Hallam’s first game in Outer East football this year could not have gone much worse, put to the sword to the tune of 82 points by a red-hot Berwick Springs.
Throughout the preseason, coach Scott Kerr and his Hawks knew that it would take time to find their feet in the competition, having made the move from a lesser standard of play in the off-season.
Patience was going to be the key, and eventually results would come.
While still in search of the first win, the return contest with Berwick Springs seven weeks later saw them cut the margin in half, and even outscore the Titans in two quarters of football.
Despite falling short of the four points and not singing the team song, Kerr feels the hours invested on the training track are beginning to reap benefits.
“It was about closing the gap on the first time we played them, which we did, so that was really pleasing,” Kerr said.
“From day one our pressure has always been there, so that’s been really pleasing.
“We’ve just been working really hard on ball movement and controlling the footy a lot better, and you could see really big patches of it on the weekend.
“We’re still disappointed that we haven’t won a game, but I’m really pleased with the improvement of the group.”
Critically, the spirit in the group remains high, despite an average losing margin of 68 points.
Injecting some much-needed talent into the cohort is former St Kilda rookie listed player Josiah Kyle.
Kyle, who begun the 2023 season with Devon Meadows in the Mornington Peninsula Football Netball League, made the jump to the Hawks nest during the recent break, and made his first appearance in Hawks’ colours on Saturday against the Titans.
He started in the forward half, before moving further up the ground and then back to the goal-face when the Hawks had the breeze, finishing with one goal and named in the best players.
“It gave the whole place a bit of a lift, to have someone of Josiah’s background, choosing to come and play footy at our club,” Kerr said.
“He played his role on Saturday and the boys were all up-and-about knowing that we had Josiah there as well.
“He was really exciting to watch, very electric.”
For Kerr, there’s the risk for the first-year coach of upsetting the apple-cart by bringing a player of Kyle credentials into a settled side midway through a season.
But the man in-charge is confident that the addition won’t disturb the peace.
“The boys all get around him and they love it,” Kerr said.
“We’re all on a journey to improve the footy club, and the players buy in to that.
“So if we can attract players such as Josiah and hopefully a few more along the way, that’s only benefiting the footy club as a whole.”
