Wardman's Words - January Update

In a warm welcome back to 2019 for Subiaco members and fans, new senior coach Beau Wardman took some time to update fans and members on how pre-season has tracked for the senior squad.

Get Beau's thoughts on who have been the standouts across the first part of pre-season, how he has adapted to the role of senior coach and some quick glimpses to what Subiaco fans can expect on field in 2019.

This is Wardman's Words with Subiaco Senior Coach Beau Wardman:

Beau, Happy New Year and welcome to 2019, how did you enjoy the Christmas and New Years break?

It was good to get away and spend a bit of time reflecting on a successful 2018. It was certainly a big year personally and for the club so to have a couple of weeks off was well earned. It has been a remarkable achievement to have all three sides win grand finals, and the woman’s side also make the Grand Final. Too see some of the growth in our playing group and the commitment of our staff throughout the club it is a reminder of how great it is to be apart of something so special.  

Now a few months into your tenure, has there been anything that has surprised you taking over as senior coach?

I get surprised everyday. The players work ethic, the coaches ability to teach and mentor, the spirit within the group and welcoming nature not just for myself but the new players to the club and the colts transitioning into the senior program. I have been fortunate to have such great support on and off the field, from the leaders to our coaching team have been great, Nigel Hamilton and Ryan Redfern have been great mentors and the whole coaching staff have shown their commitment. What makes Subiaco so professional is the commitment of our volunteers, Scotty Flood, Albs and Micky making sure we have everything prepared for training.

The 2018 part of pre-season in the books, how have the senior players adapted to your expectations and embraced the 2018/19 pre-season?

Hopefully they have enjoyed what can be at times a tough slog. We have had quite a few boys still coming through rehab from injuries late last year. To get all teams through a long 2018 campaign there were some war wounds to overcome. There has been a good spirit on the training track but we understand that we can cut corners and we have to raise the bar with our training and recovery standards to again compete in 2019. We have made some small adjustments and these will evolve over the next couple of months. 

Has there been any players who have stood out to you with how they came back from the off-season and have developed since the end of last year?

Really impressed by Ben Sokol. He has clipped significant time off his time trials and has shown great intensity on the training track ahead of a big 2019. It’s great to see his level of commitment on the back of winning a league grand final, he has the talent to get to the next level and his attention to fitness should give him confidence going into 2019. Jack Mayo has impressed as a forward after missing out at the draft in November and has matched it with some of our senior forwards. 

Similarly has there been any players that have shown more leadership within the group and are helping drive the standards of pre-season training?

Hayden Kennedy, Ben Newton and Josh Deluca have set a standard with their training intensity and teaching our younger players. Angus and Lachlan have led their respecting Jungle teams well over the initial weeks of pre-season and teaching the younger players. We have noted that collectively we need to raise the bar in our standards over the coming weeks and challenge our continued improvement each training session.     

You have had the majority of last year’s league and reserves premiership teams recommit for 2019 and along with 10-12 of the colts premiership team also training, seems the club has strong list depth?

It’s a great position for the club and I’m sure it will cause a few headaches at the selection table in the coming weeks. It shows the strength of our development pathway over the last couple of years not only at the colts but the work Matt Cavedon has done with Robbie Forrest, Matt Scully and Martine Pearman to get these players to a higher level. The challenge for the playing group is to recognise this depth and continue to strive for excellence in their training intensity, gym work and fitness levels to push for selection and consistency in performance.  

The one notable gap is in the ruck with the loss of Zac Clarke, are you confident in the ability of the players who have had a few years in the Subiaco system to be able to play a role and compete in the ruck?

It was disappointing for us to lose Zac, not just on the field but his experience and knowledge off field but it is a terrific opportunity for him to get another crack back in the AFL system. It shows the AFL clubs will reward consistency in performance at state league level. We have some good depth with our rucks with Tim Sutherland, Andy Doyle and Josh Chapman all training well and we recognise they will be key to playing a role throughout the season. Dela and Clanger will shoulder a bit of the ruck at certain times as well, whilst we have a couple of younger boys from the colts also developing well.  

A couple of new faces to the group, both in terms of recruits headlined by Harry Marsh and transitioning colts headlined by Liam Hickmott; of this incoming group who has impressed you the most in being able to embrace Subiaco’s culture and values?

It is always good to have some new faces among the playing group. Harry is starting to settle into training, whilst Liam and Kyle Stainsby have really impressed the coaching staff with their competitiveness. Tristan Hobley has been elite with his fitness.  

Later start to the season next year with first pre-season game not until mid-March and first game on April 6^th, does it change your pre-season at all knowing it is a bit further away from the competitive stuff starting? 

It certainly lengthens it out a little bit and we need to be mindful of the mental refresh throughout the pre-season. We have tailored our training program accordingly to ensure there is some different stimulus for the players throughout in preparation for games in March.