PRE-SEASON COMMENTS
JOINT-COACH DAMON DELANEY: I've got no intention to put down a win-loss number, I'm just looking for improvement then build from there. Aim is to win round one, then focus on round two.
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TIM O'CONNOR: It looks a stronger Grasshoppers list than last season and the squad should be able to improve on its three wins of 2018. Can't see the team making the top eight, but the song should be sung a few times throughout the campaign.
GEOFF TAYLOR MEDAL VOTING
Ben Reese 5
Keegan Powell 5
Jordan Grant 4
Jake Dowell 3
Leigh Ryall 3
Jackson O'Neil 3
Jason Hutchins 3
Damon Delaney 2
Tyler Mookhoek 2
Douglas Arthur 1
Samuel Chapman 1
Brayden Ferguson 1
CHFL TEAM OF THE YEAR
Jackson O'Neil
THE YEAR THAT WAS
While it might have only won six matches, season 2019 was an important one for Rokewood-Corindhap.
The tally of victories was the best the Grasshoppers have managed since joining the Central Highlands Football League in 2011.
The arrival of North Ballarat Roosters premiership captain Shaune Moloney as a non-playing joint coach raised some eyebrows during the off-season, but quickly helped add some more respect from outside clubs.
And three wins from the opening three rounds had things looking good for the senior side, which remained relatively competitive through until the mid-way point of the campaign.
That's when things started getting tough for the Grasshoppers, which copped thrashings at the hands of Newlyn, Buninyong, Gordon, Beaufort and Hepburn before a round 13 bye.
A strong finish to the year was needed and that's exactly what the club produced. Rokewood-Corindhap beat Creswick, Ballan and Clunes in the run home to finish with a total of six wins and a place in 11th on the end-of-season ladder.
Brad Macgowan, who arrived at the club with Moloney and has now joined him as a senior joint coach for 2020, was pleased with the steps forward last year.
"We came in trying to make ourself be much harder to play against," he said.
"And we were a far harder team to play against."
Statistics backed up Macgowan's thoughts, too. The Grasshoppers conceded more than 1450 points during 2018, but less than 1250 throughout 2019.
Jackson O'Neil won the Grasshoppers' best and fairest award and claimed a place in the CHFL team of the year for his efforts off half back, while there was a promising emergence from midfielder Luke Philp among others.
SEASON 2020
While fully aware that there might not be any football played in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis, Macgowan is extremely upbeat about his team's prospects for the future.
He said nine of the club's recruits would have slotted straight into the senior side, severely bolstering the team's depth.
Of those new faces, perhaps the most exciting are forward duo Dan Colbert and Aaron Gercovich, which are expected to take some of the pressure off classy veteran Sam Chapman, who managed 25 goals from just 12 games last year.