They might not have as many wins as they would like but Hamilton Kangaroos coach Brad Thomas is adamant the club is heading in the right direction.
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The first-year mentor has re-committed to coach the club again next year with six rounds remaining in the 2024 Hampden league season.
The youthful Kangaroos, who have been without their home ground all year due to the Melville Oval upgrades, have two wins from 12 games, the same amount they registered in 2023.
They have however been competitive in most contests, with an upset-win against Camperdown in round two a highlight.
"It feels like the club in general is making good inroads," Thomas told The Standard.
"It's probably a good opportunity to try and keep it going.
"It's been a challenge with no home ground and everything else and where we're situated but in saying that too, within the four walls we're pretty excited about where it's going and within the four walls as much as there's only two wins on the board, we feel like we've been able to achieve a lot of little tasks.
"The growth within the footy and netball club is large. We're very excited for where it's going."
The future looks promising for the Kangaroos with the club expecting Melville Oval to be up-and-running again in time for the start of next year's campaign.
This year it has played its home games at Hawkesdale and Dunkeld, both locations more than 20 minutes away from Hamilton.
Thomas also expects to retain the majority of his playing list and hopes to see most of the side's top-age under 18 players remain with the club.
The Kangaroos under 18s sit second on the ladder after reaching a preliminary final last year and winning the flag in 2022.
"I think there's been about six of those kids (current under 18s) who have played seniors throughout this year which is exciting for the future," Thomas said.
"The 2022 under 18 premiership team, a lot of those ones who won that premiership are becoming the heartbeat of the side too."
The Kangaroos have a chance to record their third victory on Saturday, July 20, when they face Portland, which is still chasing its first win of the year.
Matt Hughes
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
