Newly-appointed Halls Head league coach Ron Coles will be looking to the club’s young players as they continue their ascent up the Peel Football and Netball League ladder this season.
Coles comes into the role on the back of 2018 coach Adam Boone’s exit through work commitments, but has signaled he won’t be making any changes to the club’s approach after successfully launching a rebuild last season.
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The Lightning garnered positive results after embracing youth in their league team under Boone in 2018, with Michael Beeton, Mathew Allen and Travis Sexton among many young guns to put in strong showings.
We’ve got a strong squad coming through
- Halls Head coach Ron Coles
It’s a method that helped Halls Head notch seven wins on the year (five more than their two-win campaign in 2017) and one Coles is eager to persist with as the club keeps its eyes on the long term.
“The comfortable thing about taking the job is that I don’t really have to change anything,” Coles said.
“We had some great results under Adam last year and he implemented a lot of good things for our club, so now we just need to stick with the youth and keep adding to our numbers.”
Coles takes on the league role after coaching the club’s reserves in 2018, and spent a stint coaching colts at South Mandurah along with holding a role in Katanning.
Now ready to spearhead the Lightning’s upcoming season, the coach is optimistic about their chances.
“We’ve got a strong squad coming through – we’ve held on to most of our senior guys and the young kids we’ve got are some of the best in the competition,” he said.
“We certainly won’t be the most experienced team in the competition, but with so many good young kids coming through the ranks it’s an exciting time.”
The youth pathway begins with the colts for Halls Head, with Chae Lally set to coach a group that will be significantly bolstered by a talented crop of juniors coming through from the Year 11/12 level.
The premiership-winning juniors have already given the colts and reserves numbers a boost, with Lally eager to see the impact they can make in senior footy.
“That particular group of kids has been playing together since they were all 13-years-old, and there’s some really talented players in there,” he said.
“Right now we’re all about bringing that group into the seniors and seeing how they make the jump.
“They’ve been training pre-season sessions with us for a while now and they’ve been really impressive, so it’s a huge boost for the club.”
Halls Head kicked off their pre-season earlier this month. Anyone interested in joining the Lightning can message them via their Facebook page.