AFTER a challenging 2024 season, Inglewood are laying the groundwork to be a strong competitor this season.
Senior coach Fergus Payne said a host of new recruits and a new assistant coach will add to the team’s depth.
“Our retention of players from last season has been really good and we’re bringing in as much talent as we can,” he said.
“Our 2023 best and fairest winner Bregon Cotchett is returning to the club as an inside midfielder.
“We had to address our midfield so we have recruited a couple of guys who can roll through there and add a bit more depth and fire power.
“We’re improving the backs, and we’ve gone out and recruited a couple of key forwards and added a couple of guys across the line so we can address the depth in every face of the game.”
The team was plagued with injuries last season, but pre-season training has proved they are back at full capacity.
“The injuries we had last year didn’t help us get the results we wanted, as well as players being absent,” Mr Payne said.
“Pre-season has been great with plenty of lads out on the track, which is helping us do the drills we need to do to learn our game.
“Everyone is getting fitter and committing, so we’re feeling ready to have a strong top 15 players.”
The new assistant coach Jackson Hood has been brought on to support young players.
“We’ve got a focus on structure and everyone understanding their role in that structure, so Jackson is here to help spread that knowledge to all our young players,” Mr Payne said.
“We are quite a young side, so it’s important to get that knowledge in so people understand the structure and where we want to go as a team.”
Joined league: 1903-07; 1938-present
Ground: Inglewood Community Sports Centre
Premierships: 9 (1903, 1946, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1958, 1971, 1986).
Senior coach: Fergus Payne
2024 ladder position: 7th
2024 best & fairest: Mitchell Conlan
2024 Leading goalkicker: Mitchell Conlan
From the coach:
All of our players who were injured last season are back on board, and with the new players that will give us that depth to help us be more competitive in the top five teams.
Player to watch: Bregon Cotchett
Bregon is fit and keen, and the team is excited to have him coming back for his first full season of senior football at age 19.
Bregon was Inglewood’s best young talent and broke his leg in the first round of last season.
He was a talented junior, winning best young player for the league after only playing six games the under 18 best & fairest two years in a row.
Coach Fergus Payne is looking forward to what Bregan can produce this season.
Ins: Bregon Cotchett, Harry Veitch, Tom Guerra, Kai Cavellaro, Ben Napier, Sam Essex, Josh Essex, Tynan Hywood
Outs: Mitchell Conlan, Jayden Leach, Will Allen
