THE Western Jets have appointed a six-man leadership group for the 2013 TAC Cup season. After outstanding pre-seasons, Harrison King, Brett Bewley, Luke Pulitano, Jake McKenzie, Jake Greiser and Danny O’Leary impressed both coaches and teammates to be voted into the roles.
“They are the guys who really set the standards around the place,” Western Jets coach Torin Baker said.
“In terms of what we value in the football club, they are the role models. They help to get the other players to buy into the program that we have got.
“The players have a large say in selecting the group, but there is also an element that the coaches vote on as well. It is a combined system and it is great that we have been able to appoint six leaders.”
McKenzie returns to the Jets as an overage player after narrowly missing out on being drafted last year.
The Altona junior played for Vic Metro during 2012 and was among the side’s best performers.
“Jake was unlucky not to be drafted last year,” Baker said.
“He has done a lot of the pre-season at Williamstown like all of our 19-year-olds and he has come back with a great attitude.
“We had no hesitation in putting him into the leadership group.”
The Jets will play three practice games in the coming weeks, with a captain to be selected after that.
In what is his first season in charge of the Jets, Baker said he was rapt with how preparations were going ahead of round one.
“In terms of the attitudes and efforts of the players and the coaching staff, it has been excellent,” he said.
“We have had two intra-club practice matches and that is basically just looking at assessing the list.
“We have three more practice matches coming up against opposition clubs, and we will start to look at refining our game plan and our structures as we get closer to the season.”
The Jets will begin the TAC Cup season against the Sandringham Dragons at Visy Park on Sunday 24 March.
After impressive back-to-back years at the draft table, Baker said player development would be the main goal throughout the year.
“In terms of the season goals, obviously one of the major focuses is about playing all your list,” he said.
“It is about development and ensuring that we give opportunities to basically everyone on our list and making sure they get appropriate game time.
“No doubt everyone loves to win. We would love to be winning games in that process as well. “However, winning won’t be compromised when it comes to playing our list and developing our players.”
