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Sport

13 April, 2023

Perry ready for first game in charge

After a big off-season, Maryborough will be returning to the field for the first round of the Bendigo Football Netball League season on Saturday when they take on traditional rivals Castlemaine. The Magpies will be desperate to end their 27-game...

By Michael Thompson

It’s been a big preseason at Magpieland, with new coaches Jordan MacIlwain and Coby Perry ready to lead Maryborough’s senior football A grade netball teams into battle. Their season starts tomorrow when they host Castlemaine at Princes Park. Footballers: Joel Swatton, Jai Howell, Ty Stewart, Mitch McClure and Perry. Photo: 140423 11
It’s been a big preseason at Magpieland, with new coaches Jordan MacIlwain and Coby Perry ready to lead Maryborough’s senior football A grade netball teams into battle. Their season starts tomorrow when they host Castlemaine at Princes Park. Footballers: Joel Swatton, Jai Howell, Ty Stewart, Mitch McClure and Perry. Photo: 140423 11

After a big off-season, Maryborough will be returning to the field for the first round of the Bendigo Football Netball League season on Saturday when they take on traditional rivals Castlemaine.

The Magpies will be desperate to end their 27-game losing streak which saw them last win a game in round two of 2021 — also against Castlemaine. This game will be a good opportunity to finally break the drought, given the work new playing-coach Coby Perry has put in throughout the preseason.

While Perry was only able to pick up the pieces following Rick Andrews’ resignation in November, it was a good show of faith from the Magpies that Perry had learned from previous mentors over the past couple of seasons in the role in trusting him to take over.

Perry is determined to reward the Magpies’ faith in him with a first-up win.

“It’s always enjoyable playing Castlemaine early in the season, especially with that cross-town rivalry which has been a tradition. I really like the way those guys go about it, so I can’t wait to see what they have and I look forward to it,” he said.

“The focus all summer has been on enjoyment, and I want to continue that in round one and the remaining rounds, win, lose or draw, our number one focus will be on that, and then the growth and development will be surrounded by that.”

Perry confirmed his leadership group, which will see him continue on as captain, while he also has ruckman Ty Stewart as vice-captain, with Mitch McClure, Brady Neill, new South Bendigo recruit Joel Swatton and Kya Lanfranchi making up the remainder of the leadership group.

Due to wrist surgery, Perry ultimately made the decision to miss the first few games of the season to heal, but it’s also had the added effect of allowing him to see how the Magpies have been preparing from the outer.

“Unfortunately, I’ll miss a few games to start the season, but it’s been a great chance to step into the coaching role and see everything unfold at training. It’s also been a good chance to see our structure and ball method off the field for the first few games, which I’m also looking forward to,” he said.

Perry said that he’s been impressed by a large majority of the leadership group for their leadership across the summer, while he’s also been impressed by Jai Howell, who is coming off a third-place finish in the under 18’s league best and fairest in 2022, as he looks to play more senior football this season.

Perry said the buy-in from the group throughout pre-season has been impressive.

“The buy-in from the whole group has been fantastic. The enjoyment has been there all summer and everyone has banded in together and put in the work. It’s exciting to get them into games now,” he said.

“The focus all summer has been on enjoyment, and I want to continue that in round one and the remaining rounds, win, lose or draw, our number one focus will be on that, and then the growth and development will be surrounded by that.”

The Magpies had two encounters with Castlemaine last season.

In round two, at Princes Park, the Magpies were able to take a 13-point half time lead after kicking eight first half goals, but were unable to sustain their momentum, with Castlemaine kicking 14 goals to four after the long break, including eight goals to two in the last quarter to turn an 11-point three-quarter-time lead into a dominant 50-point win.

In the return meeting in round 11 at Camp Reserve, a fast start from Castlemaine, which saw them kick five goals to two in the opening quarter, was the leverage that was needed to keep Maryborough at arm’s length throughout the afternoon, eventually recording a 34-point victory.

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