HAMILTON Kangaroos coach Jarrod Holt is confident the club’s depth will help cover the loss of pivotal midfield duo Tim Meulendyks and Brad Thomas next season.
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The Kangaroos will start pre-season training for their 2015 Hampden league campaign on Monday without the pair, who finished top two in the club’s best and fairest count in August.
Meulendyks has returned to SANFL club Central Districts, to test his luck in the state league competition for a second time.
He played six senior games for Centrals in 2013 — his debut season — before moving home to the south-west to play for the Kangaroos.
Thomas has joined Wimmera league club Stawell as an assistant coach. Fellow midfielder Gareth Crawford is another Roo on the hop. He is travelling overseas and his playing future is unclear.
Defender Damien Logan will play for Mininera league club Glenthompson-Dunkeld after signing on as an assistant coach. Holt said Meulendyks, a smooth-moving midfielder with a raking kick, had the potential to establish himself in the SANFL.
“We don’t want to stop anyone playing footy at a higher standard and Tim is capable of that,” he said.
Holt said the Kangaroos wanted to recruit “a couple of mature senior players” to bolster their list but were content with their core of young players.
“From the outside looking in, with the good players we’ve lost it looks like we’ll struggle but we’re confident with the guys we’ve got,” he said.
“We think we’ll get a bit of development out of the young guys from this year. The majority of 18 to 21-year-olds have recommitted.”
Holt nominated clever forward Brendan Huf and emerging teenager Tom Feely as two players capable of spending more time in the midfield.
“It (Meulendyks and Thomas leaving) gives other people an opportunity and we did rotate a lot of players through the midfield last season,” he said.
“And Hamish Waldron didn’t play much football.”
Holt said former North Ballarat Rebels midfielder Eric Guthrie was a strong chance to don Kangaroos’ colours again next season.
The Coleraine premiership player joined the Melville Oval-based club in 2014, playing two games in between TAC Cup commitments.
Holt is managing a back complaint which dogged his first season as Kangaroos coach. The Hampden interleague forward was restricted to nine games and failed to add to his tally after round 12.
justine.mc@fairfaxmedia.com.au
