PROFILE
A NEW coach with a fresh approach has St Arnaud supporters hoping their time in the finals wilderness might soon be over.
Having not seen September action since their premiership season of 2015, the Saints are optimistic that 2023 could be the dawn of a new era – albeit one that could still be a year or two in the making.
Former Avoca coach Anthony Bourke is the man entrusted with leading St Arnaud out of the lower reaches of the North Central ladder and has brought with him a number of recruits.
Brad Organ and Nick Birthisel (both Quambatook) have returned to their home club, as have the Coghlan boys, Nick and Nathan, who both played under Bourke at Avoca, along with Jamie Beavis.
Also returning home to the Saints to play in 2023 will be Tyler Baldock and Simon Elliott, along with ruckman Ryan Kitchin and midfielder-forward Daniel Kitchin.
With St Arnaud having re-signed the bulk of their senior playing list, a sharp upturn in performance is expected with their vastly improved squad.
But while Bourke is hoping for a more competitive season from his charges, there’ll also be plenty of opportunities for the next generation to show their wares as well.
“Jackson Needs and Tyson Funston will most likely play a bit of senior footy, even though they’re still very young – they’re bigger bodied kids and both of them have been sensational through our practice matches, so they’ll get their opportunities this season,” Bourke said.
“We’ll be cautious on how much we play them because we don’t want to burn them out, but we’ll have a lot of juniors rotating through, which is awesome for the club to see the next generation.
“In terms of how we’ll play, we’ll be trying to look after the footy when we have it and play a heavily contested style of football.
“Once we come out of that stoppage, we’ll be looking to come forward on the opposition and come through the middle of the ground – our foot skills are really good, so we’ll try to use that to our advantage.”
FROM THE COACH
“After only a couple of wins last year, we really don’t have too many expectations at this stage. We’ll be eyeing off more than four wins this season, you always want to improve and that’s certainly what we’ll be aiming to do.”
KEY PLAYER
Kurtis Torney
St Arnaud’s veteran midfielder who can turn a game off his own boot, Torney has incredible kicking skills and is the type of player the Saints want the ball in his hands more often than not.
INS & OUTS
INS
Bradley Organ (Quambatook)
Nick Birthisel (Quambatook)
Nick Coghlan (Avoca)
Nathan Coghlan (Avoca)
Ryan Kitchin (Avoca)
Daniel Kitchin (Avoca)
Tyler Baldock (Avoca)
Simon Elliott (Avoca)
Jamie Beavis (Avoca)
OUTS
None
