Boyup Brook Roos coach and president look to finals as league team named minor premiers

Going into the finals series as the minor premiers is exciting for the Boyup Brook Roos after a disappointing 2023 season, but the playing group won’t let their success go to their heads just yet. The club’s leadership told the Times the league team’s 2024 Lower South West Football League season success was certainly something to be proud of, but stressed the job wasn’t done yet. The Roos finished their regular season in round 16 with a bye at the weekend, and ended as the minor premiers on 44 points. League coach Matt Michael said he was happy with the result and the Roos were a force to be reckoned with during the season. “I’m pretty happy with it and I thought we’d be up there as the contenders,” he said. “I think we lost only three games during the year, so I’m quite pleased with the result in the end. “I think it was the players we got, including a few guys from the 2022 premiership on the league side. “Quite a few of those boys missed last year with injuries and trips, and we got a few more key ingredients and stuck together as a squad over the last few years.” Club president Lachlan Chilwell said the playing group had stuck together throughout the season and worked hard for the top spot. “The boys have applied themselves really hard and had a good mindset within the club,” he said. “We’ll be confident going into the finals. “They did have a few losses and upsets, but they gelled really well together, so it hasn’t been surprising that they managed to pull as many wins as they have.” After narrowly missing finals last year when they fell into fifth place behind Deanmill by a percentage difference of 18.39, the Roos will look to take their success one step further and aim to end the season with a new addition to the trophy cabinet. They will next play in the qualifying final on August 25 at Pemberton Oval against Kojonup. The winners of that game will head straight to the big dance, while the loser will get a second chance. Chilwell said the length of time between their last game and their next game was a “blessing” for the team. “It’s actually a blessing in disguise as we are nursing a lot of injuries and it’ll give our guys time to recover,” he said. “We look forward to that first preliminary final where we can hopefully have a strong side, injury-free. “With our reserves . . . not being in the finals, spots in the league side will be competitive, so we’ll have some good training with our guys vying for positions. “Knowing the guys and the level of maturity and discipline they’ve got, I don’t think they’ll let anything get to their heads. I think they’ll be pretty proactive in maintaining their focus.” Michael backed that call and said the group were relaxed, but eager to push on. “I think it’s a quite relaxed feeling from the group,” he said. “We didn’t talk about the minor premiership as much, so obviously it was (good) get in the end — although we were happy to get (first) or (second). “I don’t think it will go to their heads at all. We got to do what we got to do to get ready for the game coming ahead and see who we’re lining up against.”