Hawkesbury Independent IND 156 May 2023 | Page 32

Flying high with the Hawkesbury Jets

with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
After a couple of very tough years on the back of COVID and severe flooding that left their home ground at Bensons Lane in Richmond completely decimated and unusable . The Hawkesbury Jets AFL Club have come though proving their resilience and showing the community spirit that keeps them ticking .
The return of experienced Head Coach Peter Kyle has helped guide the Jets last season to a great season with the impressive stats of 10 wins in 14 matches including two season wins against the side they were ultimately knocked out of the semi-finals against North Shore Bombers .
The competition is strong too , with former Sydney Swan Ruck Man Troy Luff competing for UNSW ES Bulldogs and winning the Premiership last year . That ’ s a big effort for a guy who still gets around the park at 51 years of age .
Peter has been around this block before . He started playing AFL as a 4-yearold back at Seven Hills AFC back in the eighties , he learnt his formative skills that have helped him develop as a coach in the Seniors for 8 years and 11 years overall .
As a coach Peter wants his players to choose their moments and play hard but fair . The good players choose their moments when to get involved and when to save their legs . This is something that the Jets work extremely hard on with match preparation as a focus for the squad .
He frequently tells his team that you are not going to become a better player and get fitter over 90-minute training blocks throughout the week . Fitness and ability come down to lifestyle changes and making sacrifices to achieve your goals . There is a strong focus on being mentally strong in the modern game of AFL as well as physically strong .
Another big focus at the Jets in his second year back is rebuilding the culture . Getting the players to play for each other and build great camaraderie is the key to building success . Working on the fundamentals of getting to the ball first and winning the challenges by playing hard and tough , but clean is a style that Hawkesbury are strong exponents of .
There is much more longevity in football these days with diet and nutrition , and recovery-based training than in the nineties and early 2000s . It helps bring out the best in the players , which will in turn benefit from following the process .
The Jets are happy to be back home playing at Bensons Lane this year and were extremely grateful to the university last year for letting them use the oval , and to the broader community for their continued ongoing support of the club .
The Jets have lost a few players and picked up a few new guys that they hope are diamonds in the ruff . They are hoping to tap into the local area to attract more players as they have now moved up to Division 1 to play against clubs like Western Magic at Blacktown , Randwick , South West Sydney and the like .
They train every Tuesday and Thursday at Bensons Lane , 6.15pm arrival for 6.30pm start . Any talented players from 14 and above can come and train with the senior squad and the club are trying to bring in young players to develop a long-term squad .
I asked Peter what he would really like for this season and his answer was simple . Twenty-five players on the field for every training session to run good drills . There are a couple of particularly good local players he is looking to attract to the game .
The Jets are definitely flying high and have the right ambition and people in charge to achieve their goals in the future .
Hawkesbury Jets talking tactics . Photos : Paul Martinoli .
Sport with the Duck man
Hawkesbury Jets in action .

HARPO ’ s MARKS

In this column last month , the devastating news of John Sattler ’ s passing just gave me enough time to include his demise in my SAD MARKS .
I have known John for 55 years , ever since my first week working as a copyboy in the Daily Mirror sports section .
I will share with you two anecdotes which have remained with me through those many years .
The first was in March 1968 , when two South Sydney Rugby League legends ,
The great John Sattler , shattered jaw and all , is chaired off the field by team-mates following their 23-12 victory of Manly- Warringah in the 1970 NSWRL grand final . ( l-r ) Elwyn Walters , Denis Pittard , Bob McCarthy , Mike Cleary and John O ’ Neill .
Ron Coote and John Sattler , came into the Daily Mirror to be interviewed by another sporting icon , great journalist and boxing promoter and Australian Boxing Hall of Fame member , Bill Mordey .
Bill introduced me to Ron and John and asked me if I could get them a cup of tea .
Off I went and returned with the two cups and presented them to my heroes . Both men said : “ Thank you Greg ”. Only a small gesture but one which has remained with me until this day .
Now , back around 1980 , two greats of rugby league , both of whom were regarded as two of the toughest to have ever played the game , were licensees of hotels in Southport on the Gold Coast .
One of Queensland and Australia ’ s finest forwards , Peter “ Pedro ” Gallagher , had the Queen ’ s Hotel and a hundred metres up Nerang Road , Satts was mine host at the Cecil Hotel .
This particular day , Satts had a business meeting in
Brisbane which involved a drive up and back along the old highway - a long trek in those days before the building of Pacific Motorway .
The drive between the Gold Coast and Brisbane and back then was through long stretches of bushland on either side of the road .
On his way back to Southport , John watched in amazement as a car heading north veered off the road , crashing through bushland and coming to an abrupt halt .
The Good Samaritan he is , John did a U-turn , returned to the accident site , leaped out of his car and walked over to the vehicle which had come to a stop against a thick bush .
As he approached the vehicle , five blokes wearing various army clothing struggled out of the badly dented car .
John asked them if they needed any help and was told to , well , putting it nicely , “ Donald duck off ”.
The five would-be Muhammad Alis , obviously as legless as Douglas Bader , then headed towards John , intent on dishing out a hiding to this interloper .
A dozen or so punches later , all five of the not-so fabulous fools were sleeping like babies . Giving his knuckles a rub , John returned to his car and headed home .
When he drove into the Cecil Hotel car park , his wife , Barbara , in obvious distress , ran over to the car and said to him – “ I wish you had been here a few hours ago , five army blokes were terrorising the place ”. Don ’ t you love it ?
HIGH MARKS : The emergence of Giga Kick as Australia ’ s premier sprinter . I believe his best seasons are ahead of him . Crikey , only nine starts for six wins , two placings and $ 8,699,700 in the kitty already .
LOW MARKS : I just cannot fathom why NRL referees do not penalise second and third tacklers laying over a team-mate who has already stopped the progress of the ball carrier . It just drives me nutty , OK , nuttier !
32 ISSUE 156 // MAY 2023 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT