Tara Murray
Greenvale is hoping a better balanced side will help it go deep in the Essendon District Football League women’s division 1 season.
After falling short last season in losing the grand final, the Jets core group has returned again this season.
The results so far show the Jets, who are undefeated, are again the team to beat this season.
Jets coach Troy Newton said things were progressing along nicely.
“So far, so good,” he said. “We could not have done much better.
“We’ve still got a little bit of improvement in us, which is a positive thing.”
Newton said with only six sides in the competition now, the games were a lot closer than they were previously.
He said there was no easy game unlike in the past, which was a good thing.
“Looking at the scores playing teams like the Sunbury Lions or Tullamarine, they are not easy games.
“Every week you have to be on or you will find yourselves losing pretty quickly.”
Newton said while things were travelling along similar to last season, when they only lost two games for the year, there were some noticeable changes.
The biggest for the Jets is the spread of contributors they have each week. He said they don’t need to rely on the same few to get the job done.
“We have a bit more of an even spread,” he said. “We have a bit more depth with a few new players.
“It’s a big difference to last year when we relied on the top few too much. We have better balance.”
Newton highlighted the inclusion of Jii Williams, who has never played before, Jessie Clark, Charlee Delaney, Riley Anderson and Nicolette Paschalis.
Paschalis, who came up from the under-18s, sits third in the division goal kicking.
Newton said they had really good numbers this year, having just fallen short of having enough players to have two teams.
The club initially entered two sides, but the second side was eventually withdrawn having forfeited every game,
Newton said they would continue to press for a second side, to help put more pressure on for spots.
The Jets face Gisborne this season.
Newton said they would continue to look to get better.
“We want to continue to challenge the group,” he said. “We’re not happy with where we are at, we want to keep improving.”
