Phil Stubbins Interview

Richmond Football Club

 

Coaches Comments

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by Phil Stubbins

  

Hi Phil, we welcome you to ‘extratime.com.au’ and look forward to reading your thoughts on the coming VPL season, hopefully, a successful one for Richmond FC?

 

“Yes, thanks for having me”.

“Well, in starting I would firstly like to mention just how enjoyable the pre-season has been with such a fantastic bunch of boys here at Richmond”.

“We’re very much united in our efforts and the camaraderie amongst us all is excellent”.

 

“The club is most certainly a tremendous club to work for and both Stuart Cannell and myself couldn’t ask for any more support. They are a forward thinking club and with Helmut Kalitzki, as the President they certainly have a very capable man in charge, who has the spirit, commitment and brains needed to provide this club with the platform to constantly progress”.

 

And what about the league about to start, Phil. Is it exciting to be again involved in the VPL?

 

“After such a long haul, what with the water restrictions and all the internal FFV problems with league starting dates, etc, etc, the league commencement really can’t come around quick enough now”.

 

“Our pre-season has been a little different from some of my previous pre-seasons, in that we haven’t flogged the boys with too much game time to date. We have however, worked them very hard on the track, so physically the squad is in good shape, we feel”.

“Our match fitness will come from more game time now and hopefully the lads are fresh enough to get through the first 3-4 games with some solid performances allowing for them to gather momentum to simply get stronger as the campaign progresses”.

 

“Our targets this campaign, obviously, will be to emulate the achievements of how we finished off the season last year. We will put the pressure on ourselves to perform looking for high standards, as far as the both our individual and team performances are concerned”.

 

Are we capable of attaining a finals berth, Phil?

 

“In my opinion, yes, most certainly”!

 

“We all know however, just how strong the VPL is and how hard it actually is to achieve any win. There are certainly some strong teams in the comp’ again this season, but, all in all, I feel we are ready for the challenges of what the VPL has to offer this term”.

 

Who would you class as genuine VPL title contenders?

 

“Everyone will be asking this question and it’s a difficult one to answer”.

“However, I’m convinced Oakleigh will be right up there again with Stuart Munro leading the way”.

“He did a terrific job over there last year, and again, they will be very hard to beat”.

 

“Under Chris Taylor, I feel the Melbourne Knights, now with the problems of last year behind them, will definitely have the players to do well and given all their pre-season games and results, they should be drilled well enough to get off to a good start and carry it on from there”.

 

“South Melbourne in my opinion holds probably the greatest threat to win the league.

I feel they probably have the best balanced squad, boasting a tremendous list and with the experience John has gathered in his three years over there they will do nothing other than be very successful again this term”.

 

“Other teams to watch will obviously be Heidelberg, who have a tremendous roster and if they get it right they will certainly pose a threat against any team”.

 

“Altona Magic, also will be right up there if their previous seasons are anything to go by”.

 

“Preston Lions surely will be a contender after their recruiting drive. Securing Acevski, Sterjovski, Erdogan, Pir and Petrovski would strengthen any team in the VPL. Therefore, I’m certain there aspirations will be to achieve a finals berth”.

 

“Now, onto Green Gully. Having probably the most experienced coach at their helm will obviously assist them no end. Ian Dobson has been fantastic for this club and no doubt he will again have them ready drilled and motivated to compete against all”.

 

“I’m not certain how well Whittlesea/Bulleen will go, as I haven’t witnessed them perform thus far, but they will want a competitive winning team, as they try to cement this new venture between the two clubs this coming season”.

 

“All the other sides will pose a threat, and we acknowledge their participation, however, I feel these teams mentioned above will battle it out for the title”.

 

And what about Richmond Phil. Who and what will be their positives for the New Year?

 

“Richmond holds many key factors to being a competitive side. Firstly, their list is a strong one, both physically and mentally. Now, without giving too much away, we feel we’re prepared for the rigors of the competition and have the necessary capabilities within ourselves to do well”.

“Our Captain and team leader Stuart McCluskey, is a huge plus for the club, as he leads the team very well through his experience and natural leadership qualities”.

“We also have a young average age squad of players. Over the course of a long season we’re convinced this will assist our efforts enormously”.

 

You have the A.I.S. this Friday Phil in the season’ opener, what do expect from them?

 

“They will certainly pose an unknown threat. I’m not certain how they’ll go. It’s very important for us to be organized and ready for them. They will be sharp, structured and capable of scoring goals, I’m sure”.

“It is vitally important for ourselves that we do get off to a good start and we’re confident we’ll do just that”!

                                                                                                                

Thanks for your thoughts Phil, all the very best for the coming season!

 

“Cheers Boo, you’re the MAN”!!