THE Western Jets faded out in last season’s TAC Cup finals because their fitness wasn’t up to scratch, says coach Steven Kretiuk.
The Jets set about improving that area of their game with the acquisition of fitness coach Matthew Pell.
Pell, a fitness adviser to the Australian women’s cricket team and part of the elite sports program at Caroline Springs College, arrived at the Jets for the start of pre-season and immediately set about shifting the club’s focus.
“We were a bit behind in that area,” Kretiuk admitted to the Weekly. “He’s turned the club around in terms of professionalism on and off the field. It’s probably the best I’ve seen our fitness in five years.”
The fitness focus has not taken away from the Jets’ player-education and skills work program. They’re just striking a “better balance” of mileage in the legs and game plan study.
“I’d hope every player on our list knows our game plan inside out,” Kretiuk said. “We’ve been preaching our game plan since day one.”
The Jets were undoubtedly a success story last season. They gained much-deserved respect for reaching the finals on the back of a stunning second half of the season and went on to win in week one of the finals.
That translated into the drafting of three of its stars – Adam Kennedy, Will Hoskin-Elliott and Eliott Kavanagh – to the AFL.
That trio were going to be hard to replace for the blue and golds because of the big say they had in the outcome of matches last year.
Instead of being so top-heavy in the playing list, the Jets seem to have gone the other way with a more even spread of contributors, evident in their first two practice matches against Northern Knights and Oakleigh Chargers.
“It’s something all the coaches have been saying all pre-season and in our two practice matches; there’s no real stand-outs,” Kretiuk said.
“We’ve had, in previous years, two or three stand-outs and haven’t had anyone else consistently standing up, but this year we’ve got a real even bunch and it’s going to be competitive for spots.
“Most of the squad has contributed in the two games we’ve played and a lot of players are vying for each position.”
Kretiuk is chirpy for the start of the regular season and says he’s “even more” hungry to do well after tasting finals last year.
The Jets will have a new leadership group with Ashlin Brown holding the fort as captain; Jack Dorgan will be his vice-captain and Keenan O’Shea deputy vice-captain.
