Hoppers Crossing is rejuvenating on the fly, yet the horror run of injuries and departures in the off season have so far been adequately covered.
Instead of wallowing in self pity, the Warriors have got on with the job with the available players, putting together an impressive start to the Western Region Football League division 1 season.
The Warriors improved to 2-1 after a crushing 49-point win over Caroline Springs away at Town Centre Oval on Saturday.
Warriors coach Steven Kretiuk said a disrupted pre-season had come with a silver lining – the chance to blood some enthusiastic youngsters.
“It’s a totally different feel to what we’ve had,” he said. “It’s a lot younger, a lot fresher.
“We had a lot of players leave and now we’ve got a lot of guys that just want to play footy.
“Sometimes you need to inject younger players into the team to rejuvenate your list.”
Hoppers Crossing is far from the finished article.
Even within the four quarters of the Caroline Springs victory, Kretiuk could see that his team was making giant strides and learning on the run.
The Warriors led by 18 points at half-time, but not as convincingly as could have been.
They were continuously breaking down on the back of their forward 50 entries and needed to find alternative routes to goal.
“In the first two quarters, we gave them a lot of opportunities to rebound,” Kretiuk said.
“As the game progressed, we learnt from it, we adjusted, which was pleasing, especially in the last quarter – we started moving the footy and getting some good momentum.”
Hoppers Crossing played a lot through key forward Jackson Viola.
Kretiuk is full of praise for Viola, who gets the No.1 defender every week and battles his heart out for the Warriors.
“He’s pretty much playing one-out as a tall,” Kretiuk said. “All year he’s worked tirelessly as our key forward.
“He doesn’t get a lot of the accolades that he should because he’s not getting his name on the score sheet a lot.
“What he does is create a lot of contests for us, works hard and creates really good positive movement for us forward”
With the Caroline Springs defence preoccupied with Viola’s movement, other Hoppers Crossing forwards prospered.
Jordan Mead was down on his usual output, kicking just one goal compared to his 10 against the same side last year, but the Warriors got a nice spread of contributors on the scoreboard, including three goals apiece to Jordan Cook and Ashlin Brown and two to Nathan Williams.
Hoppers Crossing will host Spotswood in a blockbuster at Hogans Road Reserve on Saturday.
Elsewhere in division 1, Werribee Districts went to a 3-0 record after a resounding 45-point win over St Albans at Kings Park Reserve.
The Tigers, led by four goals from forward Andrew Panayi, set up their victory with a 10-goal-to-three first half. The top-of-the-ladder Tigers will host Caroline Springs on Saturday.
At the other end of the standings, Wyndhamvale slumped to 0-3 following a disappointing 53-point loss to Albion. Big-name recruit Reuben William was a shining light for the Falcons with four goals.
In division 2, Point Cook flexed its muscles in a 79-point hammering of Albanvale. Manor Lakes went down to Newport Power by three points in a thriller.
In division 3, Point Cook Centrals overcame Tarneit by three goals. Wyndham Suns had a runaway 55-point win over Sunshine Heights.
Glen Orden remains the only winless side in the division after going down to North Sunshine by 29 points.
