footy what you put in. There's a reason AFL clubs train or complete some type of session every day of the week over the summer. If you put in the work, the results will follow and you can really develop yourself as a footballer during the pre-season. The more sessions you get to, the easier the training will become so I encourage all the juniors to get involved in the pre-season and learn as much as you can from the experienced senior players at the club.