THE new season has unearthed a host of fresh challenges for Cobden's Molly Hutt, none more so than taking on a brand new role on and off the court.
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The 19-year-old goalie has had to adjust to playing at wing attack, a position she has never played, when both the Finch sisters - Jaymie and Emily - are in the shooting circle.
She has also begun coaching the Bombers' 15 and under side with open grade mentor Mel Starr beside her for some handy guidance.
Hutt, who made her debut in the Bombers' open grade side as a 15-year-old in 2015, said her new court position forced her to look more closely at her game.
"I've been put in a different position this season as I usually play goals but I'm playing in wing attack," she said.
"It hasn't been that much of a change but I've had to figure out what to do and how to adapt to it and it's been good.
"When they (the Finch sisters) are both there Mel wants to see different people in different positions so you will see a lot of other girls in different positions."
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Hutt, who said she would be eager to coach a side solo in the future, said mentoring the club's up and coming stars alongside Starr had provided some challenges she had never faced.
"The group of girls I have are a bit quiet and they don't say much so I kind of have to keep talking," she said.
"But they're really good at taking on advice with anything I tell them to do and they usually go out on court and do what I have told them. They listen then talk with their actions."
The Cobden Technical School graduate, who is taking a gap year from studying to work, was able to identify areas of her game she could improve from her time as a coach.
"Defensive pressure is something I've been trying to improve," she said. "I tend to slack off a little bit so I just need to tighten up and put some more pressure on."
Hutt and her teammates have had an impressive start to 2019. They sit undefeated on top of the ladder, a win clear of their nearest rival, after five rounds.
They are ranked number one for goals scored with 304 goals and they have conceded just 175, the lowest so far.
Hutt, who has contributed 56 of the side's goals this season to combine with Emily Finch's 191 and her sister Jaymie's 57, said the Bombers would continue to work on improvements.
"We have got a really good team morale this year, we're not thinking about being undefeated, we're just going at it one game at a time and working on the next week and what we can do better," she said.
"Mel is trying to bring a better defence with all court defensive pressure and more movement around the court but there is nothing major we need to change."
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