THE Nor-West Jets are not sure what to expect this year in their AFL Sydney campaign, and intend to use the old cliche of taking things one game at a time as their motto.
The 2018 season will be very different for the Jets for a number of reasons.
For a start, they’ve dropped back to one team. The club needs about 80 players to run two teams, and unfortunately this season they simply did not have enough to run both a senior and reserve grade team.
At the same time, AFL Sydney has restructured the way it runs its divisions. The Jets played in the third division last year, with its reserves team in fifth grade.
This year they will play in the first division, which sits underneath the premier division.
All told, they have effectively stepped up a class in footy, thanks to a number of years of qualifying for the finals.
Jets coach Casey Wenselowski said he was unsure what to expect from the season, both from his team and his opponents.
The Jets have stepped into the unknown as far as their opposition is concerned, according to Wenselowski.
“We’ve really got no idea what the teams we play are like until we meet them, because they mostly played in the division above us last year,” he said.
Meanwhile, in their own ranks, a number of their senior players with the military have been redeployed and have had to leave the club.
The Jets often find players stationed at the Richmond RAAF Base, and no doubt a few handy players will turn up as is the case every season.
But for the meantime, said Wenselowski, there were a number of opportunities for some of the club’s younger players to earn playing time.
“Hopefully the competitiveness of trying to fight for 22 spots will make players commit more to the training and playing football,” he said.
“We have a couple of young blokes who hopefully will take the opportunity that is being presented to them. If they want to play football they'll get their chance.
“The group we have, all grew up playing together over the last few years and you can see the bond they have on and off the field.”
Wenselowski said despite the seemingly daunting task, players often rose to the occasion under pressure, which he expects plenty of this year.
“Playing along side a senior player, sometimes it lifts the way people approach things, they stand a little bit taller, run a little bit harder,” he said.
Wenselowski added that the club had nothing to lose, and intended to make the most of its move up a division, backing itself to be rewarded by taking a few risks.
“We're going to take a few risks and chances and hopefully we’ll be a very competitive team during the season,” he said.