'Shift in mindset': Improved standards driving team ahead of season opener

The ex-Hampden league footballer, who is teaming up with returning mentor Ben van de Camp in a playing-coaching role, is steadily preparing his group for a Good Friday clash against Merrivale on March 29 to kick off the season.

"We want to see improvement this year and keep building as a club," he told The Standard.

"Off-field things are going really well, it's just about getting things right on-field. The boys and the committee have put their hands up and everyone is taking on the challenge.

"We're looking forward to it, at this point in the year most blokes just want to be playing footy. Our group is excited.

"Merrivale have been the benchmark for a while now, hopefully we can stay with them and put on a bit of a show for the crowd."

McKinnon, who spent 2023 with Warrack Eagles in the Wimmera league, said a big focus for the youthful group was to nail down the basics of the game and find structure.

"Our biggest focus (through pre-season) was probably just trying to do the simple things better and making it easy to know what we're doing and just simplifying the game and working on our skills," he said.

"These are the things that people do miss out on so hopefully we start to see some more skill around the ball and more structure rather than just running around. There needs to be purpose in what we're doing."

He said there was a lot of enthusiasm on the track leading into the opening fixture against the Tigers, highlighting some of the club's leaders for "driving the standards".

"We've had some good numbers on the track which is a shift in mindset for sure. It's a really young list so guys like Harry White have put in a lot of hard work, Declan Gleeson our vice-captain has stood up and is driving more standards and our captain Jacob Brooks, his fitness base has gone through the roof," he said.

"Him and Nath Wallace have done a lot of work on fitness which is driving the standards around the club."

McKinnon believed working alongside Van de Camp could give the Warriors an edge throughout the season, with the gun utility also expected to be play a strong role on the field in a playing capacity.

"We're both on the same page which is really good," he said.

"It's been good working with Ben, it's handy having someone on the field who can have that feel for the game and then having someone on the side, it allows me to play and not think about everything 100 per cent and focus on playing good footy."