Williamstown CYMS did everything at a million miles an hour last season – sometimes to the detriment of the side.
CYs are one of the quickest teams in Victorian Amateur Football Association premier C division and were eager to take full advantage of that last season.
The fast ball movement looked good when it was coming off but sloppy when it wasn’t – and the players appeared unwilling to take their feet off the accelerator when the rapid approach was failing.
CYs will enter the new season on Saturday still one of the speediest teams in the competition, but they will be armed with knowledge of how to better utilise their main asset.
Coach Matt Montebello says his players will be intent on tempering their natural speed with a better skills component.
“We’ve made some distinct changes to our game style … about protecting the footy a little bit more and being a bit more methodical about our approach with our ball movement,” he said. “That’s been a focus across the course of pre- season.”
It will be CYs’ second season at premier C level, the third tier of amateur football.
Last year was a mixed bag, with the team stalling out of the blocks before coming home with a wet sail. The CYs beat two finalists but lost to neighbouring teams on the ladder.
CYs settled for a respectable seven wins, finishing fourth-last in a competitive division and avoiding relegation.
Now, with the adjustment period over, the bar has been raised.
“It took us the first half of the year to adjust to the pace of the division,” Montebello said. “We definitely had a bit of a premiership hangover [from the division 1 flag in 2014] … then in the second half of the year we did well.
“It’s about continuing on from where we finished last year and actually giving finals a red-hot shake.”
The CYs meet Old Camberwell Grammarians in the season opener at Fearon Reserve on Saturday.
