PROFILE
Although coming from a long way back, Tooleybuc-Manangatang could well be the surprise packet of season 2023 – with a number of quality recruits set to turn around the fortunes of last year’s wooden spooners.
After enduring the year from hell, the Saints have left no stone unturned in their quest to climb up the ladder this season, bringing in up to seven potentially game-changing recruits – including former North Melbourne midfielder/forward Josh Williams and Gold Coast Suns academy player Kwaby Boakye.
Joining the former AFL-listed pair are midfielders Ethan Goldfinch and Blake Grant, ruckman Tim Auckland, small forward Trey Clark and key defender Jaicob Kenny, who also spent time with both the Gold Coast Suns and Southport Sharks in the NEAFL. It’s not just the Saints’ new faces that have given them cause for optimism, but also the return of some familiar faces – with Mitch Grant, Jack Templeton and 2022 recruit Jack Mazzarella all returning from knee injuries, as well as the return of key forward Tom Spicer from Swan Hill.
With a vastly different look about them, it will no doubt take the Saints a number of weeks to gel – but it’s a problem that senior coach Dean Helmers is looking forward to.
“We go into this year as a bit of an unknown, but probably the big thing for us will be just having the ability to move magnets around,” Helmers said.
“Our training standards were pretty good last year – but we’d get to game day and we’d be competitive and have a good plan, but as soon as we started our rotations, we’d get blown away.”
“This year, we’re going to have the opportunity to turn up on game day with those same good plans and training under our belt, but we’ll be able to rotate and throw guys around and come up with a few tricks which should enable us to be competitive against every side.”
Reigning Best & Fairest winner Alex Powell’s return to Strathfieldsaye will hurt, as will the departures of Shylo Smith (East Sunbury) and Billy Bentley (Macorna), there is no doubting the Saints are extremely well positioned for a vastly improved season. But while Helmers would be disappointed if his side isn’t at least in the finals picture come seasons end – he is also realistic as to how much work is ahead of his players.
“We’ll try to play a really well-structured brand of football, be defensively minded and set up well behind the ball – but at the same time, move the ball quickly with smart running patterns,” Helmers said.
“Our game style will change a fair bit from last year – not just because there’s new players coming in, but because we had no height whatsoever last season and now, we have about six or seven guys that are well over six foot.”
“There’ll be a lot more longer kicking and we’ll be playing to our strengths, whereas last year was about having a solid game plan and sticking to it for as long as we could.”
“We’ve been starved of genuine success for a while, if we can get a few early wins on the board then who knows.”
“Every team is really well coached in this competition and they all have elite players, but sometimes it just comes down to who wants it more – if we can be hungry for the contest and willing to scrap, then that just might get us over the line at times, too.”
FROM THE COACH
“With the quality that we’ve brought into the side and the locals that are returning from injury, we have to be looking at playing finals, I believe. We’ve got some confidence in the fact that we’ll be hard to beat and we’ll at least be competitive in most games this season.”
INs & OUTs
INs
Ethan Goldfinch (Bracknell)
Tim Auckland (Launceston)
Kwaby Boakye (Southport)
Blake Grant (Southport)
Trey Clark (Launceston)
Josh Williams (Southport)
Jaicob Kenny (Heidelberg)
Tom Spicer (Swan Hill)
OUTs
Alex Powell (Strathfieldsaye)
Shylo Smith (East Sunbury)
Murray Ogle (Tyntynder)
Billy Bentley (Macorna)
Ryan Regan
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2023
A vastly improved performance compared to last season, at the bare minimum. Whether the Saints can win enough games to challenge for finals is maybe a stretch – but if their recruits fire, anything’s possible. Will most likely be fighting it out for in the fifth, sixth, seventh bracket at best, making their double up games against Swan Hill, Tyntynder, NNW United and the Mallee Eagles all must-win matches. If John Wardle in defence, Brayden Pitcher and Gareth Grant in the middle and a returning Ryan Domaille in attack can all have big seasons, then Tooleybuc-Manangatang will at the very least be extremely competitive.
KEY PLAYER
Josh Williams
Williams arrives at Tooleybuc-Manangatang with a solid reputation, having played at an extremely high standard for his entire career. Drafted by North Melbourne in 2016, Williams played two AFL games with the Roos, before spending the last four seasons with the Southport Sharks in the NEAFL and VFL. Fast, agile and with incredible hands, Williams will slot straight into the Saints’ forward line and become their main target. He can, and will, be used as a big bodied midfielder to have an impact on-ball, but his biggest benefit to his new club will be as the deep forward marking target they’ve been desperately craving for years.
BIG IMPROVER
Mitch Grant
After missing all of last season with a knee injury, Grant will return for the Saints in 2023. Donning the red, white and black for the first time since 2019, Grant’s footy brain and clean disposal will be invaluable assets and will ensure he has a significant impact back with his home club this season.
THE BURNING QUESTION
Is Dean Helmers the man to rebuild the Saints?
On the evidence so far, the answer would probably be ‘yes’. Helmers did a remarkable job at the Mallee Eagles, taking them to two grand finals and within a whisker of a premiership, before finishing up and moving north to tackle a similar – if not larger – challenge with Tooleybuc-Manangatang. An old-school coach, Helmers is a fantastic match-day leader – and with the Saints now having an influx of high-level talent and a good degree of versatility, he’ll be able to showcase that. While they may not be quite ready for finals, they won’t be too far off.
TOOLEYBUC-MANANGATANG PREDICTED BEST 22 2022
B. Mitchell Ferrie – Jaicob Kenny – Shane Foley
HB. Tom Carland – John Wardle – Kwaybe Boakye
C. Mitch Grant – Ethan Goldfinch – Gareth Grant
HF. Jack Spinks – Jonathan Marsden – Lachie Gleeson
F. Ryan Domaille – Josh Williams – Trey Clark
R. Tim Auckland – Brayden Pitcher – Blake Grant INT. Ben Arentz – Jack Mazzarella – Jack Templeton – Peter Rothacker
