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Coach Corcoran addresses the group at pre-Christmas training.
It’s been about two months since I was appointed coach of the Queanbeyan Tigers and I thought it was time to share my reflections of the last couple of months with the Tigers community.
Since my appointment, General Manager Michael Goiser and I have been extremely busy, focusing on player retention and recruitment. We’ve met with most players individually and I’ve outlined my vision for each player and the areas of their game I’d like them to improve or become even stronger at.
We’ve retained our entire 2016 list with the exception of the three boys that have moved across to the Canberra Demons (Kade Klemke, Andrew Swan and Cameron Milne).
Recruitment has been fun, yet more time consuming than I could have ever imagined. I’m thrilled with our recruits to this point: Tim Shea (returning from Temora), Jordan Hedington (Ainslie), Jeremy Bridger and Hugh McKenzie (Marist), Mitch Haley, Marcus Lawrence and Jack O’Halloran (time off for work, injury and travel).
Whilst we’re very happy with who we’ve signed, we met with a number of other players with most of them deciding to continue to play footy in the Riverina. We wish these boys well and hope they return to the Tigers in 2018!
We’ve just concluded four weeks of pre-Christmas training and I’m pleased to say many of the boys that needed technique work with their kicking have made some improvements. Jed Simpson has made the biggest adjustments in this area and has set himself up for a consistent 2017.
A number of the graduating U18s have embarked on a ten week weights-based sprint program. Dean Lord has put on an impressive 10kg in muscle which will help him lock down a power forward position. Jack Carroll-Tape looks faster than ever- if that is even possible. Jonno Bowyer looks ready to rebound from a injury riddled 2016.
Josh Bryce and Jordan Hedington have led the way on the training track thus far. Locky Jordan has been the surprise packet for me. He hasn’t missed a session and once he puts on some size he’ll be challenging big Justin Galloway for the number one ruck spot.
We’ve got a dedicated group of players including Dean Ross, Jason Taylor, Alex Page, Jonno Bowyer and Alec McCormick who are in the gym ensuring they are in top shape for next year.
Not only have we been recruiting players, but we’ve been recruiting coaches and volunteers. Cheyne Webster will coach our Women’s team in 2017 and I’ve asked him to take our girls team to the next level whilst we strive to be the first AFL Canberra club with two women’s teams. Cheyne’s dad Danny will help our girls team as a volunteer. We’re still looking for a Reserve Grade coach for next season. If you’re interested in the position please contact us.
We’ve seen a draft fixture for 2017 and I’m very happy with what AFL Canberra have put together. We’ve got a nice mix of Saturday and Sunday games and most importantly the number of byes have been reduced. This means our grand final will be played on the first weekend in September – two weeks earlier than this season.
The players and support staff now have six weeks off over the summer period before we kick off again on 24 January 2017.
Enjoy the holiday season and I’ll see you all in 2017!
Dave Corcoran