By Mikayla van Loon
Kilsyth Football Club’s seniors are heading to the finals for the first time in seven years, proving initial doubts wrong.
Coach Simon Caldwell said as a coaching and playing group, the focus throughout the season was to improve week in week out, not putting any pressure on the number of wins.
“We didn’t set a target for a certain number of wins, it was more just the improvement each week of what we’re trying to do and the way we’re trying to play,” he said.
“Even with a couple of losses in the back half of the year, the brand of footy we’ve been playing, the standard, resembles some of the stuff we’ve been doing at training and trying to get right.”
Initially coming back on board as coach in 2020, having previously coached from 2009 to 2014, Caldwell said what inspired the move back was the young list Kilsyth has attracted.
“The main reason I came back was because they had a good bunch of under 19 kids in their 2019 year,” he said.
“[The club’s] focus was on taking the Kilsyth players who had been there and the junior clubs are going well now, with teams in each grade and it wasn’t about just recruiting players that come in for a couple of years and then leave again.”
Caldwell said the closeness of not only the playing group but the rest of the club has really been the driving force behind the seniors’ finals success.
Coming up against Chirnside Park, Caldwell said the team is aiming to win but is realistic having been beaten by the Panthers in both meetings throughout the season.
“They’re definitely going in as the favorites, they have recruited this season to really top up their list to be in this moment, whereas, we probably weren’t expecting or it wasn’t our main goal to be in this moment.
“That just shows how much we’ve improved and while you’re there, you take a chance. There’s no pressure on us, that’s been the theme of the week, no one really expects to win so we’ll just enjoy it.
“Only five players have played in a final before. So it’s exciting for the group to enjoy the moment.”
Win or lose in Sunday’s match, Caldwell said the confidence and skill that has been practiced this year will only help set up the side for next season.
“We want to play in division three over the next year or two and for these kids that are 17 and 18 they should be looking at winning a third division flag by the time they’re in their mid to late 20s and trying to be a second division club,” Caldwell said.
“I’m proud of the club and the direction they’re taking…I can say to my friends and people I meet out or speak to on the street that I coach Kilsyth and that we are heading in the right direction and say with a bit of belief that we really are we.”
The fourth division preliminary final kicks off at 2.20pm at East Burwood Reserve.
