By KATH GANNAWAY
YARRA Valley football legend Damian Monkhorst will return to the scene of some memorable contests on Saturday 21 May when he steps back on to the Healesville oval for the Worksafe Community Championships.
The former Woori Yallock player and coach – who had a brilliant career with Collingwood in the AFL and played a season with St Kilda before returning as a playing coach to his home club of Woori Yallock – is busy these days as ruck coach with Hawthorn Football Club.
His role as assistant to his nephew and former Woori Yallock coach Danny Ryan is to look after the mid-field AFL Yarra Ranges team which brings together the cream of the league’s footballers.
The Ranges squad will face off against a highly-competitive Mornington Peninsula/Nepean league.
Monkhorst is impressed with the squad he has got to know through the training sessions over the past few weeks.
“They’re good, young and enthusiastic and should account of themselves pretty well,” he said.
He said his role was about making sure they worked to the structures, gave the players some encouragement and, no doubt, passed on some of the experience and tactics he provides the Hawks.
“It’s also about letting them know we’re proud that they are running out to represent the local community,” he said.
“I think it’s important for the Yarra Valley that they win so we can be climbing up the rungs of the country championships.”
For the individual clubs and the league, Monkhorst said there are some bragging rights attached to a win, but it also has recruiting potential across the league.
“Each year as you climb the ladder to improve your ranking as a league, it gives you a little bit more saleability on recruiting players in to the local area; knowing they are playing at a higher level of competition,” he said.
He is impressed with the Healesville ground, which he remembered from his playing days as seriously big, saying it’s in great condition for the two matches – under-19 and Open.
Of his role with Hawthorn, Monkorst said it was just fantastic.
“It’s been a pretty successful period since I have been there; the players are really good, genuine young men and it’s an honour to be involved with them,” he said.
“They are knock-about, normal guys, it’s no different to walking into the Woori Yallock Football Club, other than it’s on a bigger scale.”
Hawthorn play Sydney at the MCG tonight (Friday) and then it’s back to the Valley on Saturday for Monkhorst who will be an inspiration to a whole new generation of footballers with the same passion he has shown for the game from his first kick with the Woori under-9s.
The under-19 football and 17-and-under netball competitions start at 11am with open netball at 12.15pm and the seniors football kicking off at 2pm.
