Tara Murray
Melton South coach Travis Hodgson is keen for the new exciting unknown challenge in the Riddell District Football League.
The Panthers announced that Hodgson would continue on as coach next year as the club changes competitions.
The move from the Ballarat Football League to the Riddell league was officially ticked off last week.
Hodgson said he would have continued on coaching no matter which competition they were playing in, but it was clear the change of leagues was what was wanted.
“It was a big move for the club and one that I think had been considered for a few years,” he said.
“The club obviously felt the time was right. I’ve enjoyed my first 12 months there and I was going to commit to the club next year, regardless of the BFNL or RDFNL, for me personally it didn’t matter.
“The way it was supported within the club once people got their head around it, it was a fairly popular decision to go.
“I sense a lot of excitement around the club now the move is official.”
For Hodgson it will be a new challenge.
Before coaching the Panthers, he coached the Sunbury Lions and Bacchus Marsh, which were both in the Ballarat league.
While he hasn’t coached seniors in the competition, Hodgson has coached Sunbury Lions juniors in the league.
“I’ve crossed a few leagues with the juniors,” he said. “I have got a reasonable alignment with the Riddell league.
“All my kids have come through it. It’s not completely new to me and when you live in Sunbury, it’s more our area than the Ballarat league.
“It’s exciting from that point of view. All the little towns in the area… It’s very well supported the Riddell league.
“It’s where our roots are from, our juniors have stayed there. In the last 12 months there has been a real strengthening of the connection between senior and junior clubs.”
Hodgson said they had pretty much re-signed most of their list from this year.
He said they would look to add a few as well.
Hodgson said there would be a big focus on trying to get former players back to the club.
“Juniors that have left the club the last few years for different reasons,” he said. “Some of those guys probably left when we got to where we were and not competitive for certain periods.
“There’s a real focus on bringing those guys back to the club and that’s looking pretty positive at the moment.
“With those guys, it’s not just the footballer. It’s the fact that they’ve got family ties to the club, you get back Melton South people.
“It’s the most exciting thing out of it so far.”
Hodgson said they would like to add one or two other players outside of that.
As for next season, Hodgson said goal setting will be different heading into next year.
“We know we are dropping back a level but it is hard to line it up,” he said. “We probably go in unsure how it all feels.
“Focus on being the best us. Where it slots us in year one will give us an idea where to go forward.”
