Belmont Lions have turned to the club’s only premiership coach and captain to provide some extra motivation ahead of Saturday’s GDFNL grand final against Thomson.
Haami Williams and Scott Pickett were at the helm when the Lions claimed their lone senior premiership in 2007, beating East Geelong in a thrilling decider at St Albans Reserve.
Before training on Tuesday night, Williams and Pickett spoke to the group about their experience,
“It was really special,” co-coach Andy Walsgott told K rock Football’s Beyond the Boundary podcast.
“To get them back and talk about their experience and what Belmont means to them, it’s really nice.
“We probably haven’t had that big aspect of buy-in from outside people and past players as much as you’d expect from some other clubs, so it was nice to have them down.”
Walsgott says he could see parallels in what Williams said between 2007 and what has taken place at Winter Reserve since joining Brent Vermeulen as co-coach at the end of 2022.
“Haami spoke about the journey that they went on when he arrived,” Walsgott said.
“(There were) comparisons to when Brent and I arrived.
“He spoke about their lived experiences and what it looked like for them.
“And just the manner we’ve got to set ourselves for the game and take it from there.”
The Lions have named an unchanged team, keeping the same lineup that was too good for minor premier East Geelong in the second semi-final.
Thomson has made two changes, bringing back Zach Plant and Jackson Sheedy at the expense of Josh Camm and Tom Major.
X: @krockfootball
