Hear from Jake Batchelor ahead of the 2022 season

22/03/2022

Head Sandringham Zebras Coach, Jake Batchelor, speaks on pre-season, players to watch and what you can expect to see from the Zebras in 2022!

The 2021 VFL season was “a bit of an unknown” for Jake Batchelor and his Zebras side in his first year at the helm. After starting the 2021 season 0-3, the Zebras were able to find some form and some team chemistry and had a 4-2 run home to finish the 9 match season. They will be looking to carry these positive signs into the 2022 season.

Batchelor has been “pleased” with what he has seen from his group across the pre-season. The Zebras started pre-season with a 55 player squad and they’ve since cut it down to 30, with some good talent across the whole list and good depth. One notable absentee from last season is 2021 Club Captain, Daniel Coffield, but Batchelor has been impressed that in Coffield’s absence, he has noticed that all returning players have stepped up with a “1-2% improvement in their leadership” that has acted to cover the loss of the Captain. Anthony Seaton has stepped up and been voted in by his peers to captain the Club.

Batchelor stated that going into his second year as Coach, the Zebras "know a little bit more about what we’re getting ourselves into” as they take some key learnings from last year into this season.

Batchelor is bullish on Tyson Milne for the 2022 season, he noted that he has come back to the Club “louder, more instructive, more of a leader, all whilst doing what he needs to on the footy field”. He has “shown some really good progression and has come back in really good shape and is leading the backline well.” This has been reflected in Milne being voted into the four-man leadership group by his peers.

Another player to watch out for this year is Mitch Riordan. Riordan has spent some time in the AFL environment up at the Suns in the past and played 5 games for the Zebras in 2021 after coming off rehab for his ACL injury. There were signs of his talent in those 5 games last year but Batchelor says that Riordan’s “progression over the pre-season has been very pleasing. He’s got a team-first attitude, wants team success and does whatever he needs to contribute”. He plays as an inside-outside mid who can also go forward and have scoreboard impact.

Another player that Batchelor is happy to see return to the Club this year is Sam Dunell. A few years in the AFL system for Dunell has been followed up by a quality VFL career. He will once again take on a combined role of Development and Leadership Coach whilst pulling on a Zebras jumper this year. Batchelor emphasised the “professionalism” of Dunell and the “great shape” that he returned to the Club in and stated that he has “given some really good signs to his fellow playing group of what to expect for the year and what he’s going to demand going forward.”

The Sandringham playing list is quite young but Batchelor believes it is “a step above what it was last year” and he expects the group to take some momentum and connection from last season straight into this season.

In terms of linking Sandringham and the St Kilda Football Club, Jake Batchelor and Sandringham Assistant Coach, Ben Jacobs, will act as the “connectors” between the two clubs in season 2022. Both of these Zebras coaches will also be development coaches at St Kilda this season, which Batchelor noted is “crucial” to ensure the clubs are aligned and on the same page. He believes that “you need as many people as possible to cross over” as it means that when the AFL listed players come to play footy for Sandringham on the weekend, they fit seamlessly into the line-up and feel comfortable surrounded by some people that they have built connections with.

Batchelor expects the Zebras to have “a really strong brand [of football] this year” and “when people talk about Sandringham, they’re going to know that we’re extremely fierce in the contest”. The Zebras have some really good ball winners at the VFL level and also from St Kilda that will drop down and play some games at Sandringham this year. The Zebras will look to utilise these ball winners and be the better contested team on match day. “The last couple of months, the players have all been standing up and we’ve all been learning together”, said Batchelor.

Batchelor is ready to get stuck into the 2022 season and “cannot wait for round 1!”

The Zebra’s round 1 match is this Sunday the 27^th of March vs Casey Demons at Casey Fields at 1:05pm.

Written by Mason Bursill - Sandringham Football Club Media