Kick start to Falcons

Karratha Falcons are hoping their new coach will help steady the ship and bring success to the club in the upcoming season of the North Pilbara Football League.

The Falcons have struggled in recent years, having finished outside the top four since 2015.

Craig Barker, a former WAFL player who refined his craft at South Fremantle and Swan Districts, is hoping to build a new club culture and bring success back to the struggling side.

Barker said he moved to town in August last year and began thinking about taking the reigns in November.

“I don’t know what went on previously, and no disrespect to what went on in the past, but we’ll be looking at a deliberate approach to one improvement week by week,” he said.

Barker said he had been working with strength and conditioning coach Sam Glee about pre-season programming to get the most out of the players.

“We want to encourage the guys to put a bit more into it, and it’s about getting improvement each week, having fun and making it a place people want to come to be at,” he said.

Barker said the goal for the season was to reach the finals.

“If we get some wins on the board early, blood some of the young players and get the fitness into the legs in the pre-season,” he said.

Karratha Falcons president Beau Corps said Barker was a fresh voice who offered experience from the WAFL playing under coaches like John Todd.

Corps said he wanted to see the junior players playing more games at Reserves with the top ones going on to the League.

“There’s an exciting fresh culture around the club, and we want everyone to be excited to be here and to play footy,” he said.