Sport
30 March, 2023
New look Seniors team for Jeparit Rainbow
Jeparit Rainbow’s Senior football team will have a new look about it for the 2023 season, with the departure of several players from last year's team and the addition of some exciting new recruits. Shane Maslin and Brad Hunter will no longer be...
Jeparit Rainbow’s Senior football team will have a new look about it for the 2023 season, with the departure of several players from last year's team and the addition of some exciting new recruits.
Shane Maslin and Brad Hunter will no longer be making the trip over from Adelaide.
Maslin will be coaching Echunga, and Hunter is retiring from football this year.
In the their five and four years, respecitvely, at Jeparit Rainbow they racked up many possessions in the midfield and provided great leadership.
Other players to leave the club are the leading goal scorer of the last two seasons, Jay Kirwood, who will be playing for North Cairns this year, Lochie Donne who has gone back to Lorne, Clancy Breen and Charles Wild who are not playing this year, while Patrick Long has returned to Darwin and Conor Inkster to Warracknabeal.
The club has worked hard on the recruiting front to secure the services of Matt Synoradzki - a fast hard-running wingman with good skills, and Will Hutchinson - a strong midfielder who can play forward.
Both of these players previously played for the Geelong Amateur Football Netball Club in the Bellarine League.
Three other recruits come from the strong Darwin competition.
Nick Yarran, from St Mary's, is a hard inside midfielder with great skills who can also kick goals.
Tom Clarke, from the Darwin Buffaloes, is a fast attacking midfielder who can win his own ball and hit the scoreboard, while bringing strong leadership to the team.
Brad Stokes, also from Darwin Buffaloes, is an attacking half back with exceptional skills who will provide polish and balance rebounding out of defence.
Nathan Cocks will be returning to Jeparit Rainbow from Great Western bringing his hard-nosed approach to the game in a variety of roles.
The club is still in talks with a couple more possible recruits before the season begins on April 15.
Joint Seniors coach Scott Driscoll is full of enthusiasm for the coming season.
“We are taking stock and turning our attention to the development of the promising young talent within the group," he said.
"Success in the 2023 season will be driven by our youth, balanced with our more senior players and the new leadership group.
"We also are very excited with what our recruits will bring to the team."
Driscoll said excitement levels within the club are high as he and co-coach Matt Everett look to build on the strong foundation left by Daniel Batson.
"Daniel did a tremendous job through a difficult period for local football," Driscoll said.
"Matt has done a tremendous job over the pre-season, with the players responding positively to his coaching approach.
We will look to play an attacking fast-paced style of football as we play to the speed and endurance of our young group.
Although we have lost some strong contributors from previous seasons we see this as a perfect opportunity for our young players to step up and fill the gaps the departing players have left.”