CHARLIE O’Connell hopes to celebrate Baxter’s 50th anniversary next year with promotion from State 4 South-East.
The 27-year-old returned to Baxter Park last season after winning successive promotions with Bayside Argonauts in 2023 and 2024 so success is no stranger.
“We can’t afford to make the same slow start (next year) that we made last season,” O’Connell said.
“That was maybe down to having the wrong personnel and possibly a bit of complacency.
“I think with a few more quality players we could be in the running for promotion.”
The State Leagues restructure has widened the opportunity for success for Baxter as the top two teams in the new State 4 South-East will be guaranteed promotion rather than just the championship winner.
“It’ll begin in pre-season – what the players’ attitude is, who is there and what Billy (Armour) has to say.
“He’s been communicating with a lot of the guys already to make sure we’re doing our own training and looking after ourselves so it looks to me that he’s really hungry for success and a lot of the players are too.”
The twists and turns of O’Connell’s football odyssey have seen him celebrate both team and personal achievements but the low point was the psychological and physical after-effects of a knee reconstruction.
Born in Frankston he started playing football at the age of four with Mornington.
When he was 13 he switched to Peninsula Strikers for three seasons then had two seasons at Dandenong Thunder in the under-16s and under-18s.
“We had a really good under-18s side and won the NPL title that year.”
O’Connell was now an apprentice plumber and concentrating on his job interfered with the demands of NPL so he returned to Mornington keen to team up with long-time friends.
He was part of Adam Jamieson’s senior squad preparing for the 2019 season when disaster struck and he tore an anterior cruciate ligament.
“My rehab was a bit up and down because some weeks I was motivated and others I just couldn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.
“When I started playing again I went to Baxter because a lot of my friends were there but I wasn’t confident about my knee holding up in fact it wasn’t until my second season with Bayside (2024) that I gained that confidence and this year I played the most games I’ve played since doing my ACL.”
The first full season post-COVID was in 2022 and Baxter was struggling for numbers and quality.
Eyebrows was raised and there was critical commentary made when O’Connell, Nat Daher and Luke Grant left Baxter in State 4 midway through the season to play for Mazenod in State 1.
Mazenod was last when they joined and finished the season at the foot of the table with one win to its name and a negative goal difference of 60.
“We were at an age where it was important to us to try and play at a higher level,” O’Connell said.
“We wanted to train at a higher level with better players which results in you becoming a better player and I needed to test myself.
“In hindsight it still was a good move because we were surrounded by better players and there was much more intensity at training and the players’ attitudes were better.”
There was another reason the trio quit Baxter.
“It was really frustrating back then.
“Although we had some talented players and some good young players we just weren’t able to get results.
“That was down to the attitude we had as players and – not that this reflects on George (Hughes) and Robbie (Mathieson) who were absolutely brilliant coaches for us – a lack of professionalism more so from the players rather than the club.”
O’Connell sees marked differences in the Baxter of today from the one he left.
“The players’ attitude has definitely shifted and there’s a lot of younger players coming in now.
“It’s going to be really interesting to see what happens with a lot of teams being relegated this year.
“There’s going to be a lot of interest from better players in those teams to play at our level.
“I’m glad I went back to Baxter.
“Everything I wanted when I left is there now and it’s a much more professional environment.
“I’ve got a good group of teammates and everyone’s gelling really well which hasn’t always been the case there with people clashing and people doing things that probably shouldn’t happen in football.
“It seems to me that now they’ve got the right recipe to succeed.”
A measure of O’Connell’s contribution to the Baxter cause this year was his best and fairest and players’ player awards presented at the club’s recent presentation night.
“The players’ player really meant a lot to me.
“To have your peers vote for you not just for your ability as a player but hopefully how you apply yourself as an individual throughout the club is pretty special.”
Still in State 4 and one of the most sought-after players on the peninsula has decided to stay at Chelsea.
James Stinson has snubbed a number of suitors and that’s great news for the Edithvale Recreation Reserve outfit and head coach Gus Macleod.
Stinson is an ex-Sunderland academy player who has topped the scoring charts at Chelsea in his two seasons there.
Last season he was the runaway winner of the league Golden Boot award with 36 goals, 18 more than his nearest rival.
“He’s had a few clubs in his ear but credit to him for staying,” Macleod said.
There were a number of factors that influenced Stinson’s decision.
“The ambition of the club is clear and there is definitely some unfinished business with us coming so close to promotion last season,” Stinson said.
“With some of the stronger teams joining from the East it also feels like a new challenge and there may be less of a gap between top and bottom come the end of the year.
“Finally the group of lads and coaching staff at Chelsea make it a genuinely enjoyable club to be a part of.”
Meanwhile for those keen to get their football fix Langwarrin’s busy pre-season schedule kicks off on Saturday 22 November.
Jamie Skelly’s men are up against a UK tour squad with an 11am kick-off at Lawton Park.
This is the first of six pre-season games Langwarrin will play prior to Christmas.
Skye United also starts a pre-season game schedule on Saturday 22 November when it plays against Geelong in a venue yet to be confirmed.
We hope to publish Skye’s five game pre-Christmas schedule next week.
