The Demons started off brightly, notching wins against Taylors Lake and Pimpinio in the first half of the season before COVID-19 interruptions and injuries began to take their toll.

For senior coach Shannon Argall, it's hard to draw a lot of solid conclusions from a season like 2021.

"We were really happy to get a couple of wins in the first half of the season. Unfortunately there were changes to the draw, injuries and we weren't able to play more games against clubs that are at a similar level as us at the moment," he said.

Argall said the interruptions to the season due to COVID-19 took their toll on the Demons' list.

RELATED STORIES:

"Initially we responded really well. But I think as we went into the second and then the third lockdowns people found it more and more difficult, particularly our reserves players," he said.

"The fact that we were probably finished up for the year, so to speak, made it really difficult."

The Demons had a difficult second half of the season, having to face top five sides Rupanyup, Harrow-Balmoral, Jeparit-Rainbow and Kalkee in the final five rounds.

Despite the result being some big losses, Argall couldn't be prouder of the way his team played.

"Our back six is brilliant. Our midfield has challenges, particularly with a lack of experience but we're better for it this year."

"Brett Ervin has been super reliable over many years as a fullback. In the latter half of the season I moved him up to centre half back and encouraged him to take more intercept marks and try to outmark his opponent. He really came along leaps and bounds."

READ MORE:

"Jared camp was fantastic. He was a recruit who came over with me from Warracknabeal. He played in the midfield and was a huge asset for us.

Another asset for the Mountain Men was the breadth of talented young players coming from Laharum's junior sides.

"I've been really impressed with a few of our young guns coming through from our under 17s. Jim McInnes, Tyge Nelson and Oliver Sykes. They've been playing for us a bit this year and are a really exciting crop coming through."

Argall said Laharum's off season focus will be on recruiting players to fill gaps in the line up.

"We'd probably like a key position forward, and another midfielder just to share the load and bring in a bit more experience."

"We're focussing on a Laharum-first approach. We've got so many successful players that have moved to other clubs and other opportunities. We want to set up a club culture to get those guys back.

"This year was really about surviving and enjoying getting back to football. I think we're in a good place moving forward for 2022."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: