Fine tuning key to Subiaco making up for heartacheWednesday, March 21, 2018 - 8:20 PM - by Chris Pike

BEING too successful during the home and away season is something that Subiaco coach Jarrod Schofield felt might have ultimately hurt the Lions in the past two WAFL Grand Finals so some added flexibility with player positions and game style will be a focus coming into 2018.

Subiaco has played in the last four WAFL Grand Finals including finishing on top of the ladder the past three years accumulating a 52-8 win-loss record throughout the home and away seasons.

It started off by winning a second straight premiership in 2015 but despite their home and away season dominance over the past two seasons, they have lost both Grand Finals to Peel Thunder. That has been increasingly difficult for Schofield and his playing group to stomach.

But having been so dominant over a four-year period with no reason to suggest they won't again be around the mark entering 2018, really it is only the minor of adjustments that would be needed for Schofield and his coaching group to be looking to make.

There are some personnel changes with the departures of Wayde Twomey and Declan Jackson from the back-line, and Liam Ryan and Liam Baker from attack. As long as they can find a replacement for those goals, they look a stronger overall squad in 2018.

Josh Deluca returns from his time at Fremantle now a triple WAFL premiership player while his ex-Dockers teammate Zac Clarke joins him to give Subiaco a potentially dominant big man to help free up Clancy Wheeler and Lachlan Delahunty.

Ben Newton adds some further grunt to the midfield too while Drew Rohde is a handy addition too having previously been a key contributor at West Perth.

It's hard to criticise Subiaco for anything its done over the past four years with four Grand Finals, three minor premierships and two flags to show for it.

But for a coach, anytime you fall short you are trying to find out why and it's easy to point to the missed opportunities the Lions didn’t take when they were on top in so many areas of last year's Grand Final.

Looking at the bigger picture he felt having more versatility in their team and to their game style could have helped when the pressure was on.

"If you go back even as far as 2016 when we lost to Peel, we were clearly beaten on the day and didn’t play as good a footy as we would have liked. But we walked away from last year's grand final and I have only watched one quarter of behind the goals vision just recently," Schofield told 91.3 SportFM.

"I haven’t watched the game and I will get to it at some stage, but I look back on the missed opportunities. We didn’t kick straight in that game even though we controlled it in a lot of areas, but unfortunately we didn’t kick straight. 

"We cost ourselves a little bit there and you walk away from the season doing a lot of reviewing and reflecting, and we felt there were things we could have done throughout the year when we were winning games that we could have tried. 

"But we kept pushing along and maybe that cost us in the first final by not having certain scenarios played out through the season that we could have turned to. Looking back on the season, we probably wasted opportunities internally to explore some other avenues with positions and styles in our game. 

"We had been used to playing a certain brand of footy and when you've been in finals and grand finals, teams also look at you a bit closer. We have to look to adapt and change, and so do our players and look to step up our game again."

While Newton and Clarke are top-class additions for Subiaco too fresh off time in the AFL, Schofield is especially excited to welcome Deluca back to the Lions after three years at the Dockers.

He played in a premiership with Subiaco in 2014 before joining the Dockers and now returns to Subiaco having played in the last two flags with Peel Thunder.

He started as a small forward, turned into hard-running half-forward or wingman and more recently turned into an inside midfielder. Schofield is looking forward to continuing his development.

"It's like he never left the club. He has come back obviously a matured player with a lot more experience," he said.

"With him and Zac Clarke, we'd obviously like to pick their brain on their experience at AFL level and also what Peel are doing, you have to utilise those players if you have them in your squad. 

"We are rapt to have Josh back, he's a Subiaco product and my goal as a coach now is to give him an opportunity to continue on what he has developed in his game playing as an inside-mid for Fremantle and Peel. We would like to get him back on an AFL list by the end of this season."

As much as Schofield is happy with the additions of Deluca, Newton, Clarke and Rohde coming into 2018, he's just as happy to see a group of players returning or who can force their way into being regular league members grabbing their opportunities.

"Obviously we have brought in some new faces in Drew Rohde, Ben Newton, Zac Clarke and Josh Deluca as the name players who have a wealth of experience and we will look to them, but then you've got guys who can take the next step," he said.

"For us that includes Sean Bradley, Tom Smith and Rhys Waters who played with us in 2016 and have come back after having 12 months off. 

"There is a cycle and you are always looking to evolve your list but also develop what you have and transition our colts boys who are coming off a fantastic year. That's the art of managing a group of 70 to 75 players."

Schofield has also undergone some changes in his personal situation in the off-season, now dedicating himself to football at Subiaco full-time.

Longer term there is every chance he ends up in the AFL system as early as 2019, but getting that elusive premiership after the past two years is his driving force right now.

"I took some time away at the end of last season just to spend it with family and I had some serious conversations with a couple of AFL clubs," Schofield said.

"I was a partner in a business that we sold out so I've moved more in the direction of football and I'm purely working for Subiaco this year with full-time coaching and as coaching coordinator to try and pass on my experiences. 

"I recharged the batteries at the end of last season and I've worked on some personal development as a leader to help the young men at our footy club and possibly take myself further in the football community. I'm looking forward to 2018 and being part of a successful club again."