UGSFL 2025: Narrogin Hawks coach Duncan Synnot promises plenty of local talent in bid to play finals again

New Narrogin Hawks coach Duncan Synnot believes the club has recruited plenty of strong talent in the bid to contest for this year’s Upper Great Southern Football League premiership. The new UGSFL season starts on Saturday and there is renewed hope at Clayton Road Oval with the Hawks hoping to rise further up the ladder in 2025. Finishing fourth on the ladder in 2024, the Hawks were knocked out by grand finalists Wickepin in the elimination final. This year the Hawks will be bolstered by the return of star midfielder Tom Kilpatrick who won the Leo Graham and Hardie medals in 2024 and stalwart captain Jordan Heil. Synnot said the side is shaping up well and look to further improvement from their local players to help contest for a flag. “We’ve got enough local talent around to run with it, we’re trying to give local people a run rather than have them sitting on the sidelines,” Synnot said. “There’s been different bodies on the track, maxed out at 45 players on a Tuesday night and averaging 30, so we’ve been surprised how many players have fronted. The coach said it has been “exceptional” working with about six new players who have moved to town, and they’ve brought a lot of quality into the team. The Hawks have tuned up for Saturday’s season opener against the Warriors with three strong practice games in recent weeks. Synnot said he is optimistic on how they will fare against last year’s two grand finalists Warriors and Boddington. They don’t face the reigning premiers the Eagles until round six on June 8. “It’ll be interesting to see as we’ve definitely improved since last year,” he said. “A couple of things we’re really focused on is structure with the game, entry into our forward line, and understanding the opposition. “We’re hearing reasonable things about Wickepin, but understand they’re bringing quite a few players from Perth, and from that perspective I think Boddington will be the other sort of measure of the competition.” The Hawks first home game will kick off the opening round, with the league game a twilight fixture starting at 4pm. The reserves start at 2.15pm and the fourths at 12.45pm.