BFNL newcomer Broadford’s first pre-season training session last week was a moment that tugged at the heartstrings of the club’s coach Nathan Thompson.<\/p>\n
“It’s been a lot of hard work getting us to this point, but the numbers are excellent,” Thompson said in response to about 60 players hitting the track for the first two times last week at Harley Hammond Reserve, a mix of seniors, reserves and under-18s.<\/p>\n
“It was a really positive start.<\/p>\n
“Most clubs haven’t even started and are one or two weeks away, but we thought it was very important for everyone to get to meet each other and to start building some relationships, with so many new people on board.<\/p>\n
“We did plenty of work without breaking anyone.”<\/p>\n
Thompson, who was appointed in late July, confirmed the club currently had 70 players on its books for the 2026 season in a sign that it is full steam ahead to round one.<\/p>\n
“Player numbers is not a problem, so from here we will have a big pre-season and see where it lands us,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Everyone is really excited. Going into this, we were always confident in what we were doing and the planning that we’d put in place.<\/p>\n
“In saying that, it was a big job to do. But the fact we’ve got to this point where the numbers are good, it’s now all about putting in the work and the diligence around the game itself rather than just trying to recruit.”<\/p>\n
For Thompson, who played 119 senior games for Hawthorn and 60 for North Melbourne in an 11-year AFL career, highlighted by four leading goalkicker awards (two each with the Hawks and Kangaroos), his association with Broadford marks a return to the BFNL domain.<\/p>\n
Originally from Kyneton, he returned to play for the Tigers, who were then in the BFNL, in 2016, before taking on senior and junior coaching and football manager roles with the Tigers.<\/p>\n
Aware of the huge undertaking ahead when he signed on the dotted line at Broadford, a club that has been in recess for the past two seasons, Thompson said there was never a time when he doubted whether the Kangaroos would get to this point.<\/p>\n
“The recruiting process was very consistent, there wasn’t really a point where we had no opportunities or where people we had signed were reconsidering,” he said.<\/p>\n
“There were probably a few more times I would have liked to have gotten a few more players over the line, but in saying that, we were able to continually bring new people in.<\/p>\n
“In the end, the number of people here is good, so it’s satisfactory from that perspective.<\/p>\n
“We need to wait and see what the club can do with that list now.”<\/p>\n
Given the overwhelming response to the first two training sessions, Thompson has been quick to temper expectations among the players.<\/p>\n
“I said to the guys at the first two training sessions, everyone’s got to be a bit patient, as it’s not something any local club would have prepared for,” he said.<\/p>\n
“To have nearly 70 guys on the training track and to try to manage that and get that many people moving through drills and the like is a big job.<\/p>\n
“It’s a bit of a new experience for me to have that many people, so I think we’ve done a good job.”<\/p>\n
Of the multitude of signings, that of former AFL forward\/midfielder Quinton Narkle is clearly the standout.<\/p>\n
The Northern Territory-based 27-year-old, who announced his retirement from the AFL at the end of the 2025 season after a 59-game career that spanned nine seasons and three clubs, has agreed to play up to 10 games for the Kangaroos in 2026, in likely blocks of three or four.<\/p>\n
Thompson said his commitment had given Broadford ‘credibility to the outside’.<\/p>\n
“Internally, we were very comfortable with the people we’d brought in, but to add someone like Quinton from an external perspective is excellent,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Quinton is a super footballer; he’s still only 27 and has come straight out of an AFL environment and rolled straight into the Northern Territory Football League, playing up there with Southern Districts.<\/p>\n
“From what he can bring to the club talent-wise and performance-wise, is going to be excellent.<\/p>\n
“It will be a great experience for our guys and the club in general to have him on board.”<\/p>\n
The Kangaroos will continue to train for the next four weeks before Christmas, ending with a whole-of-club break-up.<\/p>\n
Pre-season will ramp up again following the Australia Day long weekend, with a six-week load leading up to the club’s first practice match.<\/p>\n
Thompson praised the tight-knit community of Broadford for embracing the club’s push to get back on the field.<\/p>\n
High on the club’s wishlist going into 2026 would be a round one clash at home.<\/p>\n
“From my perspective and the club’s we are just excited,” Thompson said.<\/p>\n
“We don’t see this as pressure; we see this as opportunity to get a lot of people to come down and be a part of what we are doing.<\/p>\n
“To have a game at home and to have the community to come down and be a part of that would be an exciting thing for us and the league.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BFNL newcomer Broadford’s first pre-season training session last week was a moment that tugged at the heartstrings of the club’s coach Nathan Thompson. “It’s been a lot of hard work getting us to this point, but the numbers are excellent,” Thompson said in response to about 60 players hitting the track for the first two […]<\/p>\n