Returning Manunda Hawks coach Paul Griffiths believes his youthful squad of teenagers and twenty-somethings will only improve this AFL Cairns season after playing finals football last year.
Griffiths relied heavily on the Hawks' emerging talent last year after injury and unavailablity robbed him of more experienced players. While it did not feel like it at the time, the testing situation turned out to be a blessing as the Hawks' young guns more than coped with the demands of senior football. The Hawks finished the regular season in third place before they were eliminated by Centrals Trinity Beach in the first week of finals.
While the Hawks are still recruiting for this year, the virtues of your will likely be championed again after the Club's under-18s romped to their third premiership in four years in 2010.
Griffiths was first appointed Hawks coach last January and is enjoying the fact he has more time to plan his assault this season. "Last year I was appointed fairly late and I didn't have a lot of time to recruit or anything," he said. "But this time I've had time to plan and we've got a clear and concise direction about where we want to go. We want to build a winning culture here and there is a real air of excitement about the place."
Griffiths hopes his players feed off the enthusiasm. "I suppose football is going to be different eveerywhere you go, but the thing I've learned since I've been here is that you've got to coach the guys a bit more individually," he said. "To help with that we've appointed Robbie Douglas, who was Souths coach last year, as an assistant for the coming season."
Courtesy of The Cairns Post
Last Modified on 11/05/2011 11:31