Anglesea coach Jordan Keras admits his players may have been overawed by the experience of the club’s first grand final in 24 years.
The Roos suffered a 62-point loss to Torquay on September 7, with Keras revealing only three players had previously played in a senior grand final.
Anglesea was held to its lowest score and suffered their biggest loss of the season, with a ten-goal third quarter by the Tigers ultimately proving the difference.
“Because of the hype of the 24 years since we’d played in a grand final and 25 years since we’d won it, there was a really great buzz around the group,” Keras said.
“But, you could tell on game day that things were off.
“We’d rarely conceded over 15 goals in a game throughout the whole year, and we conceded ten in a quarter.
“I think there might have been some guys a little bit starstruck in the moment, and there were definitely some things happening out there that I hadn’t seen throughout the year.
“Whether that was nerves or all the pressure that Torquay put us under, I think it was a mixture of both.”
Keras says the loss has provided some lessons for the coaching staff they can heed as Anglesea looks to go one better in 2025.
“I think there are some different types of coaching strategies that I would have implemented throughout this year that holds them in better stead when things aren’t going well,” he said.
“There are things where I put my hand up and will definitely look to change throughout next year.”
“And, also, players as well. You look at the type of players you pick in a grand final and where their bodies are at.
“And the time they’ve put in and which players have hit form at the right time.
“There’s all those decisions that I’ll take some learnings from as well.”
Keras is confident of retaining most of the list and has “got this feeling” that 36-year-old Tom Couch will extend his storied career for another year.
He says around 15 of the 25 players that carried Anglesea through the finals have committed for 2025.
“In terms of departures, we’ve got some guys going overseas. Max Simpson is one of those, and Lewis Beers is another one who will look to travel.
“At this stage, they want to go. But, if we build our list to where it needs to be to win it, and we start the year off pretty well, they might get a bit of FOMO and get back in the second half of the year.”
“But no one’s told me they’re going somewhere else or not playing.”
While Keras is pleased with the retention, he knows Anglesea has some deficiencies that need to be addressed, including increasing depth at Ellimatta Reserve.
He is keen to land a key forward to support livewire Dyl Pettingill.
“Dyl Pettingill’s been a really good target for us, but the reality is, we don’t want to be too easy to play against,” Keras said.
“Torquay put a lot of time into him in the grand final.
“And we probably didn’t have a key forward that was good in the air, and that’s a bit target for us.
“Our midfield was probably ranked No.1 in the competition from a stats perspective, but I feel like we need some hard bodies around the ball as well.”
X: @krockfootball
