Untitled - Norwood Football Club

CROSSINGOVeR‘Not since Jim West in 97’ have we had arecognized full forward!’Whilst standing on Coopers Hill or browsing the variousInternet forums, this chant is one of the all too familiar criesto be heard from the Norwood faithful. Not since that 1997triumph has the Norwood forward line been graced with aconsistent, strong marking key forward.Enter Ben Warren. The namesake of the North Melbournegoal sneak, Warren comes to the Parade in the midst ofanticipation and excitement. With the coinciding recruitmentof the highflying Michael Newton, all of a sudden Norwood’sforward line already looks potent.His recruitment came after a 12-month hiatus from regularSANFL football. After a ten-year career that achieved 163games and 346 goals for South Adelaide, Warren’s bodywas beginning to show the wares of playing competitiveLeague football for just on a decade. “I had a few injurytroubles throughout 2010. Personally, I probably had mymost disappointing season since I started playing Leaguefooty, and we were struggling as a team” Warren said.Compounding his form and injury, South Adelaide, the clubhe captained, was going through its own transitional period.Ron Fuller had just completed his first full year as Senior Coachof the Panthers. After a year of toil and struggle, Warren feltboth Fuller and the Club were ‘going down a different path’, onewhich did not include the captain in their future planning. It wastime to start a new chapter in his footballing life.After speaking to Norwood Football Manager Mark Ross atthe commencement of the 2010 season, Warren decidedto go back to his roots. A junior at Langhorne Creek, hewanted to pull on the boots where his footballing journeybegan; “I had a few mates playing there and my family is stillinvolved with the footy club. In the end, it was a pretty easydecision to go back.” The added incentive of playing withhis brother was a combination too good to ignore. From anindividual and team perspective, the move paid off. “We wonthe premiership, which was great. I think we had 10 or 11players that had played SANFL football, so we had a prettyhandy side.”After achieving the success of a premiership at his homeclub, Warren’s ambition to achieve success at SANFLLeague level was more determined. Fortunately, his bodyhad rewarded his decision to drop a level or two in intensity.Within the space of a few months, Warren landed back onNorwood’s doorstep. Following the original enquiry to acquirehis services, Football Manager Ross ensured the connectionbetween Warren and Norwood was not lost – “Mark rang meduring the 2011 season to see if I would still be interested –and I was! We sat down as soon as the season finished andmade the move back to SANFL football happen.”However, in the brief transition from Langhorne CreekPremiership to SANFL pre-season with Norwood, joining theRedlegs was by no means a ‘fait accompli’. ‘”I actually spoketo Sturt first. My brother-in-law, Jordan Mutton, plays thereand my father-in-law, Gary Mutton, is a life member”, Warrenadmitted. However, the lure of premiership success aided hisdecision to don the dark blue instead,saying, “I think my wife was a little bitdisappointed, but at the end of the day Iwant to win a premiership!”With the benefit of hindsight, Warren isable to reflect on the decision he made tobecome a Redleg. “It was an easy decisionin the end.” He added, “If I was goingto play SANFL football again, I wantedto go to a club with the best chance ofachieving finals success. Nothing is everguaranteed in footy, but the last two yearsshowed me that Norwood isn’t too far offthe pace.”If I was going to play SANFL footballagain, I wanted to go to a club withthe best chance of achieving finalssuccess. Nothing is ever guaranteed infooty, but the last two years showed methat Norwood isn’t too far off the pace.BEN WARRENThe hunger for a League premiership is evident, and it is of littlesurprise considering where Warren has come from. After leadingSouth Adelaide through a period where on-field performancewas modest at best, Warren’s commitment to team successis unquestionable. When comparing the two clubs, Warren isphilosophical - “Generally, football clubs are very similar. Eachclub has great people, supporters, volunteers and players.However, Norwood has great depth with its playing list. Themajority of the players on the list are giving themselves the bestchance of playing league football, with their professionalism andpreparation. It’s great to be involved in an environment like that.”Like a duck to water, Warren has fittedin exceptionally well at the Parade. Hisworking relationships with his coachesare strong – he finds Nathan Bassett’ssense of humor ‘pretty funny’, andhis leadership and experience hasproven to be an invaluable addition toa youthful Norwood line up. Followingthe departures of Stephen Doyle,James Gallagher and Stuart Bownto retirement at the end of the 2011season, Norwood stands to benefitfrom Warren’s wisdom and experience.11 13 14 12