Sport
20 June, 2024
Talbot lands services of former Richmond AFL player Kayne Pettifer for one-off match
The B.A Road Services Talbot Hawks have secured a coup this weekend, landing the services of ex-Richmond AFL player and renowned goalkicking machine Kayne Pettifer this weekend. Pettifer will provide plenty of experience for the young Hawks as they...
The B.A Road Services Talbot Hawks have secured a coup this weekend, landing the services of ex-Richmond AFL player and renowned goalkicking machine Kayne Pettifer this weekend.
Pettifer will provide plenty of experience for the young Hawks as they look to arrest a run of six losses in succession, which has come against six of the top seven teams in the competition, and will host sixth-placed Maldon this weekend in what’s been a brutal run for the Hawks.
Nevertheless, the opportunity to land Pettifer — who has kicked 890 goals from 274 games across Australia in local football — will provide the Talbot midfielders with a key target up forward.
Drafted with the ninth pick in the 2000 AFL draft from Kyabram, Pettifer was an exciting prospect who was able to kick 132 goals in 113 games, and was well-known for being a high flyer, who also finished in the top five in Richmond’s best and fairest in 2006.
Pettifer has since played for his beloved Kyabram for a large part of his post-AFL career, with his best season coming in 2018 when he kicked 106 goals, while he has also had stops playing for Montrose in the Eastern Football Netball League, Montmorency in the Northern Football Netball League, and Yarrawonga in the Ovens and Murray Football Netball League, while he is currently playing for Nathalia in the Murray Football League.
Talbot president Dallas Byars was excited about the prospect of having Pettifer in the Hawks’ forward line for the weekend.
“It was great, and a bit of an unexpected opportunity that popped up. We looked at it and said we should do it. It made sense — the timing worked well with a home game, and coming off a couple of losses. Hopefully it gives the boys a bit of a spark and helps get us back on the winners list,” he said.
“It was an opportunity through one of our sponsors, who know him, and said they would be interested in having someone like him come along and play, we said yes and we’d always entertain it. It went from there and it moved pretty quickly to be honest. It was a question to “I’m in” within a day or two.
“The Goulburn Valley Football League is a major league and a good standard of footy, and he was kicking goals in that competition.
“He’s playing for Nathalia this year, and it’s not like he’s out of touch or anything like that. He might have been out of the AFL system for a while, but he has certainly been playing country footy and at a high standard ever since, so we’re looking forward to seeing what he’ll bring to the table.”
Byars says it will be a big day for the club, following up from their past players’ day last week, while he says senior coach Phil Crouch will also decide Pettifer’s eventual role.
“I don’t think it’d be too much of a surprise to say he’ll play key forward, it’s probably an area of the ground we are looking to strengthen anyway. As to the ins and outs of it, I’ll leave that up to Phil Crouch, but I expect he will play forward and straighten us up a bit,” he said.
“We had a past players day last week and we had some good attendance, and we’re expecting to see a few Tiger fans from around the district coming along and having a look, and we’re hoping to get a good gate again as well.
“Any Richmond supporters or people who are looking for something to do in the afternoon, Talbot is the place to be.”
The game against the Dons will be a big test for the Hawks, with the Dons playing some impressive football. They will have a task stopping key forward duo Brodie Leonard-Shannon and Callum Buchanan, while they will also have to deal with the ever-present threat of the Maldon midfield, which includes ruckman Noah Thompson, Seb Greene and Damian Wust.
Byars is excited by the challenge.
“It has been a tough month or so, where we have played the top four all in a row, so we’re trying to right the ship a little bit,” he said.
“It’s something we are keen to do, and we’re under no illusion that Maldon will be a pretty good outfit to come up against. They saw us off pretty comfortably last year, so if we can turn it around, win some ball at the coalface and get the ball in to someone like Kayne, we can get things moving in our direction.”
Byars says it is a big day all-round at the club, with Pettifer’s influence also matched by the prospect of the netballers potentially fighting for finals, having secured their second win of the season last week against Dunolly, praising playing-coach Eleisha Phelps for her impact around the club.
“Eleisha is doing a great job with the girls. We have already played the top five teams, which has been a good test, and certainly, a couple of wins and narrowing those losing margins is something we’ve been keen to see, and that’s been happening,” he said.
“You can see the improvement across all the grades. We’re pleased with what she’s been able to bring with her system, and we’re hoping to see it bear fruit as we move on to the next run of games.”
While the Hawks are 2-6 on the football field, Byars knows that there’s still plenty of time left in the season, and indeed, the Hawks sit just one game outside the top eight.
“I’ve been very keen to remind people that in 2015, when I coached the club alongside Matt Smith, we were 0-7 and made the finals,” he said.
“So it’s definitely doable, and they have a head start on where we were at. That remains the challenge, but first up, we have Maldon, and there will be some competitive games in both football and netball this week, so we will need to bring our best game this week, then build on that from there.”