By Lauren Henry

A new guernsey, new club colours and a new-look senior footy side in Southern Mallee Thunder will hit the Wimmera league this year.

The Thunder will split its home games between four venues – Beulah, Hopetoun, Jeparit and Rainbow – following the merger between Southern Mallee Giants and Jeparit-Rainbow last year.

A lack of junior players prompted the merger, and the Thunder will field under-17s and under-14s this season.

Southern Mallee Thunder senior coach Kieran Delahunty said numbers at pre-season training had been ‘really good’, suggesting a key issue behind the merger had been resolved.

“It’s been a pretty seamless transition really, everyone’s been fantastic and flexible, and just made it work at the moment,” he said.

“We’re really looking forward to getting stuck into the football season now.”

But a busier-than-usual off-
season to ensure the newly united club was organised in time for the season’s start meant everyone had to step up their organisational and communication skills.

Delahunty said ensuring footballs and equipment were stored at all four home grounds, and communication to all coaches and players were key.

“I think the committee’s done a great job in making sure it’s all organised and all the grounds are looked after,” he said.

“It’s been a big transition. It’s been a change for us from the coaching end, about where you physically travel to.”

The Thunder had a practice match against Kalkee at Beulah, which was also an opportunity for the club to host its first function.

“A lot of the guys were meeting for the first time, and we had a season launch at the club afterwards, so it was good to see a lot of supporters there,” he said.

“Then we played Nullawil at Bendigo last week. 

“They finished runner-up in the North Central league last year and we had some good quality play.”

Delahunty said the senior side would obviously have a new look this year following the merger but there was also about six former Giants who had left.

“We had a few that retired and a few travellers that didn’t come back,” he said.

Delahunty was under no illusions his side would need to work on gelling in the first few weeks of the season. 

“That’s sort of part of the reason to have a couple of practice games and have a weekend away together, to try to create those strong relationships and to really speed up the time that it does take for them to know each other,” he said.

But Delahunty remains confident the Thunder will press for a finals place in 2024.

“Particularly given it’s a new club, I think a realistic goal is to make finals and qualify,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s that wise to look any further ahead than that because there’s a lot of things that can change, and a lot can happen in a season of footy.

“But if we manage to finish as high as possible, and go as deep as we can that’d be ideal.”

Delahunty said he expected the competition to be pretty strong.  

“I think we’ll just go about the footy and adjust as we need to. For us, it’s just about getting to know each other and making sure we do what we can to qualify,” he said.

“Last year, after looking at the grand final, we won the inside 50 count, and our midfield was always a strength.

“We’re just looking at strengthening up the forward line, and adding a little bit of pace down there, which is probably one thing that will change this year.”

The Thunders’ first ever official match will be against Warrack Eagles at Jeparit on Saturday.

“They’ve got a good quality coach and some good recruits so it’ll be interesting to see how they line up,” Delahunty said.

“I suspect it’ll be quite a different challenge, and a different side to what they had last year, but I’m confident the team we put on the park will be more than competitive.”

Coaches:

Seniors: Kieran Delahunty

Reserves: Nathan Wright

Under-17s: Matt Thomas and Tom Schumann

Under-14s: Luen Credlin

Under-12s: To be confirmed

Under-9s: To be confirmed

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