Diamond Creek approach this season as a team both hunter and hunted, defending a successful legacy and looking to build onto a new level of success.
2016 senior coach Tanya Hetherington played 134 games for Diamond Creek before a knee injury in 2015 required a full reconstruction – but when one door closes, another opens. The injury gave her the chance to take on the senior coaching position of Australia’s biggest female football club.
Whilst emphasising the experience that is Diamond Creek’s strength, Hetherington says the main challenge she faces is renewing the goals for a side that has made seven consecutive finals series and now faces a new threat from the four new teams joining the state league.
“We’ve achieved great results but have just fallen short, so without changing too much my challenge to the girls is to change the way they think about the game,” Hetherington said.
“We’re going to be playing a different style of game, but to our strengths.”
Inevitably, much of the discussion about Diamond Creek and success focuses on their rivalry with Darebin. The two teams have played off in four consecutive Grand Finals with the glory of the Creekers’ 2012 victory being offset by three consecutive defeats. As a player in three of those four Grand Finals, the goal of becoming the undisputed best side in the new VFL Women’s competition burns just as fiercely in Hetherington as it does her players.
No one can argue they don’t have the players to be the best: Diamond Creek’s tally of 18 players in the AFL Victoria Women’s Academy was higher than any other team in the state league. Western Bulldogs and Diamond Creek captain Steph Chiocci is set to play her 150th match for Diamond Creek this season, and says the Creekers’ strong culture could be the key to long-term success.
“A lot of girls coming in have commented on how professional we’re becoming; that will hold us in good stead for the state league and then getting our girls drafted into the AFL,” Chiocci said.
Excitement at Diamond Creek during the pre-season has grown with the injection of new players. Chiocci says the commitment of ex-Kew player Stephanie Debortoli, Australian Ultimate Frisbee champion Michelle Phillips and former Australian cricketer Jess Cameron to their new club, particularly during the pre-season trip to Camp Wyuna in Queensland, has been fantastic.
“They’ve got a lot of experience at a professional level that they can bring across here,” Chiocci said.
“They’ve got really high standards which show in their training – they will be exciting to watch.”
Diamond Creek will open the season at home against fellow 2015 runner-up Knox, who were defeated in the Division 1 Grand Final by Cranbourne.
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