Sherwood had a solid season last year, making it to the preliminary final after an impressive come from behind win in the qualifying final against Maroochydore.
The club has had some significant changes in personnel over the off-season, though, on and off the field so all eyes will be on the young Magpie outfit to see what they can deliver in 2021.
Tasmanian Football Hall of Famer, Adrian Fletcher, joins the club as Head Coach, bringing a wealth of playing and coaching experience.
Fletcher has quite the resume, playing 231 AFL games across four clubs. Fletcher has also been a Development and Line Coach at Collingwood, opposition analyst at Geelong, Assistant Coach at Brisbane, and AFL Queensland High-Performance Coach.
His role at Sherwood won’t be easy, with the club losing some key players from last year, including Ruckman Samson Ryan getting drafted by Richmond, and Liam Dawson and Tom Baulch playing at Aspley in the VFL.
Jack Briskey, who trained with Collingwood over the pre-season, is in the squad but will most likely not play too many games for the Pies due to Lions VFL commitments.
Bruce Reville, Tom Wishnat, and Connor Bulley will also play for the Lions VFL side.
Former Brisbane Lions players Ryan Harwood and Claye Beams also decided to hang up the QAFL boots at the end of last season.
Despite these losses, Fletcher is excited about the club’s list, believing it has a good mix of experienced players and talented younger players.
“We think our list ticks all the boxes. We’ve got some handy experienced players and some talented younger players that I’m looking forward to seeing develop over the year,” said Fletcher.
“Age is not a barrier for us. You’ve just got to keep giving kids an opportunity. We have some really talented young guys who are all Magpie juniors’ boys which is really exciting for the club.”
Charlie Thorpe, Darcy Prest, Shaun Ryan, Lachie Davies, Ethan Harris and Will Radcliffe are some of the those former Magpie juniors who are banging the door down for senior selection.
Last year’s best and fairest winner Will Fletcher, and Jack Austin are also looking more dangerous with another pre-season under their belt.
And former Gold Coast Suns and Aspley captain Jackson Allen is back in the black and white.
Sherwood starts their season off with a big round one clash at home against local rivals Mt Gravatt where the inaugural Selvage-Pelly Cup will be up for grabs.
“It’s going to be such a good but tough competition,” said Fletcher.
“We will have to play at our best consistently, have a team-first attitude, and look to improve all areas of our game throughout the year. If we do that, everything else will look after itself.”
Sherwood in 2020
Played 9; Won 4, lost 4 (bye 1)
Points for: 629
Points against: 614 (percentage 101.95)
Finished: 4th
Best and fairest: Will Fletcher
