By RUSSELL BENNETT
REALISTICALLY, this is shaping out as a tough year for the Drouin Football Club – a season that likely won’t yield much in the win column for the senior Hawks’ side.
But the team, currently second last on the Gippsland League ladder with just one win from its first seven games and a percentage of 56.20, is building for the future – for sustained success and for the longevity of the club.
Highly-respected club president Eric Bott has seen it all. He has returned to Drouin after various coaching and administration stints all over the state. He served as the general manager of the West Gippsland footy league for five years, and ran the Goulburn Valley Football League for 10 years from 1998.
He knows what sustained success looks like, and it often starts from meagre beginnings.
In his first year as Drouin coach in 1985, the club saw 37 players leave. The Hawks’ under-17s made the grand final the season before and the 1985 senior side featured 15 of them.
“I’m a very calm and patient person and I just know that footy is a game that’s based around people,” Bott said.
“The more good people you have, the higher your chances for long-term success.”
Bott said he worked on a philosophy and business plan that involved the club making more money than it spent. It won’t break the bank to entice big-name players just for a fleeting shot at short-term glory.
From last season to this season the Hawks have once again seen a drastic player turnover. Almost all of their big, senior names have moved on – with skipper David Olsen left to spearhead a rebuild.
But Daniel Pratt has returned to the club after stints at Ballarat and – most recently – Ellinbank; and Bott is excited by the potential shown by youngsters such as 18-year-old Luke Duffy, formerly of Beaconsfield.
The core group of Steve Ballingall, Jordan Kingi, Jordan Wyatt and Nick Visser were on the bubble last year, but this season have had to step up to the plate.
Bott sees a bright future for his beloved side, with plans to upgrade the playing surface and lighting.
And new coach Rob Johns has bought right in.
With a playing list with an average age of around 21, the former Berwick under-18s coach is working with a fresh slate.
“I didn’t know the other players because I wasn’t here when they left,” he said succinctly.
“They’re just players who never came back.”
Johns’ unabashed aim is to get experience into his younger players, and he admits that “right now we’ve got a fair number of players who probably wouldn’t come under the category of senior footballer.”
He hopes all his current crop of players return next season, and insists they’ll be better for the experience they’ve garnered this year.
“I truly believe you’ve got to go through the disappointment of defeat before you can truly appreciate what it’s like to win,” he said.
“As a kid I won eight premierships up to the age of 15, and then it took me 27 years to win the next one and that was as a coach.
“Lots of players take success for granted (but our boys won’t).”
